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Facebook founder's venture firm to step up investments in India's deeptech, AI and robotics sectors

Rwit Ghosh
3 min read6 May 2026, 11:51 AM IST
B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech.
B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech.(istockphoto)
Summary

B Capital, led by Eduardo Saverin, plans to invest $50-$100 million annually. The firm, which manages over $10 billion in assets, sees potential in India's growing market, particularly in AI and robotics.

Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin's venture capital firm B Capital is looking to increase its exposure in India by investing in deeptech, artificial intelligence and energy transition sectors, according to a top executive.

Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin's venture capital firm B Capital is looking to increase its exposure in India by investing in deeptech, artificial intelligence and energy transition sectors, according to a top executive.

“We want to try to deploy $50 million to $100 million in India on an annual basis,” Karan Mohla, general partner at Singapore-based B Capital, said in an interview with Mint. “We see India as our primary market after the US.”

“We want to try to deploy $50 million to $100 million in India on an annual basis,” Karan Mohla, general partner at Singapore-based B Capital, said in an interview with Mint. “We see India as our primary market after the US.”

The 10-year-old firm invested in global enterprise tech in its initial five years and in consumer tech over the next two to three years. B Capital is now broadening its horizons to become more sector-agnostic in a bid to generate outsized returns.

B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech. On the AI side, venture capital has become selective – while deal completion is lower, cheque sizes are larger for companies proving they have future-proof technology.

Investors have exited sub-sectors of deeptech like precision manufacturing through public offerings of aerospace components maker Aequs and high-precision control electronics manufacturer Sedemac Mechatronics. Defence optics company Tonbo Imaging filed for an IPO in December 2025.

B Capital will invest across its four global funds, all of which are currently fundraising. Mohla declined to reveal the final size of these funds, citing regulatory mandates of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm's standard cheque ranges from $5 million to $20 million from Series A through Series C for Indian companies, though it is prepared to write $50 million cheques for the right opportunity. Mohla noted there is a clear opening in the market at Series B and C, where dedicated capital has thinned out since 2022.

Indian competitiveness

Mohla said the decision to invest in AI companies in India is only natural, given the size of the market despite being what he described as a “one half-step” behind the US.

“Companies building AI-enabled services or platforms which take care of deployment and agentic services from India continue to be competitive,” said Mohla.

B Capital isn't the first to build a thesis around India's ability to use AI to compete on services. Last year, Bessemer Venture Partners announced a roadmap for investments in AI-enabled services while global venture firm Lightspeed has made a few investments in this space.

B Capital has been invested in AI lead generation platform Gushwork since it raised a $2 million seed round in 2023 and again when it raised $9 million earlier this year.

“There's a lot of space for startups to build very deep vertical plays across back-office roles like HR, finance, CFO's office and finops,” said Mohla. “Whatever the Big Four firms do, you could probably end up putting that through AI, and they just become implementation partners. It's an open question for sure.”

Opportunity in robotics

Within deeptech, B Capital is focused on robotics and physical AI, space tech, and advanced manufacturing. India's industrial robotics market hasn't grown very much. There were only 7,600 units being used in the country in 2025, according to IMARC Group. That number is projected to grow to 28,600 units by 2034.

“Everyone is realizing that you've to build sovereign capabilities, and it’s the same for robotics. I think that's where the opportunity is right now,” said Mohla.

There was a flurry of investments into robotics and physical AI startups in the first quarter of 2026. Companies raised $42 million in funding. Unbox Robotics received a $28 million investment from ICICI Ventures, an InfoEdge subsidiary and a clutch of other investors. Physical AI company CynLr is in early discussions to raise $40 million this year and plans to raise $75 million over the next two years.

B Capital's interests on the spacetech front lie in everything ranging from applications to data centres and energy sources in space, except launches.

“It's done. Even if there is more to do, I think it’s well covered,” Mohla said.

