India's long-awaited patient-capital engine for deeptech finally has its managers. The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund has named 19 fund managers in its first cohort, committing Rs 7,131 crore towards deeptech startups and private-sector research, according to a government statement on October 12, 2026.
The cohort, cleared by a panel of senior officials on October 8, comprises 14 investment funds and five research bodies. The money is long-term and low-cost, deliberately aimed at the fields private investors often skip: chips, clean energy, and other research-intensive technologies.
The development follows weeks of debate around the scheme's governance. In August, reports suggested nearly two-thirds of the more than Rs 2,000 crore already allocated to deeptech companies under the scheme had gone to firms linked to members of the selection panel, prompting an Inc42 survey in which a quarter of 85 institutional investors called for independent oversight. A separate RDI-linked agreement this week saw the Technology Development Board sign an Rs 86 crore pact with Peptris Technologies for AI-driven drug discovery, signalling the scheme is now moving money, not just announcements.
For the ecosystem, the manager list is the missing link. The Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Fund framework requires technologies at TRL 4 or above, and Bharat Innovation Fund's Ashwin Raguraman has already credited the scheme's announcement for the recent momentum in deeptech funding.
Why it matters for founders
Deeptech founders in hardware, chips and climate who have struggled to raise patient capital now have 19 new funds to pitch. If your technology is past lab validation, start mapping which managers map to your sector — the first-cheque pipeline is finally open.