IIT Bombay new fund to fuel robotics, AI, space, biotech from campus-led innovation

IIT Bombay's Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) unveiled India's pioneering incubator-backed deep tech venture capital fund in Mumbai on Dec 9, bolstering the nation's startup landscape with targeted early-stage investments.

The ₹250 crore Y-Point Venture Capital Fund positions IIT Bombay as the first Indian institution where an academic incubator will directly manage its own VC operations, extending SINE's support from mentoring to funding high-potential ventures.

This fund tackles a key hurdle for deep tech startups, which often struggle with extended R&D timelines and limited seed capital for fields like robotics, materials science, AI, space tech, and biotech.

SINE plans to pair financial backing with strategic advice, industry networks, and global market access to guide founders from lab prototypes to scalable businesses emerging from IIT Bombay's research labs and ecosystem.

The initiative promises to fortify India's innovation chain by merging academic resources with venture funding, easing the path for science-driven ideas to reach commercialization.

Officials described it as a potential blueprint for other incubators nationwide, stressing the need to close early funding gaps for sustained tech leadership.

Through this model, SINE seeks to cultivate resilient deep tech firms capable of global competition.