From Smartphones to Deep Tech: Why Micromax Is Betting on India's Next Technology Cycle

Micromax once represented India's push into affordable consumer electronics.

Today, the company is positioning itself around something considerably broader: the infrastructure and technologies that could define India's next phase of industrial growth.

The company's ₹250 crore family office is looking to invest in deep-tech startups working across artificial intelligence, semiconductors, defence, space and robotics.

At the same time, its wider business ecosystem is expanding deeper into electronics manufacturing, memory and storage, IT hardware and automotive electronics.

Taken together, these moves point to an important shift in where Indian capital is looking for opportunity.

From consumer electronics to technology infrastructure

India's first major technology wave was heavily consumer-led. Smartphones, apps, e-commerce, digital payments and internet services created some of the country's most visible technology businesses.

As AI, data centres, defence technology, space systems and advanced manufacturing expand, demand is growing for the physical infrastructure that makes these industries possible.

That includes semiconductors, memory, servers, electronic components, robotics, sensors and specialised hardware.

This is where Micromax's recent moves become particularly interesting.

Its family office is looking at deep-tech startups, while its manufacturing ecosystem is simultaneously developing capabilities in areas such as memory, IT hardware and automotive electronics.

MiPhi and the memory opportunity

One of the clearest examples is MiPhi, the memory and storage venture between Micromax and Taiwan-based Phison.

MiPhi manufactures enterprise solid-state drives in India, along with embedded memory products for applications including automotive, space and telecommunications.

The business generated ₹100 crore in revenue in the financial year ended March 2026.

It reportedly reached ₹250 crore in revenue in the first quarter of FY27, with Bhagwati Products expecting the memory and storage business to exceed ₹1,000 crore for the full financial year.

MiPhi's partnership with Phison is also significant because semiconductor-related capabilities are difficult to build overnight.

According to Bhagwati co-founder Rahul Sharma, Phison has invested heavily in controller technology and R&D over many years.

That highlights an important characteristic of deep tech: competitive advantage often comes from accumulated engineering knowledge, specialised technology and manufacturing experience rather than simply having a good idea.

Building across three electronics ecosystems

Bhagwati Products is also looking beyond its existing smartphone-focused manufacturing business.

The company currently operates across the smartphone ecosystem and manufactures products including tablets, watches and TWS devices. Its next planned areas of expansion include IT hardware and automotive electronics.

The IT ecosystem is expected to include products such as laptops, desktops, servers, switches and routers. The automotive opportunity could extend into display clusters, electronic control units and vehicle control units. The company reported revenue of ₹17,000 crore in FY26, compared with ₹6,500 crore the previous year.

That represents a significant expansion in scale and illustrates the broader opportunity created when India's electronics manufacturing ecosystem moves beyond assembly into more specialised production.

Why deep tech requires different capital

Deep-tech businesses are fundamentally different from many consumer technology startups.

A software company can potentially launch, iterate and reach customers with relatively limited physical infrastructure.

A semiconductor, robotics, defence or advanced hardware company may require years of research, expensive equipment, specialised engineers, regulatory approvals and manufacturing partnerships before commercial scale becomes possible.

That creates a capital problem.

Traditional startup funding often focuses heavily on rapid growth and relatively short paths to scale. Deep tech frequently needs patient capital that can tolerate longer development cycles.

This is why the growing participation of family offices, strategic investors and established business groups could become important.

They can potentially provide not only capital but also industry relationships, manufacturing expertise, distribution networks and strategic patience.

The larger investment question

Micromax's ₹250 crore family office is relatively small when viewed against India's overall capital markets. But its significance may lie elsewhere.

It reflects a broader question for Indian investors:

Where will the next decade of technology value creation happen?