Bluehill.VC has successfully closed its maiden frontier-tech fund at ₹400 crore, backed by support from government entities and high-net-worth investors, signalling a rising focus on India’s deep-tech ecosystem and long-term scientific innovation.
Bluehill.VC has closed its maiden frontier-tech fund at ₹400 crore, including a ₹50 crore greenshoe, giving the Chennai-based firm fresh capital to back Indian startups building proprietary technologies in sectors ranging from defence and semiconductors to space, energy and advanced manufacturing.
The firm said the fund drew support from SIDBI, the governments of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, as well as family offices, founders and high net-worth investors from India and the Middle East. According to Bluehill.VC, demand was stronger than the firm could absorb within its planned timetable, and it expects to revisit some of those investors when it raises a second fund, which it is planning for 2027.
Bluehill.VC’s close comes amid broader interest in India’s deep-tech and frontier-tech ecosystem. SIDBI has long channelled capital into startups through multiple fund-of-funds programmes, while Bluehill itself had previously told Business Standard that it was working towards a smaller first fund target of ₹350 crore by the end of 2025. The latest close therefore marks both an expansion in ambition and a faster-than-expected fundraising outcome.
Manu Iyer, Bluehill.VC’s managing partner and co-founder, said the firm sees the next wave of venture value coming from companies tackling difficult scientific and engineering problems rather than consumer internet ideas. He said India now has the talent, policy support and entrepreneurial drive to build globally competitive businesses in areas such as defence, semiconductors, space, energy and advanced manufacturing. Sridhar Parthasarathy, the other managing partner and co-founder, said frontier-tech investing demands patience and technical conviction because the companies take longer to build and are harder to replicate.
Bluehill.VC said it has already deployed more than ₹100 crore across seven portfolio companies and plans to invest another ₹80 crore over the next six months. Its portfolio includes EtherealX, which is working on reusable launch systems, Zebu Intelligent Systems, which focuses on counter-drone technology, Helex, which is developing treatments for genetic kidney diseases, Sophrosyne Technologies, which is building biosensing chipsets, and optoML, a semiconductor startup that recently raised $1.8 million in a round led by Bluehill and A99. The fund is targeting a concentrated portfolio of 15 to 16 companies, with initial cheques of about $1 million to $2 million.
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