The fund will invest in at least 25 startups in sectors like robotics, spacetech, defensetech, semiconductors, medtech

The average cheque size will range from ₹8-10 Cr, with 60% of the fund will be used for portfolio building

A part of the corpus will be reserved to assign capital toward select early late-stage companies that have reached technological maturity

Days after disclosing its third VC fund, deeptech focussed VC firm Unicorn India Ventures has announced a partnership with IIT Madras’s university-based research park, IIT Madras Research Park, to launch a ₹600 Cr deeptech-focussed fund.

Via the fund, the duo would look to back at least 25 deeptech startups operating in segments like robotics, spacetech, defensetech, semiconductors, medtech, among others. Unicorn India Ventures would act as a manager for the fund.

The average cheque size per investment will range from ₹8-10 Cr. While 60% of the fund will be used for portfolio building, the remaining 40% will be reserved for follow-on rounds.

The idea for the fund was first announced in June last year, when the target corpus was set at ₹200 Cr.

It will follow a dual investment strategy, prioritising early-stage deeptech startups that have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3-4 to identify high-potential innovations and aid them through initial commercialisation hurdles. For context, TRL is a way to measure the estimated maturity levels of a particular technology, with 9 being the most mature and already being used in real-life conditions.

“To ensure that portfolio companies are not capital starved as deep tech is a long gestation investment business, the fund will also support them with capital at early mid stage where they have reached TRL 5-7 to accelerate the development of concept proven technologies,” a joint statement said.

A part of the corpus will be reserved to assign capital toward select early late-stage companies that have reached TRL 7-9 with a proven product tech and need support with scaling and market penetration.

“This fund will accelerate the scale-up of mission-driven, globally competitive startups while strengthening India’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship,” IITM Research Park’s Group CEO Natarajan Malupillai said.

The fund manager will raise funds for the corpus from IITM alumni, along with global LPs comprising family offices, ultra high net worth individuals and large Indian institutions. It is likely to invest further in promising startups beyond the scope of the fund’s corpus through a co-investment strategy to ensure portfolio companies have continued access to capital.

Important to note that IIT Madras Research Park has been a significant contributor to the country’s deeptech innovation space, having incubated over 480 deeptech startups190 of which are now commercially active. This includes two that have reached unicorn valuation — Ather Energy and Uniphore.

Deeptech investments have grown multifold in recent years, and of the over 90 new funds announced in 2025, about 21% carry explicit deeptech mandates. To ensure continued support to such startups, the central government recently tweaked the definition of deeptech startups. Now, those who have been operational for 20 years will be deemed as startups, up from 10 years earlier, while the turnover threshold has also been increased to ₹300 Cr from ₹200 Cr earlier.