IIMA Ventures, a tech-driven investment platform, plans to support 30 deep-tech startups through a ₹40 crore fund established in collaboration with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi).
According to Priyanka Agarwal Chopra, Managing Partner and CEO of IIMA Ventures, the platform has already backed 5 to 7 startups and aims to allocate the remaining capital over the next 18 months.
IIMA Ventures and Sidbi signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2023 to establish a jointly-funded initiative with equal contributions.
“We started making investments at the beginning of last year,” Chopra said.
Among the startups funded through the initiative are Morphing Machines, a fabless semiconductor company; Nabhdrishti Aerospace, focused on aerospace technology; and Cancrie, which operates in the clean energy space. According to Chopra, the average investment per startup is approximately $200,000.
Regarding IIMA Ventures’ plans, Chopra said, “We want to double down on the pre-seed stage, whether these are funds done in collaboration with organizations or our funds. We also want to increase the pools of capital available to support startups in the zero to one stage.”
“As we remain committed to deep tech, IP (intellectual property)-driven innovations are of deep interest to us, and we will make many more investments this year,” the IIMA Ventures CEO added.
The platform has funded nearly 400 startups to date.
“In these startups, pre-seed and seed stage, we have invested about $16-18 million cumulatively,” Chopra said further. It plans to invest in 40-50 startups in 2025 and expects 4-6 exits by the end of the year.
IIMA Ventures primarily targets investments across key themes such as deep tech, digital transformation, and climate technology. Its portfolio includes space-tech startup Agnikul, flying taxi innovator The ePlane Company, insurance-tech firm Riskcovry, and clean-tech venture Carbon Trail, among others.
