Gaja Capital co-founder Gopal Jain says deeptech coverage is growing twice as fast as the rest of the portfolio. The firm put $75M into Sarvam AI's $1.5B round.
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Gaja Alternative Asset Management is spending more time evaluating deeptech and artificial intelligence opportunities, co-founder and CEO Gopal Jain said. Coverage in those areas is growing at 50% a year, compared with 25% across the firm's broader portfolio.
Deeptech has long been venture capital territory. Domestic PE firms have stayed on the sidelines. That is starting to change as startups show they can generate revenue and scale. This year, deeptech companies raised $2 billion across 179 deals, according to Tracxn. Deal value has already topped last year's $1.6 billion, even though the number of deals has fallen from 433 in 2025.
Gaja recently joined Sarvam AI's Series B round, putting $75 million into the second tranche. The foundation model startup was valued at $1.5 billion, up nearly 13.5x from its $111 million valuation in 2023. The first tranche, led by HCL Technologies, raised $234 million in June. Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners also participated.
Jain said the Sarvam bet reflects a belief that self-reliance will become more important as India grows. "India is no longer a small economy, it is a large one that is seeing self-reliance becoming more and more important," he said. The firm is also looking at intelligent manufacturing, defence and quantum technologies.
The deeptech push does not mean Gaja is leaving its traditional sectors. "Every few years we will add a sector. As the team grows, our resources grow, our depth grows, we don't leave a traditional sector," Jain said. The firm has historically backed consumer brands, financial services, tech-enabled services and enterprise tech.
Gaja filed an updated draft red herring prospectus in December for a ₹656-crore IPO, comprising a ₹549 crore fresh issue and a ₹107 crore offer for sale. The IPO is managed by JM Financial and IIFL Capital Services. The firm is also scaling its fund platforms. It plans a ₹2,500-crore fifth fund, larger than its previous funds. A ₹1,250-crore secondaries vehicle is also being raised, the filing showed.
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