IIT Madras, Unicorn India Ventures Announce Rs 600 Cr Frontier Tech Fund

IIT Madras

Bengaluru: IIT Madras Research Park has partnered with Unicorn India Ventures to launch a Rs 600 crore deep-technology fund focused on backing early-stage, IP-driven startups in engineering-heavy domains.

Named IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I, the fund was unveiled at the Entrepreneurship Summit 2026 held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras campus. The fund includes a Rs 400 crore greenshoe option and plans to invest in over 25 startups in its first phase.

The new fund will primarily support startups operating in areas such as robotics, space technology, defence technology, and semiconductors. Portfolio decisions will be jointly led by IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures. While a large share of investment opportunities is expected to come from the IIT Madras ecosystem, the fund will also look at promising deep-tech startups across India.

The announcement was made by V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, during the summit’s opening session.

As per the fund’s structure, initial investments are expected to range between Rs 8–10 crore per startup. The fund will focus on companies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3 to 4, indicating early validation of core technology. About 60% of the corpus will be deployed in first cheques, while the rest will be reserved for follow-on rounds. The fund has a 10-year tenure, with an option to extend by two years.

The initiative aims to help deep-tech startups emerging from research and academic environments scale their innovations.

Natarajan Malupillai , Chief Executive Officer – IIT Madras Research Park

The fund was announced in the presence of Swapnil Jain, co-founder of Ather Energy and an alumnus of IIT Madras.

IIT Madras Research Park said the fund is part of a broader effort to build India’s capabilities in strategic technology areas by providing patient capital to research-led startups.

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