Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today launched the IIT-Madras Unicorn Venture Fund at the IIT Madras Alumni Meet Sangam in Bengaluru today.
Interacting with the audience, Ms. Sitharaman highlighted India’s transformation from a “fragile five” economy to the world’s fastest-growing large economy, attributing it to structural reforms, institutional strengthening and targeted policy measures. She also released the book Cashless Nation: How UPI Changed the Nation, authored by Dr. Santhan Paul and B. Sambamurthy.
The fund, launched by IIT Madras in partnership with Unicorn India Ventures, will provide 5 to 20 crore rupees to early-stage startups. It has received SEBI approval and achieved a first close of 453 crore rupees, with 55 crore rupees invested in four startups on the launch day.
IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti said the institute aims to incubate 1,000 startups and facilitate one IPO every month by 2032-34. Unicorn India Ventures Managing Partner Bhaskar Majumdar also spoke.
