India launches deep tech fund

- The predecessor to this fund, the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0), committed its entire ₹10,000 crore corpus to 145 Alternative Investment Funds. These funds, in turn, invested over ₹25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups across a variety of sectors including AI, fintech, and space tech. - Unlike the first phase which focused on broad ecosystem creation, FoF 2.0 will employ a targeted approach, prioritizing capital-intensive sectors like advanced manufacturing and other areas requiring long-term, patient capital. It also aims to support early-growth stage founders to prevent failures due to a lack of follow-on funding, often called the "valley of death." - This fund is launching as private funding for Indian startups saw a 17% drop to $10.5 billion in 2025, with the number of deals falling by nearly 39%, indicating a more selective investment climate. However, India's recognized startup base has grown from under 500 in 2016 to over 200,000, with 2025 seeing the highest-ever annual startup registrations. - For HR tech, a key focus is on platforms that support the growing distributed workforce in India, with over 60% of white-collar workers expected to be in hybrid or remote setups by 2026. This drives investment in AI-powered recruitment, compliance automation, and workforce analytics to manage teams across different states and regions. - In selling API products to technical buyers, a "bottom-up" approach is often effective, where developers can experiment with the tool through self-serve options and clear documentation before engaging with sales. This strategy builds trust and allows the product's value to be demonstrated through direct experience, turning developers into internal champions. - Companies are successfully using intent data to sharpen their go-to-market strategies by identifying accounts actively researching relevant solutions. For instance, Salesforce increased its pipeline by 32% by targeting healthcare companies showing intent signals, then engaging them with personalized email sequences and executive webinars. - AI is significantly impacting GTM motions by automating high-volume tasks like lead generation and email outreach, freeing up sales reps to focus on relationship building. AI tools are also being used for predictive sales forecasting, lead scoring, and personalizing outreach at scale based on customer data and behavior. - When scaling sales teams, a common mistake is hiring a senior leader first. A more effective approach is for founders to initially hire junior salespeople who can shadow them, allowing for the documentation of a repeatable sales process before bringing on senior leadership to manage the now well-oiled machine.