BYT Capital, a deep-tech focused venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its maiden INR 180 crore Category II Alternative Investment Fund aimed at backing early scientific and engineering innovation.

The firm was founded by Amit Chand, Dinesh Kumar and partners, and plans to support companies working at the frontier of research and technology.

According to the firm, more than half of the fund has already been subscribed, reflecting strong interest from early backers. The final close is expected by the third quarter of 2026.

Within the INR 180 crore corpus, INR 80 crore has been set aside as a green shoe option. Depending on investor demand, the firm may expand the fund by an additional INR 30 crore to INR 40 crore.

The fund is supported by a group of high net worth individuals and family offices with an interest in long term deep-tech investment. BYT Capital plans to invest in 18 to 20 startups, with initial cheques between INR 3 crore and INR 6 crore. Close to 55 percent of the fund has been earmarked for follow-on rounds to help founders scale their technologies.

The firm has already committed investments in sectors such as space technology, life sciences, robotics and clean energy in its first year. These areas represent intellectual property led innovation emerging from Indian research institutions and engineering talent. The fund’s focus is on ventures that can convert laboratory breakthroughs into globally competitive products.

Amit Chand, Founder of BYT Capital, said, “DeepTech is the new infrastructure layer—an unseen but essential foundation for the next era of industrial and economic growth. It enables strategic independence, propels high-value manufacturing, and strengthens India’s position in global frontier innovation. Advances in materials, quantum, defense, clean energy, and AI-for-science are transformative, creating new capabilities, reconfiguring supply chains, and opening markets that didn’t exist before.”

In the long run, BYT Capital aims to create an institutional platform that supports Indian deep-tech founders from the early stages of research to successful global expansion, while also contributing to India’s strategic and technological capabilities.