Unicorn India, IIT Madras hit $47M first close on $100M deep-tech fund
What's the deal? Unicorn India VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with IIT MadrasDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and IIT Madras Research ParkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has announced a US$61.1M first close of its US$135.8M (roughly $100 million) IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund-IDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The venture fund targets a final close by December 2026.
Why now? The first close came three months after approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The announcement was made in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
What's the endgame? The fund will back deep-tech startups across six verticals where managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar said India has a structural "right to win" globally.
These span defence technology and import substitution, space technology, semiconductors, manufacturing and robotics, AI infrastructure, and health technology aimed at low-income patients. Every investment is screened for export potential, strategic import substitution, and sovereign technological advantage before capital is committed.
Where's the money going? The fund has already deployed nearly US$7.47M across four startups: Chennai spacetech firm HathorDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which builds cryogenic rocket engines; Delhi-based quantum instrumentation maker QuanstraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →; lithium-ion battery developer Triolt EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →; and carbon-capture startup CarbelimDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
"With the US$61.1M first close and our four investments already made, we intend to continue building a portfolio of high-potential deep-tech ventures," Majumdar said.
Kamakoti Veezhinathan, director of IIT Madras, said the institute had built an ecosystem nurturing deep-tech companies that consistently improved their technology readiness levels. The joint fund, he said, gives them "access to patient capital" and strategic guidance.
The signal: The tie-up channels institutional research and long-term capital into hard science that typically struggles to attract early backers. Majumdar framed the moment plainly: India is entering "a defining decade" for deep tech, "moving from promise to scale."
Read more: business-standard.com
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