Indian corporates’ involvement in deep-tech startup funding has dropped to its lowest in five years, with just 62 corporate investors participating in 192 deep-tech funding rounds this year (vs ~128 in 2024). Areas impacted include quantum computing, biotech and robotics. Sources attribute this to long time-to-market, higher capital-requirements and uncertain near-term pay-offs. Analysts warn that the slowdown may impede India’s ambition to lead frontier technologies unless the funding ecosystem strengthens or policy incentives increase.