Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) announced on Saturday that its Incubation Cell, for the first time, has incubated 104 deep tech start-ups in one financial year in 2024-25. This number was at 61 start-ups in 2023-24.

The achievement was through the collaborative efforts of IITM IC along with its sector-specific incubators - Pravartak, Bioincubator, HTIC MedTech, RTBI, and the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT-M, the institute said. Around 50 per cent of these 104 start-ups were founded by faculty, staff, students and alumni of IIT-Madras, reflecting a strong innovation and entrepreneurship culture at the Institute.

Professor V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, noted that the fact that these start-ups are all of deep tech in nature across robotics , space tech, UAV, biotech, assistive tech, and others, made it a bigger feat. “We want to achieve ‘Startup Shatam’ and incubate 100 start-ups every year. This way, I am sure that even an IPO every week is possible, so let’s dream to achieve it,” he said. He added that the current generation has ambitions beyond just getting jobs and only 60 per cent of a class generally seek jobs with others focused on entrepreneurship and other pursuits. 

IIT-Madras Director V. Kamakoti awarding emerging entrepreneurs part of the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell at an event on Saturday

IIT-Madras Director V. Kamakoti awarding emerging entrepreneurs part of the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell at an event on Saturday | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Dr. Tamaswati Ghosh, the CEO of IITM Incubation Cell, said that the achievement reflects the dedication of the IC team and the effectiveness of their strategic partnerships. “This milestone showcases the maturity of the IITM ecosystem, which provides deep-tech startups the confidence and resources to build, scale and thrive,” she added. Ghosh noted that they will also welcome start-ups from regions like East Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, going ahead. 

Systematic mechanisms

“This [reaching 100 start-ups] is largely thanks to the systematic mechanisms in the Institute for supporting a culture of translational research based on deep science and starting up, institutionalised through multiple organisations working in concert. In the coming year, we plan to strengthen the mentoring and go-to-market strategies as well as drive the emergence of ‘multinational’ start-ups, another vision articulated by our leadership,” Prabhu Rajagopal, Head, School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT Madras, said.

Over the last 12 years, IITMIC has incubated a total of 457 deep-tech start-ups, collectively valued at over ₹50,000 Crores (based on investments raised from VCs), with two unicorns and one company on the verge of an IPO.

Notable success stories of the incubator include Ather Energy, Uniphore, Medibuddy, Hyperverge, Stellapps (MooPay), Planys, Agnikul, GUVI, Detect, Galaxeye, and more. Further, the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which houses IITM’s pre-incubator Nirmaan, hosts 129 pre-venture teams actively working on deep-tech themes.

Published on April 26, 2025