What is Deep Tech
There is no standardised definition of Deep Tech. This page provides a shared understanding of what Deep Tech is for the purposes of this wiki.
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Simple Test
Ask the following question:
| Does this work go beyond standard product development with meaningful scientific discovery, advanced engineering, or original research? |
If the answer is yes, this project is deep tech.
More considerations
Usage of the term
The term Deep Tech is almost exclusively used by the startup and venture industry. There is an implicit understanding deep tech refers to a startup or a research project with commercialisation goals.
Level of technical innovation
Deep Tech was initially coined to differentiate a sub-sector of the Tech industry, which was dominated by internet, mobile, or Software-as-a-Service solutions. Deep Tech referred to innovative solutions that went beyond incremental improvements to products or business models. Put a different way, these solutions had scientific or engineering breakthroughs, with the potential to disrupt industries or solve longstanding problems in industries.
Common features of deep tech startups
Providing an objective criteria for the level of technical innovation necessary for Deep Tech recognition is impossible. However, the level of technical expected often means a deep tech startup has:
- Technology arising from work done in tertiary research institutions, such as universities or corporate R&D
- Intellectual property protection (i.e. patents) for core technologies
- PhD-level expertise as part of the startup team or as advisory
These are just helpful markers. A startup may have none of these features but still be recognised as Deep Tech.