Why its difficult to raise funds for a deeptech startup ? 

In every start-up’s life comes a ‘valley of death’, a phase where the company has begun operations but is yet to generate revenue. This valley is steeper for deeptech start-ups, which usually take longer (4-6 years) to achieve a product-market fit

Many deeptech companies start in college labs with the help of institutional infrastructure and resources. While government grants are enough to support lab-level research, deeptech companies need a lot more funding to set up production and launch in the market.

At the same time, it is still too early for any venture capital firm to step in. This is the stage at which most founders give up and the start-up plummets into the valley. In general, Europe does not have many venture capitalists who take moonshot bets — exploratory ventures without assurance of near-term profitability — on deeptech founders.

According to data from PrivateCircle, there were 32 funding deals involving deeptech start-ups during the fourth quarter of the financial year 2021-22, which is just 6 per cent of the 516 total funding deals during the period.

What is Grunuss's strategy to overcome the "Valley of Death"?

Grunuss identified the challenges of the "Valley of Death" early in its establishment and developed a comprehensive strategy to overcome it by pursuing the following actions:

Public funds:

1. Securing public grants at the international European level: Grunuss is actively applying for funding opportunities such as EIC, CETP, ERC, Eurostars, and many more.
2. Securing public grants at the national level: Grunuss is seeking funding in three key countries: Spain, Germany, and Poland.

Private funds:

1. Private funding for simulation development: After six months, Grunuss plans to provide consultancy services to companies developing simulations similar to ours. Additionally, we will start offering our simulation as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product.
2. Strategic partnerships and investment pools: Grunuss has established partnerships with six universities and plans to create investment pools for professors and researchers who believe in and support our project.
   
   

This proactive, multi-faceted approach ensures Grunuss navigates the "Valley of Death" successfully while building a strong foundation for growth and sustainability.

References:

[1] https://epaper.thehindubusinessline.com/ccidist-ws/bl/bl_mumbai/issues/40197/OPS/GFABCAOHU.1+G8JBCB21R.1.html