India Tech Report

Hari Arakali

0.0 (0)
Technology

This is a podcast dedicated to chronicling and supporting the growth of India's deep tech and climate tech startup ecosystems. One conversation at a time.

2d ago

Coming up: Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala on ITEL and his next moonshots

Earlier this week, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who built the IIT Madras Research Park, among many other things, turned 73. The architect of India's technology-led affordable innovation is already steeped in his next set of moonshots, whose scope and ambition is Bharat-scale.And earlier this month, Roots and Wings, his authorised biography, was also released, a required-read for anyone interested in the story of technology in India, written by Saloni Malhotra.Padma Shri Jhunjhunwala, doyen among the architects of India's technology-led affordable innovation, isn't taking a breather. He is already steeped in his next set of moonshots, whose scope and ambition is Bharat-scale.I got a chance to catch up with him to talk about some of these projects, which are in early stage at the Immersive Technology and Entrepreneurship Lab (ITEL), an industry-consortium-led effort to tackle some of India's most entrenched problems.Prof. Jhunjhunwala became Chairman of ITEL after stepping back from the research park two years ago.Catch the full conversation on Tuesday, June 30, 6 a.m. IST.Here's a quick preview.

3 min
5d ago

10 pct challenge: Vinod Shankar at Java Capital on how India can put $1 trillion in deep tech

In today’s episode of Conversations, I’m joined by Vinod Shankar, co-founder of Java Capital, a venture capital firm that has carved a unique niche by focusing on deep tech and climate technology. Vinod’s journey is as specialized as his investments, moving from writing assembly code for mobile processors to leading a fund that backs moonshots in aerospace, silicon photonics, and advanced manufacturing. Vinod recently ignited a lively debate in the startup ecosystem with his provocative essay, titled “I Want India to Win. Just Not With My Money.” He argues that India’s path to becoming a developed nation is being hindered by “sedimented” wealth. For example, consider one data point he highlights: while India’s wealthiest 1 percent control some $11.6 trillion, nearly 60 percent of those assets are frozen in real estate and gold. In other words, not funding the future, he says. He also critiques India’s largest corporations for being “structurally allergic” to R&D risk, noting that global giants such as NVIDIA outspend the entire Indian corporate sector in a single quarter. In this conversation we also talk about Java Capital’s next fund, their third, targeting Rs. 400 crore with a first close coming up, their “stacking” investment strategy, and Vinod’s urgent call for India’s ultra rich investors to allocate 10 percent of their net worth to domestic deep tech to secure the future of the nation’s technological sovereignty. Chapters (01:32) Introduction: Vinod Shankar and the “I Want India to Win” Essay (04:01) The Evolution of Java Capital: From Generalist to Deep Tech Specialist (06:56) A Unique Career Path: From Assembly Code to Venture Capital (09:34) The “Stacking” Investment Model: Connecting Portfolio Dots (13:06) Addressing the “Sediment” Wealth Problem in India (18:37) The Corporate R&D Crisis and the Need for a Virtuous Cycle (26:41) Sovereignty and the Funding Gap: Domestic vs. Foreign Capital (43:24) Java Capital’s Fund III: Moonshots and the Future of Indian Innovation

47 min
Jun 18

Coming up: Vinod Shankar at Java Capital challenges India's ultra rich to back deep innovation

Coming up in the next episode of Conversations at India Tech Report, Vinod Shankar, founding managing partner at Java Capital, discusses a note he wrote recently, calling on India's ultra rich to back deep innovation in the country with just 10 percent of their money.They can afford this, and he does so with his own money, Vinod says. The result of this collective effort, if it happens, could be the transformation of India's science and engineering innovation landscape, he argues.Catch the full interview right here on Tuesday, June 23 at 6 a.m. IST. Here's a 90 second preview.

2 min
Jun 16

Custom silicon: Ramamurthy Sivakumar at HrdWyr on the opportunity to build from India for the world

In today’s episode, Ramamurthy Sivakumar, co-founder and CEO at HrdWyr, a semiconductor design startup in Bengaluru, talks about the company’s plans after recently raising $13 million in Series A funding, in an investment led by Ideaspring Capital.The company was co-founded in 2023 by Siva and Ganesh Guruswamy, both industry veterans spanning companies including Intel, AMD, Sandisk and Motorola.In this conversation, Siva talks about how the era of custom silicon is upon us and what the AI-led opportunity represents. The company specialises in System-on-Chip (AISoC) designs tailored for edge computing and applications like electric vehicles and industrial equipment.HrdWyr’s first product, named Indus 1011, is expected to hit the market by the end of this year, Siva says. In August last year, the company had announced it had picked Tata Electronics as the packaging partner and also that Indian consumer electronics company boAt would be an anchor customer for the chip — a small, but historic milestone for India's semiconductor aspirations.boAt is to use this chip, which offers power management as a core feature, in its truly wireless earbuds charging case.As many of you know, startups such as HrdWyr are getting funded in the time of a broader national push in India for semiconductor self-reliance, supported by significant government investment. Siva notes, however, that significant challenges remain, such as the lack of timely and adequate funding at critical stages.Still, he thinks that the only way forward is to look at the aggregate of all the ongoing efforts — from startups such as HrdWyr to conglomerates like Tata setting up foundries and OSATs — as an opportunity to tap a trillion-dollar sector, and, as a nation building mission.

