In a strong boost to India’s startup ecosystem, Indian Institute of Technology Madras has incubated more than 100 startups for the 2nd consecutive year under its ‘Startup Shatam’ mission.
Through its incubator, IITM Incubation Cell, the institute supported 112 startups in FY26, up from 104 in FY25. With this, the total portfolio has reached 567 startups, collectively valued at over ₹74,100 crore ($8 billion).
The portfolio includes notable names such as Agnikul Cosmos, Mindgrove, Uniphore, GUVI, and Ather Energy. Ather Energy’s 2025 IPO marked it as the first publicly listed company from IIT Madras’ startup portfolio.
The institute also reported strong progress in innovation, filing 431 patents in FY26, slightly higher than 419 in FY25. This exceeded the ‘1 patent a day’ target set by Director V Kamakoti. Out of the total filings, 352 were domestic patents, while 79 were international.
Around 60% of the startups incubated in FY26 were founded by external entrepreneurs from across India. These startups operate across key deep tech sectors such as manufacturing, robotics, automotive, batteries, defence, aerospace, AI and machine learning, biotech, and quantum technologies.
“These milestones reflect the culture of innovation that has taken deep roots across IIT Madras. Our faculty, students, researchers, alumni and external entrepreneurs are creating technologies and enterprises that can serve India and the world. The combination of startup creation and strong patent activity demonstrates our commitment to translating research into real impact,” said Kamakoti.
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