Pax Silica for India, US and partners to pursue greater resilience, security and innovation
Members of the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) invested approximately Rs.2,170 crores across 56 deep-tech companies between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026, approximately one year after the Alliance was launched as an industry-led initiative to mobilise long-term private capital, technical expertise and ecosystem support for Indian deep-tech companies.
IDTA announced the figure at SEMICON India 2026 on 18 Sept, saying, “The investments were made independently by individual IDTA members in accordance with their respective investment strategies and processes. The first-year figure reflects deepening investor conviction in India-built deep-tech companies and the breadth of capital deployment across strategic technology sectors.”
Artificial intelligence and its application to Indian problems drew approximately Rs.639 crores across 16 companies. Deep technology spanning quantum computing, robotics and space accounted for approximately Rs.649 crores across 21 companies.
Energy security and transition, and climate action attracted approximately Rs.655 crores across 8 companies; biotechnology, biomanufacturing, synthetic biology and pharmaceuticals approximately Rs.189 crores across 7 companies; and the digital economy, including digital agriculture, approximately Rs.38 crores across 4 companies.
IDTA was established around the premise that deep-tech companies require more than financing alone. Successful commercialisation also requires access to technical expertise, research capabilities, manufacturing and supply-chain partners, customers, global markets and an enabling policy environment. The Alliance brings together investors, corporations and industry associations to strengthen these connections while preserving the independence of each member’s investment decisions.
Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, the Government’s Principal Scientific Adviser, said, “India has built a strong foundation of scientific talent and research capability; the next imperative is to translate this strength into globally competitive technologies, products and enterprises. Deep-tech innovation requires patient capital and sustained support through research, validation, commercialisation and scale.
“The capital deployed by IDTA members in the five priority sectors identified under the RDI Scheme is an encouraging indication of growing private-sector confidence in India’s innovation ecosystem. The RDI Scheme and industry-led initiatives can complement each other in strengthening the pathways through which promising technologies move from the laboratory to the market and create long-term strategic and economic value for India.”
Sriram Viswanathan, Executive Committee Member, India Deep Tech Alliance & Founding Managing Partner, Celesta Capital, elaborated, “When we announced the launch of IDTA at SEMICON India 2025, our conviction was that India’s deep-tech opportunity required a sustained, industry-led effort bringing together patient capital, technical expertise and pathways to commercial scale.
“One year later, the nearly Rs.2,170 crores invested by IDTA members across more than 50 promising companies shows that this vision is beginning to translate into measurable action. The progress of IDTA members over the past year demonstrates that private capital is moving alongside India’s national ambition and the investments announced today are tangible evidence of that momentum. This is an important first milestone, but the larger task is to help India’s deep-tech companies build enduring businesses, access global markets and emerge as technology leaders in their respective fields.”
The India Deep Tech Alliance is an industry-led consortium of investors, corporates, technology partners, and ecosystem stakeholders focused on accelerating India’s deep tech companies across AI, semiconductors, advanced computing, robotics, biotech, and more. IDTA convenes capital access, technical mentorship, market linkages, and policy engagement to help founders build globally competitive technology companies from India. Learn more at idtalliance.org.
Separately, SEMI, the global industry association advancing the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, and the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) also announced their intention to collaborate on a plan for the India Semiconductor Academy (ISA), with the objective of establishing it as a national, industry-led platform for semiconductor education, skills and employment.
The proposed Academy will strengthen India’s training and workforce-development objectives as India expands investment across semiconductor design, fabrication, advanced packaging and testing, equipment, and materials. Its focus will be on converting India’s broad engineering and technical talent base into practical, industry-ready capability for priority roles across the semiconductor value chain.
The proposed Academy will partner with a number of industry participants and academic institutions to achieve its objectives, including Cadence, CG Semi, Dixon Technologies, Micron Technology, Synopsys, 3D Glass Solutions, the University of California San Diego and IIT Kanpur.
The collaboration will draw on SEMI’s global experience convening semiconductor employers and building industry-led workforce initiatives worldwide. The partners expect to adapt relevant lessons to India’s institutional landscape, industrial priorities and employment needs.
In the planning phase, SEMI and IDTA will engage industry, universities, technical institutions, training centres and laboratories to define the Academy’s governance, operating model, curriculum priorities, funding framework and phased implementation.
The plan is expected to address:
• an annually refreshed national forecast of semiconductor skills demand by role, capability and location;
• industry-validated occupational standards and stackable credentials for priority jobs in design, fabrication, assembly, testing, marking and packaging, and equipment operations;
• access to shared laboratories, tools and simulation environments;
• apprenticeships, on-the-job training and employment-linked pathways; and
• annual reporting on proficiency, placement, retention and employer satisfaction.
LW Yong, Head of Operations, CG Semi, added, “Building India’s semiconductor ecosystem will require us to build the talent ecosystem alongside it. We are already seeing the intensity of the talent challenge, but we have also been impressed by the hunger and willingness of Indian engineers and technicians to learn and take on this industry. With the right infrastructure and training, we believe India can build the deep talent pool needed to support a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem.”
The Academy is intended to serve the full semiconductor talent pyramid: from fab-ready technicians and operators to manufacturing, packaging and design engineers, advanced researchers and materials scientists, and system and solution architects. It will place particular emphasis on hands-on capability in process and equipment operations, facilities, maintenance, packaging, testing, quality and safety, alongside India’s established strength in semiconductor design.
The initiative will also complement Pax Silica, through which India, the United States and other trusted partners are pursuing greater resilience, security and innovation across semiconductor and artificial-intelligence supply chains. A deeper pool of skilled talent in India can strengthen both India’s domestic ecosystem and trusted international technology partnerships.
The two organizations will constitute a joint working process and consult partners from industry and academia. The resulting plan will set out the institutional design and the commitments required for establishment, including public support, industry contributions in cash and in kind, access to facilities and expertise, and sustainable program revenues over time.
SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 4,000 companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics. Visit www.semi.org
The India Deep Tech Alliance is an industry-led consortium of investors, corporates, technology partners, and ecosystem stakeholders focused on accelerating India’s deep tech companies across AI, semiconductors, advanced computing, robotics, biotech, and more. IDTA convenes capital access, technical mentorship, market linkages, and policy engagement to help founders build globally competitive technology companies from India. Learn more at idtalliance.org fiinews.com
