SeaFund is a Category 2 Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is an early stage focused technology fund with Deeptech as one of its underlying themes. The fund provides Capital to mission-driven teams building Technologies of Tomorrow and brings its Commitment, Network and Experience to each of their investments. Their mission is to help the next set of technical founders, with early Venture Capital, to build highly scalable and efficient Global Businesses. Along with Fintech, Enterprise SaaS and Healthcare, the fund also focuses on AI, Semiconductors, Space, Energy, Climate and Materials
In a recent interview, Abdullah interacted with Narendra Bhandari, General Partner, Seafund in which he discuss about the investment strategy with the trends in automation within EV Industry, potential of automation technologies in improving EV production process, scalability of automation technology while investing in the EV sector, Seafund’s network and experience have previously helped startups in the Deeptech and EV sectors, role of automation in advancing the sustainability goals within the EV industry, risk factors to consider when investing in automation technologies for EVs.
How does Seafund’s investment strategy align with the trends in automation within the electric vehicle (EV) industry?
Our early investments in Swapp Design, Simmatricals focussed on the ingredients of Electric Mobility. The thesis was to be an OEM supplier to multiple EV OEMs and charging infrastructure. The trends in the automotive industry will focus on localization, energy efficiency and best of the breed Ingredients over time. Vertical Integration for all players will require significant capital investment and talent.
Given Seafund’s concentration on Deeptech, how do you assess the potential of automation technologies in improving EV production processes?
Volume will drive the need for Automation which delivers quality and scale. Technologies which power the automation will be critical to build scale in the EV industry.
What synergies do you see between the EV automation industry and Seafund’s other areas of interest, such as AI, semiconductors, and energy?
Automation will require Advanced Robotics powered by semiconductors and Advanced AI and sensing. Seafund is continuously looking at semiconductor design ventures, AI and AI infrastructure which gets into Localised IoT solutions. Energy storage technologies will be critical in large automation projects and sustainable energy storage solutions are aligned to Seafund investment strategies.
How crucial is scalability of automation technology while investing in the EV sector?
Automation is critical to achieve scale in manufacturing because technology costs only tend to go down and even out when a certain scale is reached. Given the EV adoption is at nascent stage in India currently but the potential is explosive. It’s a matter of 3 – 5 years coupled with factors like entry of EV giants in India, when these trends will align, we will witness the acceleration of automation adoption in the EV industry.
Can you discuss how Seafund’s network and experience have previously helped startups in the Deeptech and EV sectors to scale and succeed?
Seafund team has decades of experience in Semiconductor, Software and Data sciences. Our backgrounds as operators help startups in their Growth, compliance and operations to scale and increase chances of success.
How does Seafund view the role of automation in advancing the sustainability goals within the EV industry?
The EV Industry has definitely benefited from a lesser number of parts and of course no fossil fuels or emissions. As the Factory Automation advances, there is a great opportunity to use clean energy to run the factories, Integrate with suppliers aligning with Sustainability goals and most importantly work with the circular economy of batteries to maximise use and effective recycling. New age materials and technologies which can generate and store cleaner energy will be critical for the EV industry scale.
What risk factors do you consider when investing in automation technologies for EVs, and how does Seafund mitigate these risks?
The EV industry has seen innovation at several fronts in areas of Control units, Vehicle design, charging infrastructure and energy. Automation is applied to each of these and more components as they achieve scale. Our attention will be towards the viability of Automation and related capital investments which can justify the financial investment.
How does the investment in automation for EVs fit into Seafund’s long-term vision for technology-driven industries
From semiconductor manufacturing to mobile phones to satellite launches all benefit from volume and scale. Our long term vision is to enable scale in a clean and a sustainable manner.