In the past four months, two companies signed partnerships to launch data centres into space. Space surveillance startup Pixxel tied up with foundation model company Sarvam to put a data centre satellite in orbit while cloud computing startup Neevcloud is tying up with Agnikul Cosmos to put an AI-focused data centre platform in low-earth orbit.

B Capital's energy transition bets in India are anchored by its existing investments in electric two-wheeler company Bounce and logistics EV firm Turno. The firm is looking across electrification, battery technology and renewable energy, particularly solar.

The firm's total assets under management stand at over $10 billion across over 200 portfolio companies. Some of its Indian companies include trucking and supply logistics company Blackbuck, e-commerce platform Meesho, news aggregator Dailyhunt, edtech Bhanzu, and cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX.

Meet the Author

Rwit is a correspondent at Mint covering India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and the venture capitaRead more

l and private equity firms that back them. Sitting out of Bengaluru, he writes on the new-age tech businesses that the city and the rest of the country seems to continuously be birthing.<br><br> While Rwit’s interests lie in covering the new wave of deeptech, AI, SaaS and consumer tech businesses, he’ll write on consumer brands and fintech (if someone repeatedly explains these sectors to him).<br><br> When he’s not scrolling through the Indian startup forums on Reddit, Rwit is usually trying to figure out early signs of what’s to come next in the ecosystem. As a result, he’s been early to spot trends like VCs becoming more active in backing deeptech, funding bottlenecks for agentic AI startups and a potential revival in edtech through AI. <br><br>Prior to his ongoing stint at Mint, Rwit worked at NDTV Profit as a social media producer while also working on his own stories for the TV channel after he graduated from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. <br><br>When he’s not working on stories, he can be found trying to figure out where he should go to eat next in Bengaluru, or what his next tattoo should look like. If you see him in the wild, you should ask him how he pronounces his name. He’s definitely not tired of being asked about it.

Read Less
Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
HomeCompaniesNewsFacebook founder's venture firm to step up investments in India's deeptech, AI and robotics sectors

Facebook founder's venture firm to step up investments in India's deeptech, AI and robotics sectors

Rwit Ghosh
3 min read6 May 2026, 11:51 AM IST
B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech.
B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech.(istockphoto)
Summary

B Capital, led by Eduardo Saverin, plans to invest $50-$100 million annually. The firm, which manages over $10 billion in assets, sees potential in India's growing market, particularly in AI and robotics.

Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin's venture capital firm B Capital is looking to increase its exposure in India by investing in deeptech, artificial intelligence and energy transition sectors, according to a top executive.

Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin's venture capital firm B Capital is looking to increase its exposure in India by investing in deeptech, artificial intelligence and energy transition sectors, according to a top executive.

“We want to try to deploy $50 million to $100 million in India on an annual basis,” Karan Mohla, general partner at Singapore-based B Capital, said in an interview with Mint. “We see India as our primary market after the US.”

“We want to try to deploy $50 million to $100 million in India on an annual basis,” Karan Mohla, general partner at Singapore-based B Capital, said in an interview with Mint. “We see India as our primary market after the US.”

The 10-year-old firm invested in global enterprise tech in its initial five years and in consumer tech over the next two to three years. B Capital is now broadening its horizons to become more sector-agnostic in a bid to generate outsized returns.

B Capital's decision to increase investments in India comes as green shoots of maturity come up in sectors including AI and deeptech. On the AI side, venture capital has become selective – while deal completion is lower, cheque sizes are larger for companies proving they have future-proof technology.

Investors have exited sub-sectors of deeptech like precision manufacturing through public offerings of aerospace components maker Aequs and high-precision control electronics manufacturer Sedemac Mechatronics. Defence optics company Tonbo Imaging filed for an IPO in December 2025.

B Capital will invest across its four global funds, all of which are currently fundraising. Mohla declined to reveal the final size of these funds, citing regulatory mandates of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm's standard cheque ranges from $5 million to $20 million from Series A through Series C for Indian companies, though it is prepared to write $50 million cheques for the right opportunity. Mohla noted there is a clear opening in the market at Series B and C, where dedicated capital has thinned out since 2022.

