8X Ventures

8X Ventures is a Chennai-based, deep-tech-focused venture capital firm founded in 2021 and led by Managing Partner Chirag Gupta. The fund backs early-stage startups built on strong scientific and research foundations — companies it believes can address major global problems and fundamentally transform industries and economies. Its focus areas span water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Industry 4.0, advanced and quantum computing, biotech, and B2B enterprise SaaS, with broader exposure to cleantech, smart logistics and mobility, robotics, AI, big data, 3D printing and IoT. While rooted in India, 8X leverages close relationships across the Middle East and Europe to help portfolio companies expand internationally and attract regional investors for larger follow-on rounds. Its first fund, launched in 2022 with around $24 million, has reportedly returned about 2.1x with a 40%-plus annual return rate. In 2025 the firm announced the first close of a second fund — a ₹200 crore deep-tech vehicle with an option to add another ₹100 crore — through which it plans to back 18–20 early-stage startups over three years, writing initial cheques of ₹2–5 crore and deploying up to roughly ₹20 crore per company including follow-on. Portfolio companies include robotics-and-sanitation innovator Solinas Integrity, Pantherun, Xyma Analytics, LightSpeed Photonics and Enerzi.