For founders
We write first institutional cheques into mobility technology companies in India. What we back, how we decide, and what to expect from us.
What we back
Companies whose product improves the movement of people, goods or energy across speed, cost, safety or range, on the ground, in the air, at sea or in orbit. That covers the eight themes on the Thesis page: moving people and goods, electrification, energy and grid, aerial mobility, defence autonomy, space, physical AI and AI in mobility. If your company sits in or next to one of these, we want to hear about it.
We invest at pre-seed and seed, usually as the first institutional investor and usually as lead or co-lead, and we take meaningful ownership so that we can keep backing the company through Series A and B. We look for a founding team with the domain to win the market, technology past the lab (TRL 4 or higher), and at least one customer who has paid or signed.
Three ideas run through every decision.
Right to win. The founding team's structural claim on the market: domain experience, a hard-to-copy technology, or a customer relationship no competitor has. It is the first thing we ask about and the last thing we verify.
Commercial first. A small share of vehicles accounts for most of the distance travelled and energy consumed. We look for the customer already paying for the problem and let the consumer market follow.
Timing. Investing too early is expensive; investing too late leaves no return. We place every opportunity on a matrix of technology readiness against buyer awareness, and we invest where hard-but-realisable technology meets demand that already exists.
How we decide
The supply and demand timing matrix
We place every opportunity on two axes: how ready the technology is, and how aware the buyer is. Select a cell to see how we treat it.
TRL 7 to 9
TRL 4 to 7
TRL 1 to 4
The process
| Step | What happens | How long |
|---|---|---|
| First call | Your context, your product, our questions on use cases, what is proprietary, unit economics, capital and cap table | 45 minutes |
| Our view | We discuss internally and come back with a high-level view: explore further, or not, and why | Within a week |
| Second call | With the full founding team; product demo | Week two |
| Diligence | Data room, sector research, expert calls, customer references, external technical assessment for hardware | Three to six weeks |
| Term sheet and investment committee | Terms agreed with the founders before the committee meets | Week six to eight |
| Closing | Definitive agreements, conditions precedent, wire | Four to six weeks |
Timelines are typical, not promises. Deals with a signed customer and a clean cap table move faster.
What we look for, and what stops us
- Founders who can explain the technology to an engineer and the business to a customer.
- A customer already on the cap table or in the pilot, so that early demand is proven before we invest.
- A structural shift we hold a written thesis on, and a company positioned to benefit from it.
- Named white spaces: battery intelligence for used commercial vehicles, counter-drone software that survives threats that cannot be jammed, grid software for buyers who are not utilities.
What stops us: a team without the domain to win the market it has chosen; no defensible position once an incumbent copies the feature; products that are nice to have rather than essential; capital intensity without a near milestone; direct conflict with a company we have already backed.
After the cheque
- A board seat or observer seat, and a partner who has run a company and is available when needed.
- Introductions to the auto and component groups that invest in our funds.
- Follow-on capital in later rounds; most of our companies have raised two or more rounds after ours.
- A founder community that meets at EVengers and Founder's Adda.
- Clear answers. If we decline, we explain why.
Apply
Send us your deck. Write to hello@advantedge.vc with a short description of the company, the founders, the stage and round, and a link to the deck. We reply to every application, and you will have a view from us within a week of the first call.
If you were referred by a portfolio founder or one of our scouts, mention it; we prioritise referred applications.