IIT Madras Incubates 100+ Deep Tech Startups in One Financial Year; Check Details

IIT Madras has incubated over 100 deep tech startups within a single financial year, marking a major milestone in its innovation and entrepreneurship journey. Check details here

IIT Madras Incubates 100+ Deep Tech Startups in One Financial Year

For the first time in its history, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has incubated over 100 startups in a single financial year. Aligning with Director Prof. V. Kamakoti’s 'Startup 100 Mission' vision set in early 2024, the IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) incubated 104 new startups during the 2024–25 financial year. This achievement was driven by the collaborative efforts of IITMIC along with its sector-specific incubators Pravartak, Bioincubator, HTIC MedTech, and RTBI and the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIT Madras.

A key highlight of this milestone is that over 50% of the 104 startups were founded by members of the IIT Madras community including faculty, staff, students, and alumni underscoring the Institute’s vibrant culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. The remaining 48% were launched by external entrepreneurs, further reinforcing IITMIC’s role as a hub for a diverse and thriving startup ecosystem. The formal announcement was made by Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, during the World IP Celebrations held on campus today (26 April 2025), organized by the Office of Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR).

Notable success stories from this ecosystem include Ather, Uniphore, Medibuddy, Hyperverge, Stellapps (MooPay), Planys, Agnikul, GUVI, Detect, and Galaxeye. Additionally, the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, home to IITM’s pre-incubator Nirmaan, supports 129 pre-venture teams focused on deep-tech, with 113 in the Pratham training phase and 16 in the Akshar pre-incubation phase. The newly incubated startups are driving innovation across a wide range of high-impact deep-tech sectors, including:

• Manufacturing, Robotics, Automotive and Batteries, Materials Science, and Defence/Aerospace
• Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Blockchain, Quantum Computing, Analytics/SaaS, and Fintech
• Healthtech
• Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals, and Agritech
• Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems

Congratulating all the stakeholders of IIT Madras working in the Innovation Ecosystem, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “This year, we have filed 417 patents during the 2024-25 Financial Year, more than ‘One Patent a Day’. The challenge of ‘Start-up Shatam’ (100 start-ups), which translates to incubating one start-up every third day, was taken up on 1st April 2024. I am proud to announce that the Institute has met this challenge by incubating 104 start-ups. These are deep core-tech start-ups in sectors such as manufacturing, robotics, automotive materials, battery, construction, defence, ship building, aerospace, UAVs and health tech, besides space technologies, pharma and quantum, among others. The institute has incubated start-ups across a broad spectrum. This is our humble contribution to a Product Nation, a Start-up Nation and Viksit Bharat 2047.”

Abhijit Bhutey, co-founder of space manufacturing startup - Inbound Aerospace (founded by IIT-Madras PhD alumni and externals), and one of the 104 incubated start-ups, said, “At Inbound, our mission to push the boundaries of space-tech has been made possible through the unwavering support and vision of the IIT Madras entrepreneurial ecosystem. From our early days at the ‘Nirmaan pre-incubator’ to being incubated at IITMIC in FY25, we’ve seen the immense value of deep mentorship, technical guidance, and a community that fosters innovation.”

Sarthak Saurav, BTech 2024 graduate from IIT-Madras and CEO of AI powered 3D printing startup – Matterize said, “The foundation built during my time at CFI and later at Nirmaan equipped us with vital business acumen, setting the stage for our progress within the IITMIC. Being part of 100+ startup incubated in FY25 the network, mentorship, and resources at IITMIC have been instrumental and are a testament to IITM’s commitment to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship at scale.”

Elaborating on the efforts that led to this achievement, Prof Prabhu Rajagopal, Head, School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT Madras, said, “Reaching the target of 100 startups a year as envisioned by our Director Prof. V Kamakoti seemed like an impossibility to many of us, and yet we are here already. This 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.”

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