
Mint Explainer | Why India’s top engineering schools are launching their own VC funds
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: India’s top engineering and management institutes are no longer content with merely incubating startups. Increasingly, they also want to participate in the upside created by companies emerging from their own ecosystems.Institutions including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Madras and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru are setting up venture funds to invest in campus-linked deeptech startups, as rising investor interest in sectors such as semiconductors, defence and spacetech pushes universities to play a larger role in the businesses they help build.But why are they doing this now? How are these funds structured? And what kind of startups are they backing? Mint explains.So far, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras have launched venture funds, while IISc Bengaluru is in the process of setting up one.The funds are being structured through affiliated entities, incubators and alumni-backed networks because IITs and IISc operate as Section 8 entities, or non-profit organisations.IIT Madras, through its research park, has partnered with venture firm Unicorn India Ventures to launch the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund, a ₹600 crore vehicle with a ₹400 crore green-shoe option.