SEDEMAC's Long Journey Highlights Sector Delays

SEDEMAC's 17-year path from research to a public listing offers a clear example not just of entrepreneurial effort, but critically, of the delays hindering India's deeptech innovation. While SEDEMAC's founders managed market challenges and funding limits with an efficient strategy, the long timeline points to core sector issues that must be resolved to speed up progress. The focus shifts from celebrating one company's success to examining the structural problems that lengthen the time from lab discovery to a market-ready product.

SEDEMAC's Timeline: A Symptom of Wider Issues

SEDEMAC's 17-year development period, far exceeding the target of eight years, shows the challenges in India's deeptech sector. This long duration isn't just due to a cautious growth strategy; it reflects wider sector problems. A key issue is the slow development of a positive cycle where committed customers boost investor trust, which then funds R&D, manufacturing, and expansion. This cycle, crucial for shortening development, is held back by structural issues, such as limited involvement from Indian businesses in defining problems and co-funding validation. Government programs like iDEX and IN-SPACe are making progress by linking innovation to industry needs, but a comprehensive approach is needed to involve the private sector, possibly through incentives like tax benefits or matching grants.

Bridging the Gap: From Research to Market

Moving from academic research to commercial success in India's deeptech sector faces many challenges. These include long R&D periods, poor collaboration between industry and academia, and few regulatory testing grounds for technology transfer. While India has strong academic research, patenting and methods for transferring technology need improvement. Setting up specific offices in universities to handle commercialization and creating clearer rules for using publicly funded research are vital steps. Funding is also a major obstacle. Even with growing venture capital interest, deeptech startups only received about 9-12% of total VC funding in 2025, much less than the global average of 20%. Programs like the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme and the ₹10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 aim to help by providing long-term funding for early companies. However, how well these programs are put into action and their actual impact are key.

Hurdles in Funding and Talent

India's deeptech sector lacks specialized financial support firms. Investment banks and law firms with deep expertise in deeptech intellectual property, raising capital, and structuring deals are rare, making transactions much harder. This support network, which took decades to build in countries like the US and Israel, is still developing in India. At the same time, the talent pool needs specialized growth. India produces many engineers, but only a small number focus on advanced technologies. Programs combining technology, management, and entrepreneurship are needed, along with pathways for R&D internships and international PhD studies with commitments to return. Talent leaving the country also presents a challenge, as researchers look for better opportunities elsewhere. A weak system for intellectual property and a focus on fast consumer tech over deep R&D projects worsen these problems, resulting in many Indian unicorns holding few patents. Business investment in deeptech has also dropped, reaching a five-year low in 2025, with companies citing risk aversion and long development times as reasons to avoid these areas.

Outlook for India's Deeptech Sector

The future for India's deeptech sector looks promising, supported by government policy, more available capital from programs like the RDI Scheme and Fund of Funds 2.0, and growing business involvement. Reports indicate the deeptech sector could grow by 40% annually until 2027 and contribute significantly to GDP by 2030. The government's decision to extend startup eligibility to 20 years and raise the revenue threshold for benefits shows a strategic shift towards supporting long-term, science-based innovation. Although scaling, hiring talent, and commercialization remain challenging, the sector is developing. The focus is now on better connecting research, startups, and long-term funding to speed up the move from lab to market. The goal is to build enough globally competitive deeptech firms in the next ten years.