Java Capital Raises ₹400 Crore to Double Down on Deeptech
Seed-stage venture firm Java Capital has launched its third fund with a target corpus of ₹400 crore, including a ₹150 crore greenshoe option. The Bengaluru-based firm is scaling its commitment to early-stage deeptech startups emerging from India.
The new vehicle, Java Capital Fund III, marks a larger and more focused step compared to its previous funds. The firm continues to position itself as a first-check investor backing science-led and IP-driven startups at inception.
Focus on Long-Cycle, IP-Heavy Sectors
Fund III will invest in 15 to 20 companies over the next three to four years. Initial cheque sizes will range between ₹6 crore and ₹8 crore. The firm has set aside substantial follow-on reserves to support portfolio companies through Series A and later growth rounds.
Java Capital plans to lead or co-lead seed rounds, particularly in sectors with long development timelines, high entry barriers, and defensible intellectual property.
The fund will deploy capital across semiconductors, space and aerospace, cybersecurity and defence technologies, robotics and physical intelligence, AI infrastructure and vertical AI, advanced manufacturing and materials, energy and climate infrastructure, quantum systems, and synthetic biology.
Cross-Border Model to Support Global Scale
Java Capital was founded by Vinod Shankar in Bengaluru and Bhargavi Vijayakumar in the United States. The firm operates with teams embedded in both markets.
According to the founders, this structure allows portfolio companies to access global customers, talent pools, and capital early in their journey. The firm believes Indian deeptech startups increasingly build with international markets in mind from day one.
Shankar said the next decade of innovation will be shaped by hard science and deep engineering, and that India has emerged as a strong base for deeptech talent. Vijayakumar added that the strongest Indian deeptech firms are global from inception, not after scaling domestically.
Building on a Growing Deeptech Portfolio
Java Capital’s existing portfolio includes startups such as Agnikul, Lightspeed Photonics, Eplane, CynLr, Okulo Aerospace, Oorja Energy, and Healium.
With Fund III, the firm aims to deepen its role as an early institutional partner for founders building frontier technologies. The scale of the new fund signals growing investor appetite for deeptech and a broader shift in India’s startup ecosystem toward science-based innovation rather than pure software plays.
L to R Vinod Shankar, Bhargavi V, Karteek Pulapaka, Co-founders & Partner, Java Capital
Source/Credit: ISN
