IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), India’s first university-based research park and a key driver of the country’s deep tech ecosystem, has partnered with Unicorn India Ventures, a deep tech venture capital fund, to launch a Rs 6 billion DeepTech Fund, with an additional Rs 4 billion greenshoe option.

IIT Madras has ranked No 1 for ten consecutive years in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and leads the country in intellectual property creation, averaging more than one patent per day. IITM Research Park hosts global R&D labs, Centres of Excellence and incubators, and, together with the IITM Incubation Cell, has advanced translational research, commercialisation and deep tech startups across SpaceTech, Communications, ClimateTech, EVs, Semiconductor, Quantum and DefenceTech.

To further strengthen this ecosystem, IITM Research Park has appointed Unicorn India Ventures as Fund Manager for the DeepTech Fund.

The fund aims to build a portfolio of over 25 IP-led, engineering-intensive startups in Robotics, SpaceTech, DefTech, Semicon and MedTech, aligned with national strategic priorities. With an average initial investment of Rs 8–10 crore, it will follow a dual-stage strategy.

The fund will invest in early-stage deep tech startups at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3–4 to address early commercialisation challenges. It will also provide capital at early mid-stage (TRL 5–7) to accelerate concept-proven technologies. A portion of the corpus will be allocated to select early late-stage companies at TRL 7–9 with proven products to support scale-up and market penetration.

Dr Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Director, IIT Madras and leader of the Shakti microprocessor initiative, said, “Science and technology will play a crucial role in India’s growth story towards Viksit Bharat 2047, with focus areas including technology sovereignty, AI, semiconductors, defencetech and quantum technology. Reducing reliance on technology imports and strengthening indigenous capabilities is the need of the hour. IIT Madras has been at the forefront of this movement for over a decade, and this fund is a logical next step.

Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO, IITM Research Park, said, “India’s deep-tech ecosystem is at a pivotal moment, supported by enabling policies, sustained R&D investment and strong entrepreneurial aspirations among youth. This fund will accelerate the scale-up of mission-driven, globally competitive startups and strengthen India’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. We are pleased to partner with Unicorn India Ventures to advance India’s deep-tech leadership—imagining, designing and building in India for the world.”

Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “It is an honour to be selected by IITM and IITMRP, which have been central to deep tech innovation in India. With our experience in the sector, we have the resources and network to support early-stage deep tech companies. We have built a portfolio of nearly 30 companies, and this new fund comes at the right time as we have engaged with numerous innovative startups over the past two years. India has the talent, capital and patient investors like us and IITM to combine knowledge, resources and industry connections to support the next generation of deep tech founders.”

The fund will deploy 60 per cent of the investable corpus to build the initial portfolio and reserve 40 per cent for follow-on investments, ensuring sufficient patient capital to support companies through the ‘Valley of Death’. A significant portion of portfolio companies will be sourced from the IITM ecosystem, with the remainder drawn from the broader Indian deep tech landscape.

As Fund Manager, Unicorn India Ventures will mobilise capital beyond the primary corpus and establish a co-investment engine to ensure portfolio companies are not capital constrained. The fund will lead capital-raising efforts through IITM alumni and its global network of limited partners, including family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and large Indian institutions.