Startup Policy Forum Launches DeepVerse to Carry Deep-Tech Founders' Concerns Into Policymaking
The Startup Policy Forum has launched DeepVerse, a Centre for DeepTech Innovation with an 18-member advisory board drawn from Accel, Ather, Skyroot, Digantara and MeitY Startup Hub. It will turn founders' sector-specific concerns across ten deep-tech areas into policy proposals.
India's deep-tech founders now have a new body that aims to turn their regulatory problems into policy proposals. The Startup Policy Forum (SPF), an industry-led advocacy group, launched DeepVerse on 6 October 2026. SPF describes it as a Centre for DeepTech Innovation that will bring together startups, investors, government, academia and global technology companies.
What DeepVerse is
DeepVerse is not a fund or an incubator. It is a platform for policy dialogue, research and collaboration across the ecosystem. It covers ten sub-sectors:
- Semiconductors
- Advanced manufacturing
- Spacetech
- Quantum technology
- Defence tech
- Biotech and healthtech
- Cleantech and energy
- Drones and aerospace
- Electric vehicles
- Robotics
Participation has three tiers: Deep Core, Deep Circle and Patrons. Members will raise sector-specific problems, such as testing approvals, export licensing or public procurement rules, which DeepVerse will then turn into policy recommendations. SPF says DeepVerse will soon publish a report setting out policy actions across all ten sectors.
Who is involved
An 18-member advisory board guides the centre. It includes investors such as Prashanth Prakash (Accel), Anjali Bansal (Avaana Capital), Pankaj Mitra (Bessemer Venture Partners), Hemant Mohapatra (Lightspeed) and Vishesh Rajaram (Speciale Invest). Founders on the board include Tarun Mehta (Ather Energy), Pawan Chandana (Skyroot Aerospace), Anirudh Sharma (Digantara) and Naman Pushp (Airbound). From government and academia it includes Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO of MeitY Startup Hub, and B. Chagun Basha of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser.
SPF’s release identifies an 18-member advisory board and separately lists 30 member organisations across Deep Core, Deep Circle and Patrons. These describe different groups, rather than competing estimates of the same board.
MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan welcomed the launch and said a multi-stakeholder approach is key to growing India's deep-tech ecosystem.
Where it comes from
DeepVerse grows out of SPF's #100DesiDeepTechs programme, launched in 2025 with MeitY Startup Hub, Startup India (DPIIT) and IIT Madras. The programme selected its 100-founder cohort in May 2026 following a nationwide process and held closed-door dialogues between them and regulators, investors and research institutions. DeepVerse turns that one-off cohort into a permanent body.
Why it matters
India has spent heavily on deep-tech supply. That includes the Research, Development and Innovation fund, sector missions in quantum, semiconductors and AI, and a steady stream of new venture funds. Founders increasingly say the bottleneck is elsewhere: slow certification, unclear rules in sectors such as drones and space, and government buyers who are reluctant to be the first customer of an unproven startup.
These are policy problems, and they are hard to solve without organised, sector-specific evidence from the companies affected. DeepVerse's value will depend on whether its forthcoming report produces specific, actionable proposals that ministries actually adopt. Watch for that report and for which recommendations the government takes up.