The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Tuesday launched India’s first deep-tech venture capital fund to be managed by an academia-linked incubator. The Rs 250-crore Y-Point Venture Capital Fund launched by the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) at the IIT Bombay will enable meaningful and sustained participation by the private sector in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the institute by addressing the critical funding gap.
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The fund will invest in deep tech startups emerging from IIT Bombay and other premier academic and research institutes. It will invest in pre-seed and seed stages across 25-30 startups with a maximum ticket size of Rs 15 crore.
The newly appointed chairperson of the Board of Governors, IIT Bombay, Dr K Radhakrishnan, said, “It will accelerate the lab to market journey by providing the right amount of capital to promising technologies to quickly move up the technology readiness level ladder.”
As per information shared by the IIT Bombay, the fund will strategically invest in companies building products backed by fundamental research, with a keen focus on high-impact sectors including AI (Artificial Intelligence), Advanced Computing, Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Nuclear Technology, Space & Defence Technology, Climate & CleanTech, Life Sciences and Healthcare.
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Prof Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said, “SINE, as an incubator, has played a pivotal role in the development of startups ecosystem in IIT Bombay by providing critical infrastructure support, mentorship, access to capital, visibility and liquidity. The fund will further enhance its role to speed up the journey from cutting-edge research to commercially viable products. Our fund will be the first institute-linked investment manager to back such promising ventures.”
For more than two decades, SINE IIT Bombay has been at the forefront of nurturing technological innovation, transforming ground-breaking research into viable enterprises. Having supported over 500+ startups, 1000+ innovators, SINE understands the unique challenges faced by deep tech ventures–from longer gestation period, higher capital requirement, need for specialized mentorship and market access. The fund, according to IIT Bombay, is a direct response to address these pain points and is designed to accelerate the journey of a startup from lab to market. Shaji Varghese, CEO, SINE said the fund has received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It is registered as Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
