Musings

As 2025 comes to a close, Speciale looks back on a year of strong progress across India’s clean energy and climate-focused startup ecosystem. The past year saw faster movement from research to real-world deployment, supported by better alignment between technology development, policy support, and investor capital. India’s private clean energy sector has become one of the most dynamic parts of the country’s deep-tech landscape. Startups made meaningful advances in electric mob

Storage solutions that can hold energy for days and weeks are urgently needed the world over The arithmetic of the energy transition is increasingly clear. Solar and wind can now generate electricity at prices that rival, and even undercut, fossil fuels. “The business case for renewables is now stronger than ever,” as the International Renewable Energy Agency noted this year. Yet grids across the world are still curtailing large volumes of clean power because they have nowh

Bengaluru, often seen as synonymous with India’s software prowess, is also home to an exciting biotech cluster. The city is increasingly home to ventures that blend biotechnology with engineering in ways that could reshape how we produce everyday goods. Fermbox Bio for example, in our own portfolio, exemplifies this shift. The company's work in precision fermentation points to a larger opportunity: synthetic biology —the design and engineering of biological systems, is moving

How Morphing Machines is solving from India for the world a fundamental architectural bottleneck where software innovation is dramatically outpacing hardware development cycles Modern computing faces an awkward paradox. Software evolves in months, while hardware takes years. A familiar example is that even an expensive smartphone purchased three years ago cannot unlock the full capabilities of today's applications. This isn’t because the silicon has degraded, but because of

National security often hinges on the unspectacular, as defence strategy experts like to say — systems quietly built for reliability in less-than-ideal conditions. In the coming decade, military and critical civil infrastructure will face a new challenge: dependence on global navigation satellite systems, a convenience rapidly becoming a liability. Recent conflicts and technological disruptions have demonstrated that drone warfare is shifting rapidly towards an era in which

Industrial decarbonisation demands more than renewable energy installations. It requires fundamental improvements in how factories, vehicles, and buildings use energy. Among the least celebrated yet highly effective interventions is thermal insulation — a technology where materials science innovations could deliver outsize climate benefits. Energy efficiency remains an overlooked but critical component of climate action. The International Energy Agency estimates that improv

Significant technological and cost challenges remain, but long-term support is also forthcoming from corporate and governments. The market for pulling carbon dioxide directly from the air is seeing important shifts in 2025 – most notably, growing purchases from corporate – via carbon credits, for example, and sustained long-term government support. Startups have made progress on their commercialisation routes. Direct air capture (DAC)—the technology that uses chemical, el

India's ambitious push into green hydrogen production is creating substantial opportunities for domestic deep-tech startups, with companies like Newtrace demonstrating how innovative engineering can address cost barriers that have limited clean hydrogen adoption. The government's National Green Hydrogen Mission, launched in January 2023 with close to Rs. 20,000 crore in funding, aims to produce five million tonnes annually by 2030. Recent policy developments have accelerate

The robotics industry finds itself at a fascinating crossroads. While Figure AI recently secured more than $1 billion at a staggering $39 billion valuation—a 15x increase from its previous funding round—and other humanoid robotics companies chase similarly astronomical valuations, some industry practitioners advocate for a more grounded approach to automation. Gokul NA and Nikhil Ramaswamy, the founders of CynLr, a Bengaluru-based robotics company that has deliberately chos

India's semiconductor startup landscape is becoming richer, helped by strategic partnerships, more venture funding as well as greater public support for startups in the sector. We are beginning to see milestones reached that mark the early stages of a shift from tech demonstrations to commercial operations.

India stands at a crossroads on its journey towards autonomy in positioning, navigation, and timing (PXNT) systems.

Optimism and investment are rising, more breakthroughs are anticipated, and a commercial reactor is expected as early as the next 10-15 years. It’s time for Indian startups, too, to step up.

The venture capital world is placing bigger bets on quantum computing than ever before. In Germany, Q.ANT, a wholly owned subsidiary of the industrial high-tech company TRUMPF, has just closed a €62 million Series A round — Europe's largest funding round for photonic computing. Q.ANT is also leading a consortium that’s secured €50 million in government research grants.

Manufacturing in the Final Frontier: An Opportunity for India’s Space Tech Startups The space industry witnessed a pivotal moment last week when Varda Space Industries announced a solid $187 million Series C funding round. The investment has trained the spotlight on the nascent field of space manufacturing – one that Indian space-tech startups such as Inbound Aerospace, for example, also see as a huge opportunity. Varda's mission to build pharmaceutical laboratories in orbit

Vishesh Rajaram used to be a principal investor at VC firm Ventureast, working with its sixth fund of US$100 million. He quit the role six months ago to start a new fund with his college mate, Arjun Rao, who worked with Yahoo! and Ibibo before co-founding Travelyaari. Today, the duo announced the launch of Speciale Invest, their US$20 million fund for young deep tech startups. The firm will be based in Bangalore and Chennai. “We just completed our first close of the fund — ab