Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has planned to launch ₹200 crore venture capital fund called ‘IITM Alumni Fund’ to support early-stage start-ups. The fund will particularly focus on deeptech ventures. It was announced during IIT Madras Sangam 2025 event in Bengaluru.
IIT Madras to Launch ₹200 Cr VC Fund for Early-Stage Deeptech Start-Ups
IIT Madras is setting up a ₹200 crore venture capital fund aimed at supporting early-stage deeptech start-ups, primarily those incubated at the institute. The fund, backed by alumni and high-net-worth individuals, will operate like a traditional VC fund but with deeper ties to the IITM ecosystem
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras
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The institute, in an official statement, said that the fund will focus on Series A and pre-Series A investments in India. It will be a separate entity that is being established to focus on the growth of IITM start-ups. And the majority of investments will go to IITM-incubated ventures.
Investors in this fund are likely to be from the alumni and HNI (high-net-worth individuals) community. The fund will function as a regular VC fund in terms of process and governance.
The key difference between the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’ and other regular VC funds will be that the Institute will help proactively work with its alumni to raise funds and will expose this VC fund to its startup ecosystem, the institute said.
Speaking about the investment, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras said, “…opportunity to work with great start-ups, great technologies and invest in them so that we both grow. This fund will also help accelerate our vision of ‘Start-up Shatam,’ in which the Institute seeks to incubate 100 deep-tech start-ups every year”.
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“A focused Series A-level VC fund, where the investors are our own alumni and well-wishers, who have already contributed significantly to the growth of our ecosystem, is exactly what is going to get us there. We are thrilled to launch this fund,” said Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras.
The institute anticipates several more unicorns in the future and is seeking to nurture these start-ups with careful investments that will help them scale.
IIT Madras Incubation Cell has already incubated 500 start-ups that have a combined valuation in excess of ₹50,000 crore and created more than 11,000 jobs.
Ather Energy recently became the first IIT Madras-incubated start-up to go public and the second IIT-M incubated unicorn after Uniphore, a global conversational AI and automation company.
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