Deep-tech startup Discovered Materials has secured $9 million (Rs 85 crore) in a seed funding round spearheaded by Lightspeed India Partners, with involvement from Y Combinator, Peak XV Partners, and international angel investors such as Paul Graham, Gokul Rajaram, and Thariq Shihipar.

Discovered Materials announced in a press release that the new funding will be utilized to grow the team and laboratory while enhancing its AI research agents.

Established by Advaith Sridhar and Akash Ramdas, Discovered Materials is a deep-tech startup powered by AI that addresses thermal dissipation issues in AI chips capable of producing over 140W/cm². The firm is creating thermally conductive dielectric substances for 3D chip packaging.

The startup deploys cloud-driven autonomous AI agents that conduct thousands of virtual material hypotheses each day, utilizing tailored model harnesses that integrate cutting-edge AI models. The candidates for AI-generated content are subsequently assessed via physics simulations to determine their stability, dielectric constants, and thermal characteristics.

Discovered Materials has introduced the Material Discovery Bench to assess the performance of cutting-edge AI systems on actual semiconductor material issues. The startup aims to patent valuable material candidates and license the resulting thermal management and semiconductor technologies to international chip manufacturers.

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The company claims its AI systems have created new thermal materials in three months, achieving performance similar to products that required years to develop.

Indian deep-tech startups are still drawing the attention of investors, with fresh funding covering AI, mobility, healthcare, and energy technologies. E3 Electric.Ai, located in Bengaluru, secured Rs 100 crore in a Series A funding round spearheaded by BluVenture Holdings to enhance and market its AI-driven electric scooter, E3 TRION.

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In the meantime, eNLife Research secured Rs 6 crore in a seed funding round led by Piper Serica VC Fund to create an AI-powered blood-based diagnostic system for the early identification of Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative conditions.

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By July 2026, deep-tech startups in India had secured $1.62 billion through 140 equity rounds.