New Delhi, Dec. 18 -- Theia Ventures has led an INR 4.15 crore pre-seed round in Bengaluru-based Novyte Materials, an AI-driven materials discovery startup working to compress discovery timelines and reduce dependence on costly trial-and-error experimentation. The round also saw participation from Sandesh Paturi, co-founder of Venwiz, and Niharika Jain, director of Chemvera.

The investment reflects a growing conviction among deeptech investors that materials innovation, not just software, will determine how quickly industries can decarbonise, scale clean energy systems, and deploy high-performance technologies.

Materials discovery remains one of the most capital-intensive and fragmented parts of industrial R&D. Traditional workflows rel...