China processes nearly 90% of the world's rare earths.

Rare earths are hidden inside everything from EVs and smartphones to fighter jets, making them one of the most critical materials powering the modern economy.

When China restricted rare earth exports in April 2025, the world saw the huge risk of depending on a supply chain controlled by a single country. For Bhaktha Keshavachar, however, it was validation of a bet he had made 6 years earlier.

After exiting Ezetap, Bhaktha founded Chara Tech to create electric motors that don't need rare earth magnets at all. The journey was anything but easy. Six years of R&D. Investors who didn't understand the problem. Customers who weren't convinced. And a motor technology that engineers had known about for over 200 years but never successfully commercialized at scale.

Today, Chara is shipping hundreds of motors, signing major customers, and finding itself at the center of a global geopolitical shift. Bhaktha explains how software became the breakthrough that made rare-earth-free motors practical and what it takes to build a deep tech company long before the market believes the problem exists.

If you are interested in building deep tech for the world, this episode is for you.

0:00 - Trailer
01:10 - When China bans rare earth exports
04:15 - How today’s rare earth shortage is like 1970s oil embargo
05:26 - Are rare earths really rare?
07:23 - Why China has a monopoly
11:43 - 3 reasons why Chara was founded
15:11 - How Chara made a 200-year-old technology practical
16:45 - How software protects deep tech startups
18:53 - The conviction to build deep tech in 2016
21:52 - Why electricity is still the biggest opportunity
26:59 - 4+1 technologies every country should possess
28:17 - The story of 6 years in R&D
33:16 - The response from early customers
36:10 - How China’s ban changed Chara’s journey
39:30 - Why Growth-stage fundraising for DeepTech is Hard
44:28 - What India needs to win in deep tech
52:53 - 3 things needed for a deep tech startup
55:10 - Why the wealthy should invest in deep tech
58:00 - Where Chara is today
01:03:47 - Why Intel lost the race it was winning

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This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.

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