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IIDA – Innovators & Industry Deeptech AI Alliance is Group of Innovators, sectoral industry leaders, Enablers & Researchers.
The Indian Government’s 100k cr Research, Development & Innovation fund(RDI) has come to fill whitespace in Deeptech Opportunities. VCs have formed Indian Deeptech AI Alliance.
Achal & I have been working on AI Reasoning & Decision Intelligence stack for quite a long time & above seems like a breather. Yet funds do not solve all the problems.
FRO(Focused Research Org) & FIO (Focused Innovation Org)
IIDA is our answer for frugal innovation complementing. We aim to build it as an Focused Research Org(FRO) that can power multiple Focused Innovation Organisations (FIO) – For Profit orgs
Eg AI4Bharat as FRO & Sarvam as FIO.
Vaayu sponsors, supports & believes in ABAIA & IIDA mission & Atul has been involved in founding IIDA, ABAIA.
This is a collective moat for members which is hard to replicate.,
IIDA is initiative by non profit – All Bharat AI Association. (ABAIA)
Vaayu co-sponsored the roundtable to build a founding team for IIDA.
Outsized outcomes in Deeptech AI in beyond obivous ways
We cover unique micro insights beyond the obvious, where founders, VCs, and innovators can tap in.
“Build & Invest in Good Ideas that look bad” – Scott Kupor, Managing Partner, a16z.
Because if clear metrics like ARR & customer validation, GTM motion could define Deeptech, then it wouldn’t have needed a Govt fund to chip in.
On the other hand, many Investors think Deeptech will need 10-25yrs gestation period.
So, it’s obvious, A founder or VC who can work beyond obvious edges alone can make outsized outcomes.
Insights from Germany, UK, US – Focused Research Org(FRO)
Achal, my co-founder & I have some unique experience working what may be loosely called as Deeptech unit of Fortune 200 firms in US, UK & Germany.
I have long maintained that teams in Oracle, Salesforce, SAP don’t do poetic innovation, but very commercial sort of work which borders innovaiton & engineering.
At Vaayu we call it Engineering Led Innovation.
We have been building Reasoning & Decision Intelligence infra even before these terms were fully formed with focsued outcomes. We very minutely understand the Indian ecosystem, US, UK with our numerous talks with potential clients, billionaires, Unicorn founders, VCs.
Focused Innovation Org(FIO) & its benefits
FIO is modelled after FRO, which have gotten recognition in US, UK & also under Deeptech program by Indian Govt.
Focused Research Organizations (FROs) are non-profit, time-limited entities designed to solve specific, engineering-heavy scientific challenges, bridging the gap between academic research and commercial R&D
Read more about FROs in US/UK/EU
While FIO, We propose as a profit organisation modelled after FRO & Innovation units in private organisations. FIOs can feed from FROs & over time can also fund them.
Vaayu’s attempts as Focused Innovation Org
For last couple of years, we proposed something like FIO under Vaayu – Very focused to achieve a commercial goal. In 2023, Adept raised a $300m round to build AI Reasoning.
We proposed to build a team under Vaayu of Engineers & AI Researchers – For merely 2cr. We even convinced India’s top AI researchers to work for it at a peanut salary. Including founders & these folks were hungry to do something different.
Our thesis – there are yet waves to come – we should be among rare teams across world.
That moment was Deepseek. And there will be multiple more waves on that front.
Focused Research India’s RDI – 100K Cr fund & VC Alliance & IIDAs fitment
India’s 100k cr RDI fund announcement has catalysed hopes. Indian VCs did their bit also & announced India Deeptech AI Alliance.
So much that VC firms are thinking of forming their own Deeptech funds. But reality is way more nuanced & often confusing.
Focued
Why IIDA is important – A lesson from NASSCOM & Fortune 500
The situation for AI builders in India isn’t as much daunting as it was for NASSCOM to position India as a skilled workers hub.
Lemme tell you. Building Deeptech which gets ,dethe sired outsized outcome within the constraints is very very hard.
For one gestation period is considered to be more than 10yrs which doesn’t fit VCs fund life.
But it misses the whole nuance. There is whole spectrum of innovation that may be targeted.
But it needs multi-disciplinary understanding of eco-system
Despite that, there are unique, creative ways to execute it in frugal budgets. But of course there’s no way to have a proven playbook or sort of benchmarks for Indian VCs or founders are seeking
Challenges in capitalising Deeptech
Anyone wanting to capitalise needs to understand the fine micro nuances that don’t even exist, work under ambiguity & uncertaininty and evolve new frameworks that aren’t even established.
For by logic, if it was obvious, then VCs ould have already built it & govt funding wouldnt’ have been needed.
On top, for a realistic plan we have to respect the constraints like Capital, talent exposure, and ,market competition.
Most founders & VCs are trying to wrap up SaaS or revenue-based metrics onto Deeptech.
Team is very important – IIDA is only for tiny niche & daredevils
Innovation under constraints isn’t for everyone. There are no established frameworks.
On top, remember – we have to respect the constraints of capital, availability of talent exposure, market matureity etc.
We estimate that just 3k-15k people max will even match the profile required in India. So actual SOM may be only 300. While IIDA aims to have just 15-30 founding members. Not all of them are actually daredevils
Role of IIDA & Collaborative differential effort
Below are deep work which are not easy to build
In my many talks to VCs – Deeptech are being evaluated as customer experience. This is the first fallacy.
I have given an example that – my tryst with computers started with Photoshop in my teens. But what made me money was data structures, algorithms, operating systems. Similarly, for you it may be structured boring subjects must have given you money. Eg For an MBA, the structured management gave money.
Unfortunately, all they system in India is geared towards immediate signals – ARR, GTM Motion, Customer experience.
My apology. But this does not apply to Deeptech. It’s like saying a Photoshop designer is more skilled than an engineer because his designs have more utility, more people & gives immediate revenue/validation.
Deeptech AI isn’t gonna work like that. On top also – unless Deeptech is geared towards category winning, IP & deep engineering & innovation, It’s impossible to get outcomes.
This post is about lateral thinking & High agency to make things happen.
There aren’t established frameworks, yet there are fragmented lessons we take from US, UK, China, NASA. But more uniquely we combine with micro observations of group while building our own Reasoning & Decisioning infra.
Unique positioning, depth in frugal budgets
IIDA aims to build for white space for outsized outcomes. We aim to fit in the existing system of RDI and IDTA, Global eco-system but complementing it & filling the the side.builders’ Our moat comes from filling white spaces with unique insights to build frugal innovation, but as category winners.
This moat will be hard to replicate & compounding
