Deep Tech Startups in 2026: AI, Space and the Frontier

Deep tech is moving from research labs into companies that touch the physical world. At Open Atlas Summit 2026, Raj Pai, Anshu Agarwal and Pranjal Mehta will explore what it takes to build in AI, aerospace, space and other frontier markets where technical risk, capital intensity and commercialization all collide.

Meet the Speakers

Raj Pai

Founder and Partner at Paiconic and former Chief Technologist for the Aviation Systems Division at NASA Ames, with experience across aerospace, digital twins and physical AI.

Anshu Agarwal

General Partner at Converge, an early-stage venture firm focused on technology companies; she brings the investor and company-building perspective.

Pranjal Mehta

Founder and former ePlane entrepreneur, bringing experience from the emerging electric aviation and deep-tech startup ecosystem.

What This Session Is About

A deep-tech startup is not simply a software company with a scientific feature. Its defensibility often comes from difficult engineering, intellectual property, specialized data, hardware, regulated environments or years of technical learning that competitors cannot reproduce quickly.

What Will the Session Explore?

Physical AI expands the startup surface area

AI is increasingly being embedded in robots, aircraft, industrial systems, sensors and infrastructure. This creates opportunities where software intelligence must interact safely with the real world.

Digital twins turn complex systems into learning environments

Virtual representations of physical systems can support simulation, monitoring, predictive maintenance and design. The business opportunity lies in connecting those capabilities to expensive real-world decisions.

Deep tech needs milestone-based de-risking

Investors cannot wait for every technical problem to be solved. Founders need credible milestones that reduce scientific, regulatory, manufacturing and customer risk in stages.

Space and aerospace require real commercial discipline

Technical ambition is not enough. Founders still need a buyer, procurement path, supply chain, certification strategy and economics that can survive outside a prototype.

Capital strategy may be broader than venture capital

Government programs, strategic industry partners, research institutions and milestone-based financing can matter alongside traditional VC in capital-intensive categories.

Why This Session Matters

For immigrant engineers and researchers, deep tech can be a natural bridge between specialized expertise and entrepreneurship. This panel will help attendees think beyond “Can we build it?” toward the harder founder question: “Can we build a defensible company around it?”

Book your Summit tickets: https://luma.com/8c4qusfp