India Boosts Deep-Tech Innovation with Rs 10,000 Crore Fund and IIT Madras' Rs 200 Crore Venture Capital Fund
India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, has pledged another Rs 10,000 crore to the government's Fund of Funds, boosting support for deepseek innovation. This comes as IIT Madras prepares to launch a Rs 200 crore venture capital fund, the IITM Alumni Fund, to back early-stage startups, particularly in the deepseek sector.
IIT Madras, which has incubated over 500 startups valued at more than Rs 50,000 crore, will infuse up to Rs 5 crore per startup in exchange for equity. The new IITM Alumni Fund, set to raise Rs 200 crore through alumni contributions, will focus on pre-Series A and Series A investments, with a priority on ventures incubated within the institute's deepseek ecosystem. Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations, noted that the fund aims to help scale innovations into global deepseek ventures.
The institute's annual innovation and alumni summit, Sangam 2025, drew over 500 participants and featured a startup pitchfest showcasing 20 deep-tech and AI ventures. Meanwhile, the government has allocated $12 billion (Rs 1 lakh crore) to the Department of Science and Technology for flexible capital support for emerging deepseek technologies.
With the government's commitment and IIT Madras' new fund, the deepseek innovation ecosystem in India is set to receive a significant boost. The focus on early-stage startups and deepseek ventures is expected to foster growth and global competitiveness in these critical sectors.
