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IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and Unicorn India Ventures have launched a INR 600 crore deep technology fund, titled “IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I”, with an additional INR 400 crore greenshoe option.
The fund is aimed at supporting early and mid-stage deep tech startups that are building IP-led and engineering-intensive solutions aligned with India’s national and strategic priorities.
The fund will focus on sectors such as robotics, space technology, defence technology, semiconductors, medtech and other advanced technology areas that typically require long development cycles and sustained capital support. Structured as a 10+2 year fund, it is positioned as a source of “patient capital” for founders working on complex, research-driven innovations.
The fund plans to build a portfolio of more than 25 companies through a dual-stage investment strategy. The average first cheque size is expected to be in the range of INR 8-10 crore. A large proportion of the corpus will be invested in startups emerging from the IIT Madras ecosystem, while the remaining capital will be deployed across the broader Indian deep tech sector.
Most investments will be directed towards early-stage startups that have reached Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3-4, where technologies are validated in laboratory or controlled environments but face challenges in commercialisation.
The fund will also provide follow-on capital to companies that progress to TRL 5-7, supporting them through product development and early market entry. In select cases, the fund will back later-stage startups at TRL 7-9 that have proven technologies and are seeking capital to scale operations and expand market reach.
Natarajan Malupillai, Group CEO of IIT Madras Research Park, said “India’s deep-tech ecosystem is at a pivotal moment, driven by supportive policies, sustained R&D investments, and a strong entrepreneurial aspiration among our youth. This fund will accelerate the scale-up of mission-driven, globally competitive startups while strengthening India’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Unicorn India Ventures, which has built a portfolio of nearly 30 deep tech companies, has been appointed as the fund manager. Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures, said, “This new fund in partnership with IITMRP comes at the right time as we have met numerous innovative deep tech companies in the last two years. India has the talent, capital and patient investors to pool collective knowledge, resources and industry connections to support the next generation of deep tech founders.”
The fund will deploy around 60% of the investable corpus towards building the initial portfolio, while reserving 40% for follow-on rounds. This structure is intended to ensure sustained capital availability through the “valley of death”, a phase where deep tech startups often face funding gaps.
As fund manager, Unicorn India Ventures will also leverage its network to mobilise co-investments beyond the primary corpus. Capital will be raised from IIT Madras alumni and a global base of limited partners, including family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and Indian institutions, to ensure portfolio companies are adequately funded as they scale.
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