IIT-M Research Park Ties Up With UIV To Raise Rs 600 Cr Deep Tech Fund
IIT-M Research Park, Unicorn India Ventures back 25+ startups with patient capital
Chennai: The IIT-Madras Research Park (IITMRP) has partnered with Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) to launch a Rs 600-crore deep tech fund ‘IIT-Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I’. The fund will have Rs 400 crore ‘greenshoe option’ and target over 25 startups, initially.
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT-M announced this during the inauguration of Entrepreneurship Summit 2026 on the campus on Friday. The Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell), IIT-M is hosting the 11th edition of its flagship annual event, from February 6 to 8.
The fund was launched in the presence of Swapnil Jain, co-founder at IIT-M-incubated Ather Energy.
E-Summit 2026 is hosting a series of high-impact events that support start-ups from ideation to scale. It will feature on-the-spot investments from angel funds to Series A funds for participating founders/teams during PitchFest and Elevate.
Startup Expo will exhibit over 80 start-ups to students, investors and industry leaders. Additionally, E-Cell supported startups that include 50 ventures that progressed from ideation to Minimum Viable Product (MVP) through E-Cell initiatives like Ideasprint and Bootcamp; 21 school start-ups nurtured by E-Cell through its E-21 initiative will also be showcased. Participating teams (Top five) will get a chance to qualify for Ideabaaz Season 2. The summit will facilitate incubation offers, accelerate early-stage innovation, market readiness and much more.
Prof. Kamakoti said that science and technology would play a crucial role in India’s growth story and towards India becoming Viksit Bharat in 2047. ‘We 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. This fund is another logical step for us as we try to support and scale our startups with patient capital,” he said.