48 min
Jun 15

Coming up: Ramamurthy Sivakumar at HrdWyr on the implications of building chips from India

In August last year, a little known semiconductor startup (at the time) founded by two industry veterans from India, announced a small, but historic milestone. Not just for themselves, but the country. The startup, HrdWyr Ventures, now more popularly, just HrdWyr, had struck two partnerships, one with Tata Electronics for the packaging of its first chip, and the other with boAt, the consumer electronics company, as an anchor customer for the new processor.boAt would use their chip, named Indus 1011, in its truly wireless stereo earbuds charging cases, the companies had announced. Earlier this month, HrdWyr announced the successful close of its Series A funding round, raising $13 million in an investment led by the well known Bengaluru deep tech VC firm Ideaspring Capital.Last week, I got a chance to sit down with Ramamurthy Sivakumar, co-founder and CEO of HrdWyr to get a sense of what next for him, Ganesh Guruswamy, and their team of 18 engineers. Catch the full interview right here tomorrow, 6 a.m. IST. Here's a quick preview, in which Siva talks about the practical decisions semiconductor entrepreneurs have to make, especially when they decide to go build in a nascent ecosystem such as the one in India.

2 min
Jun 10

Coming up: Intel veteran Ramamurthy Sivakumar on HrdWyr’s roadmap for AI-native chips from India

HrdWyr, a Bengaluru-based semiconductor startup, recently secured $13 million in Series A funding led by Ideaspring Capital to advance its AI-native chip technology. The company specializes in System-on-Chip (AISoC) designs tailored for edge computing and real-world applications like electric vehicles and industrial equipment. A significant milestone for the firm is its partnership with boAt and Tata Electronics to produce the Indus 1011, a locally designed chip for audio wearables. Companies such as HrdWyr are getting funded in the time of a broader national push for semiconductor self-reliance, supported by significant government investment and rising market demand. Yesterday, I spoke to Co-founder and CEO Ramamurthy Sivakumar, an Intel Corp veteran, on HrdWyr’s plans. Catch the full interview right here on Tuesday, June 16th. Here’s a 90 second preview, with Siva talking about the massive influence of AI.

2 min
Jun 9

Deep tech: Ideaspring Capital's founders on the circle of life and other investing lessons (Part 2)

In today’s episode, I bring you Part 2 of an interview with Naganand Doraswamy, managing partner, and Suryaprakash Konanuru, CTO, at Ideaspring Capital in Bengaluru. In this episode, we pick up the conversation with a brief discussion on what the two VC investors are seeing when it comes to the growth of translational research in India — and I want to add that this was in the broader sense of any movement from scientific lab to commercial product, and not just in the medical field, where the term originated. And if you stick around you’ll hear Naganand and Suri discuss their views on how early-stage investing in deep tech is changing, can such investors make meaningful investments in highly capital intensive sectors such as robotics, nuclear fusion and quantum computing hardware, in India, getting something not quite right but moving on, and whether AI is changing their work as well, and in what ways. And as promised in Part 1, we take a quick look at what might represent a ‘Flipkart moment’ in India’s deep tech sector, and the evolution of Ideaspring itself from Fund 1 to Fund 4. Catch Part 1 here:https://indiatechreport.transistor.fm/episodes/deep-tech-ideaspring-capitals-founders-on-investing-with-conviction-eyes-wide-open-part-1

31 min
Jun 8

Ideaspring Capital's founders on their entrepreneurs turned VCs life | Preview

Naganand Doraswamy, managing partner, and Suryaprakash Konanuru, CTO at Ideaspring Capital, a well known deep tech VC firm in Bengaluru, sat down with me recently for an interview, which I'm publishing in two parts.Catch Part 2, the concluding part, tomorrow, in which they talk about the raise-invest-grow-exit imperative of venture investing, and what that means for investing in deep tech startups in India.What's happening in India's top science and engineering schools when it comes to the lab-to-market journey? How is AI changing VC in deep tech and the 'Flipkart moment' of deep tech in India. Catch Part 1 here:https://indiatechreport.transistor.fm/episodes/deep-tech-ideaspring-capitals-founders-on-investing-with-conviction-eyes-wide-open-part-1

2 min

This is a podcast dedicated to chronicling and supporting the growth of India's deep tech and climate tech startup ecosystems. One conversation at a time.

Creator

Hari Arakali
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

145
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Hari Arakali
Show Website

India Tech Report