IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) is partnering with Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) to launch a Rs 600 crore deep tech fund called ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I’. The fund will have Rs 400 crore ‘greenshoe option’ and target 25+ startups, initially.

IITMRP and UIV will play an equal role in strategic portfolio construction with a significant portion of the companies to be sourced from IITM’s larger ecosystem and balance from the wider Indian deep tech ecosystem.

 “Science and technology will play a crucial role in India’s growth story and towards India becoming Viksit Bharat in 2047. We will need to focus on technological sovereignty in several areas including AI, semiconductors, defence tech and quantum technology. The need of the hour is to reduce reliance on technology imports and strengthen indigenous capabilities through fostering more deep-tech entrepreneurship and innovation. IIT Madras has been in the forefront of this wave for over a decade, and this Fund is another logical step for us as we try to support and scale our startups with patient capital”, V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said.

While the average first cheque size  of ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I’ would be Rs 8-10 crore, majority of the portfolio will be focused on early-stage deep tech companies that have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 – 4.  It will represent “patient capital” and is a 10+2-year Fund. Also, 60% of the corpus will be used for building the portfolio and the balance will be reserved for follow-on rounds.

 “India’s deep tech ecosystem is at an inflection point. We have demonstrated that without pouring in billions of dollars, we can build mission-driven, globally competitive and innovation-led startups from here. This initiative has given us the necessary impetus to further accelerate the speed of innovation at IITMRP. We are keen to align with some of the most cutting-edge deep tech startups and Unicorn India as partners will give us a headstart to shape up India’s deep tech future for the world” Natarajan “Nat” Malupillai, CEO, IITM Research Park, said.

IITMRP is India’s first university-based research park, created to bridge the gap between academia and industry and accelerate deep-tech innovation. Spread over more than 11 acres with over 1.2 million square feet of workspace, the park hosts research-driven companies, global corporations, and incubated startups working across multiple sectors and technologies. It fosters collaboration by providing advanced infrastructure, laboratories, and direct access to world-class faculty and research scholars from IIT Madras.