Indian competitiveness

Mohla said the decision to invest in AI companies in India is only natural, given the size of the market despite being what he described as a “one half-step” behind the US.

“Companies building AI-enabled services or platforms which take care of deployment and agentic services from India continue to be competitive,” said Mohla.

B Capital isn't the first to build a thesis around India's ability to use AI to compete on services. Last year, Bessemer Venture Partners announced a roadmap for investments in AI-enabled services while global venture firm Lightspeed has made a few investments in this space.

B Capital has been invested in AI lead generation platform Gushwork since it raised a $2 million seed round in 2023 and again when it raised $9 million earlier this year.

“There's a lot of space for startups to build very deep vertical plays across back-office roles like HR, finance, CFO's office and finops,” said Mohla. “Whatever the Big Four firms do, you could probably end up putting that through AI, and they just become implementation partners. It's an open question for sure.”

Opportunity in robotics

Within deeptech, B Capital is focused on robotics and physical AI, space tech, and advanced manufacturing. India's industrial robotics market hasn't grown very much. There were only 7,600 units being used in the country in 2025, according to IMARC Group. That number is projected to grow to 28,600 units by 2034.

“Everyone is realizing that you've to build sovereign capabilities, and it’s the same for robotics. I think that's where the opportunity is right now,” said Mohla.

There was a flurry of investments into robotics and physical AI startups in the first quarter of 2026. Companies raised $42 million in funding. Unbox Robotics received a $28 million investment from ICICI Ventures, an InfoEdge subsidiary and a clutch of other investors. Physical AI company CynLr is in early discussions to raise $40 million this year and plans to raise $75 million over the next two years.

B Capital's interests on the spacetech front lie in everything ranging from applications to data centres and energy sources in space, except launches.

“It's done. Even if there is more to do, I think it’s well covered,” Mohla said.

In the past four months, two companies signed partnerships to launch data centres into space. Space surveillance startup Pixxel tied up with foundation model company Sarvam to put a data centre satellite in orbit while cloud computing startup Neevcloud is tying up with Agnikul Cosmos to put an AI-focused data centre platform in low-earth orbit.

B Capital's energy transition bets in India are anchored by its existing investments in electric two-wheeler company Bounce and logistics EV firm Turno. The firm is looking across electrification, battery technology and renewable energy, particularly solar.

The firm's total assets under management stand at over $10 billion across over 200 portfolio companies. Some of its Indian companies include trucking and supply logistics company Blackbuck, e-commerce platform Meesho, news aggregator Dailyhunt, edtech Bhanzu, and cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX.

Meet the Author

Rwit is a correspondent at Mint covering India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and the venture capitaRead more

l and private equity firms that back them. Sitting out of Bengaluru, he writes on the new-age tech businesses that the city and the rest of the country seems to continuously be birthing.<br><br> While Rwit’s interests lie in covering the new wave of deeptech, AI, SaaS and consumer tech businesses, he’ll write on consumer brands and fintech (if someone repeatedly explains these sectors to him).<br><br> When he’s not scrolling through the Indian startup forums on Reddit, Rwit is usually trying to figure out early signs of what’s to come next in the ecosystem. As a result, he’s been early to spot trends like VCs becoming more active in backing deeptech, funding bottlenecks for agentic AI startups and a potential revival in edtech through AI. <br><br>Prior to his ongoing stint at Mint, Rwit worked at NDTV Profit as a social media producer while also working on his own stories for the TV channel after he graduated from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. <br><br>When he’s not working on stories, he can be found trying to figure out where he should go to eat next in Bengaluru, or what his next tattoo should look like. If you see him in the wild, you should ask him how he pronounces his name. He’s definitely not tired of being asked about it.

Read Less
Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
HomeCompaniesNewsFacebook founder's venture firm to step up investments in India's deeptech, AI and robotics sectors
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