Aavishkaar Group & Jamwant Ventures Launch ₹500 Cr Fund to Boost Defence-Deeptech Startups:
Leading impact investment platform Aavishkaar Group has partnered with veteran-run venture capital firm Jamwant Ventures to launch a new fund of ₹500 crore (approx. US $60 million) focused on early-to-growth stage defence and deep-technology startups in India.
The fund — named Jamwant Ventures Fund 2 — is set to back 20-25 startups, with typical investment sizes in the range of US $1 million to US $5 million per company.
About 15-20% of the corpus is slated for follow-on funding in portfolio firms.
Strategic rationale & collaboration model:
Under the collaboration, Aavishkaar enters via its newly introduced platform OneAavishkaar which offers end-to-end support across fundraising, investment operations, ESG and compliance while Jamwant brings deep domain expertise in defence and aerospace, led by ex-Armed Forces officers.
According to Tarun Mehta, Partner (Funds & Strategy) at Aavishkaar Capital, “Jamwant is one of India’s only veteran-run defence-tech funds. Not only is the founding team from the armed forces, but they have been on the operational side of things.”
Jamwant’s Navneet Kaushik emphasised that rather than each party go it alone, this partnership allows each organisation to focus on its strengths — Aavishkaar on fund structuring and scaling, Jamwant on sector-specific mentoring and deal-sourcing.
Investment focus & sector significance:
The fund will target technologies and startups that span both defence and civilian applications — emphasising dual-use innovations such as autonomous systems, propulsion & rocket-engine technologies, specialised sensors, connectivity, drones, maritime tech and indigenisation of defence hardware.
By focusing on deeptech in the defence domain, the fund addresses two key national priorities: bolstering indigenous capability / self-reliance in defence technologies, and fostering high–growth innovation ecosystems in sectors that traditionally see less venture-capital activity.
Timeline & future outlook:
With its target corpus of ₹500 crore, the fund is expected to begin deploying capital in the coming quarters. Aavishkaar describes this as the first partnership under its OneAavishkaar platform; the model may be repeated with other emerging funds in the future.
For entrepreneurs in the defence-tech and deep–technology space, the launch of this fund presents a meaningful new source of capital and strategic value-add: beyond cheque-writing, the combined expertise of Aavishkaar + Jamwant gives access to domain mentoring, defence-industry networks and growth infrastructure.
Why this matters:
Scale and timing: At ₹500 crore, the fund is one of the larger dedicated vehicles in India’s defence-deeptech startup ecosystem.
Veteran leadership: The team at Jamwant brings operational experience in defence and aerospace, adding credibility when dealing with complex domain startups.
Dual-use innovation: By focusing on technologies serving both military and civilian markets, the fund increases exit and market opportunities for portfolio companies.
Ecosystem boost: The fund helps plug a gap in capital availability for deeptech in India — especially in sectors requiring long-development cycles, high-capex and domain-expertise.
Bottom line:
The new fund marks a significant step in India’s venture capital landscape: combining impact-oriented investing (Aavishkaar) with domain-specific defence-tech competence (Jamwant). For startup founders in the defence/deeptech space, this offers both fresh capital and a platform for growth. For the broader ecosystem, it signals that deeptech + defence is increasingly a mainstream target for serious venture funding.
Sudheendra Kumar ( Mobile /WhatsApp: 91-9820088394)
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