IIT Madras to launch Rs 200 crore VC Fund, target next-gen unicorns

IIT Madras announces the launch of a Rs 200 crore VC fund to nurture startups and target next-gen unicorns. The fund will focus on Series-A and pre-Series A investments in IITM-incubated companies

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is set to catalyse the launch of a Rs 200 crore Venture Capital fund, called the IIT Alumni Fund, targeting the next generation of unicorns.

 

With the number of startups emerging from IIT Madras increasing exponentially in recent years, the institute anticipates several more unicorns in the future and seeks to nurture these startups through careful investments that will help them scale.

 

The IITM Alumni Fund will focus on Series-A and pre-Series-A investments. It will be a legally separate entity from the institute, created to focus on the growth of IITM startups. A large majority of the investments will be in IITM-incubated startups.

 

Investors in the fund are likely to include alumni and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). The fund will operate as a regular VC fund in terms of processes and governance.

 

IIT Madras Incubation Cell has already incubated 500 startups with a combined valuation exceeding Rs 50,000 crore (approx. $6 billion) and has created more than 11,000 jobs. Ather Energy recently became the first IIT Madras-incubated startup to go public and the second IIT-M incubated unicorn after Uniphore, a global conversational AI and automation company. 

 

Making the announcement, V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “In our first fund, we aim to raise Rs 200 crore through the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’. All of you (the entire alumni community) can invest in this fund to help IITM startups and yourselves. Here is an opportunity to work with great startups, great technologies, and invest in them so that we both grow. This fund will also help accelerate our vision of ‘Start-up Shatam,’ where the institute seeks to incubate 100 deep-tech startups every year.”

 

Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “We are at the cusp of an entrepreneurship revolution at IITM and need to carefully curate and scale the exciting startups emerging here so that they maximise their impact. 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.”

 

The key difference between the ‘IITM Alumni Fund’ and other regular VC funds is that the institute will proactively work with its alumni to raise funds and will expose this VC fund to its startup ecosystem.

 

In addition, the fund and its investors will also support the IIT Madras ecosystem that nurtures startups, leading to a virtuous cycle of incubation and investment.