Bengaluru. IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), India’s first university-based research park and a leading force behind India’s deep tech transformation and Unicorn India Ventures, India’s leading DeepTech VC on September 26 announced first close of its Rs 1000 crore fund at Rs 450 crore in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The first close has been achieved in a record three months after receiving SEBI’s approval. The final close is expected by December 2026.
Commenting on the first close, Prof Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director of IIT Madras said, “At IIT Madras, we have built an ecosystem that has nurtured several deep tech companies who have consistently demonstrated TRL growth and with a joint fund with best in class deep tech investors Unicorn India, we are now confident that these companies will not only get access to patient capital but also strategic growth guidance as well. With Unicorn India’s capability and depth, we have reached the first close in record three months, which is a feat and we are confident that as we build a high potential portfolio with this fund, we will give India some of the best deep tech startups as we have done in the past.”
The fund also announced deploying nearly Rs 55 crore in 4 deep tech startups marking a significant milestone in its efforts to strengthen India’s deeptech ecosystem.
The four deeptech startups are:
Hathor (Chennai-based spacetech startup building specialised semi-cryogenic and cryogenic rocket engines for small and medium satellite launch vehicle companies)
Quanstra (Delhi-based quantum deeptech startup developing single-photon detection systems and advanced quantum instrumentation for research and emerging industrial quantum applications)
Triolt Energy (Developing high-performance Lithium-Ion battery cells optimised for drones and fast charging electric mobility applications)
Carbelim (Developing bio-integrated carbon capture and air purification systems using proprietary microalgae technology)
The Fund will focus on six high-conviction verticals where India holds a structural “right to win” globally:
• Defence Technology (import-substitution)
• Space Technology (space-qualified hardware at 1/10th global cost),
• Semiconductors (fabless design and IP ownership)
• Manufacturing Technology, Robotics and Automation
• AI Infrastructure/GenAI (sovereign enterprise AI)
• Health Tech ( for providing healthcare for bottom of pyramid)
Every investment would be screened for global export potential, strategic import substitution, and sovereign technological advantage before capital is committed.
Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “India is undoubtedly entering a defining decade for deep tech startups and is moving from promise to scale. As investors, it’s an honour for us to partner with IITM and IIT Madras Research Park, which have been the backbone of deep tech innovation in India. Through our partnership with IIT Madras, we aim to provide early founders the capital and strategic support required to scale and build globally competitive companies from India. With the ₹450 crore first close and our four investments already made, we intend to continue building a portfolio of high-potential deep-tech ventures that can create significant technological and economic value.”
“The presence of the Finance Minister makes this milestone particularly significant, as it reflects the growing recognition of deep-tech as a critical driver of India’s next phase of innovation and economic growth with a focus on tech sovereignty,” he added.
Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO, IITM Research Park, Incubation Cell and RTBI said, “India has the scientific and engineering talent to build world-class technologies. IIT Madras Research Park and the Incubation Cell has pioneered translational research and innovation for large companies and nurtured Deeptech startups. As the entrepreneurial ambition grows, we see a need to support them with right-sized, patient capital. The IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund-I brings long-term capital into the IIT Madras innovation ecosystem, helping scale-up of IP-led, globally competitive companies from India. Beyond individual startups, our ambition is to strengthen India’s technology capabilities, build greater self-reliance in critical sectors and position India as a source of frontier technologies for the world.”
With the first close reached, the fund will continue to invest in IP-led deeptech, engineering-heavy startups, with an aim to build a portfolio of 25 startups. The fund is being backed by leading alumni from IIT Madras (IITM) and prominent family offices and is targeting a final close by the end of this year wherein institutional investors and banks will join in.
Unicorn India Ventures, as the fund manager will leverage its ability to mobilise capital beyond the primary fund corpus and build a robust co-investment engine to ensure that portfolio companies are never capital starved.
