Deep tech VCs tap IIT-Madras as consultancy revenue crosses Rs 2,800 crore

IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Chennai

• IIT Madras generates Rs 2,800 crore in consultancy, key deep tech VC hub.
• The institute incubated 511 deep tech startups worth over Rs 53,000 crore.
• IITM Global expands consultancy and advisory services to US, Europe, and Asia.

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Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras is fast becoming a critical junction point for deep tech venture capital in India, as investors increasingly turn to the institute for technical diligence, advisory, and problem-solving support while navigating long-gestation, science-heavy bets.

Over the last five years, IIT-Madras has generated more than Rs 2,800 crore through consultancy.

The momentum has gathered pace as venture funds move beyond quick-turn consumer tech models and seek conviction in deep tech areas such as space, semiconductors, AI systems, climate technologies, and advanced manufacturing.

IIT-Madras has filed over 3,200 patents, with hundreds of technologies at TRL-5 and above, a stage where commercial and investment decisions become viable.

V Kamakoti, Director of IIT-Madras, has described this phase as the compounding impact of patient institutional work. “Every journey has its first step, and I strongly believe that IIT-Madras Incubation Cell has taken that firm, progressive step,” Kamakoti told Moneycontrol.

Consultancy revenue is generated when industry, startups, governments, or investors engage the institute’s faculty and research infrastructure to solve specific technical problems, evaluate technologies, run pilots, validate claims, or advise on feasibility and scale. Unlike grants, this revenue is demand-driven and linked to real-world deployment questions.

Institutional depth and the case for patience

It is now common knowledge that deep tech outcomes cannot be rushed.

According to Kamakoti, many of the technologies now attracting investor attention are the result of years of interdisciplinary work across engineering, materials, electronics, computing, and applied sciences.

“Invest in deep tech and wait. I think that’s going to be the crucial one,” Kamakoti said, highlighting that patience is not optional in science-led innovation.

Kamakoti pointed out that many contemporary industrial problems require fundamental thinking that cannot be solved through incremental engineering alone.

This institutional depth is what allows IIT-Madras to play a role not just in creating technology, but in judging whether it is real, reproducible, and scalable.

Consultancy becomes the VC interface

That judgment layer is increasingly being accessed through consultancy.

In FY24-25, IIT-Madras executed 982 consultancy projects with Rs 1,022 crore sanctioned, alongside 302 sponsored research projects worth Rs 516 crore. Over five years, consultancy revenues crossed Rs 2,800 crore, placing the institute among the largest university-led problem-solving platforms in the country.

The shift is also visible in how venture capital firms are engaging with the campus.

Rather than approaching only startups, investors are increasingly seeking evaluation of underlying technologies, especially in sectors where failure is expensive and timelines are long.

Taking diligence, advisory global

This is where IITM Global is extending the consultancy model beyond India.

Madhav Narayan, CEO of IITM Global, told Moneycontrol that the organisation is seeing growing demand from venture capital firms entering deep tech who are looking for institutional partners that understand science-led risk.

“Many VCs who are getting into the deep tech space want our consultancy because we understand deep tech,” Narayan said, adding that this has opened up a new advisory and diligence-driven revenue stream.

According to him, consultancy is increasingly intertwined with global market access. “If you want to go into global markets and be truly global, you need local presence and structured engagement,” Narayan said, explaining why IITM Global is setting up operations across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

He said that when IIT-Madras startups are taken to global markets and connected to customers or capital, advisory and diligence work naturally follows. “These assets have matured here over a decade, and now we are extracting value in global markets,” Narayan added.

VC-side validation of the gap

From the investor side, the engagement with institutions reflects a recognition that the biggest constraint in deep tech investing has been understanding, not capital.

Hemant Mohapatra, Partner, Lightspeed India, who focuses on enterprise infrastructure and frontier technologies, earlier told Moneycontrol that deep tech demands a different investment muscle. He pointed out that conviction in such bets comes from deep technical validation rather than speed or market hype.

Mohapatra argued that deep tech investing demands multi-year conviction and a far deeper assessment of core technology claims, something most venture firms struggle to do internally without institutional support.

Incubation scale reinforces credibility

The consultancy flywheel is reinforced by the scale of the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell.

The incubator has supported 511 deep tech startups with a combined valuation exceeding Rs 53,000 crore so far, and has generated over 11,000 direct jobs.

Examples are well-known startups such as Uniphore, Ather, Agnikul, and Mindgrove. Some emerging names include deep-sea structure inspection and data solutions firm Planys, AI and blockchain healthcare system Plenome, onboarding platform Hyperverge, etc.

In FY25 alone, more than 100 new deep tech startups were incubated, spanning space systems, quantum security, semiconductors, climate technologies, advanced mobility, and AI systems.

Many of these startups are now transitioning from validated technology to growth and scale at the same time, a phase where investor scrutiny intensifies.

From academic output to investment infrastructure

What is unfolding at IIT-Madras is a shift from academic output to investment infrastructure. Consultancy revenue is no longer just a financial line item.

As venture capital recalibrates towards longer-term, defensible technologies, IIT-Madras is increasingly positioned at the intersection of research, capital, and markets.