Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has announced the ‘first close’ (Initial funding round) of its deep-tech venture capital fund. This marks a significant milestone in the Institute’s efforts to strengthen India’s deep-tech innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The fund will address a critical gap in India’s deep-tech ecosystem, the availability of capital that is patient enough to support technology development led by domain expertise, technical mentorship and access to institutional networks.
The ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I’, launched by IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures, targets raising ₹600–1,000 crore to provide patient capital to deep-tech startups emerging from and supported by the IIT Madras ecosystem
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, announced the list of start-ups selected to receive funding during Sangam 2026. It is the annual alumni conference of IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA), held in Bengaluru today (26th September 2026).
Highlighting the impact of this VC Fund and IIT Madras’ vision for scaling deep-tech innovation and building India’s product ecosystem, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Viksit Bharat 2047 as envisaged by Hon'ble Prime Minister will be a Startup Nation. This VC Fund is a humble attempt by IIT Madras and Unicorn India to support promising startups cross their respective valleys of Hope and rise up to become an Unicorn.”
The fund is designed to provide patient capital, technical depth and mentorship to deep-tech startups that emerge from, or can be supported by, the IIT Madras ecosystem. Alumni have shown strong interest in the initiative, with investments from alumni exceeding ₹150 crore.
Speaking about the role of alumni capital in supporting deep-tech entrepreneurship, Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations) from IIT Madras, said, ““As alumni and alma mater, our success stories are deeply intertwined. Initiatives such as the VC fund provide an opportunity for our alumni to go a step beyond contributing to IIT Madras and actively invest in the growth and success of its innovation ecosystem. The fund will also play a pivotal role in bridging the ‘patient capital’ gap that is critical to the success of deep-tech startups. It is this kind of sustained commitment and partnership that can strengthen India’s innovation landscape and prove to be a game changer in our journey towards becoming a product nation.”
Further, Mr Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO, IIT Madras Research Park & Incubation Cell, said, “We are a vibrant innovation ecosystem comprising large companies pursuing R&D, and early-stage startups; As a nation, we are seeing a surge in Startups. Scaling-up of these deeptech startups will require right-sized patient capital to go with our research depth, and industry partnerships. This 600+ cr IITM Unicorn Fund will support 24-30 companies that will be support India’s growth agenda and also win global acclaim. Beyond individual startups, our ambition is to strengthen India’s technology capabilities, build greater self-reliance in critical sectors and position India as a leader in frontier technologies”