IIT Kanpur is Behind India’s Next Wave of $1 Billion Startups
IIT Kanpur has emerged as a significant hub for deep tech startups, focusing on product-led innovation across sectors like AI, defence, and healthcare. Its incubation centre is now powering both domestic growth and global expansion. Established in 2000, the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) is one of India’s oldest technology business incubators, operating under the Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science & Technology (FIRST), a Section 8 company promoted by IIT Kanpur. Today, SIIC hosts around 100 startups working on next-generation technologies across various sectors, including AI, healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing. It offers funding support of up to ₹20 lakh and one year of dedicated incubation that includes mentorship, technical due diligence, and business guidance. The incubator at IIT Kanpur has always leaned towards product-driven startups. “Even back then, and still today, we focus predominantly on ventures with a tangible technological product,” professor in-charge of incubation and innovation at SIIC, Deepu Philip, said in an exclusive interview with AIM. “We don’t typically engage with service-based models unless there’s a strong tech product at the core,” he added. Philip said that IIT Kanpur has incubated around 425 startups, out of which approximately 200 can be called reasonably successful, based on criteria like revenue, valuation, and employment. “We have about 200 companies that have either secured a valuation of ₹10 crore, made consistent revenue for three years, or employed five or more people consistently.” Philip added that 111 of these startups have undergone third-party independent valuations, collectively worth ₹7,228 crore (~$1 billion). IIT Madras, which has supported 457 deep-tech startups over the past 12 years, is often the first to come to mind when discussing startups. The startups, including two unicorns and one IPO-bound company, are now collectively valued at more than ₹50,000 crore. Yet, IIT Kanpur is steadily carving out its own identity as a thriving startup hub. In May, IIT Kanpur collaborated with the Wadhwani Foundation to launch a School of Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems. Philip shared that the institution received a $35 million grant from the Wadhwani Foundation. Moreover, he shared that IIT Kanpur has submitted an application under the IndiaAI Mission to develop a sovereign AI model. Philip added that IIT Kanpur is actively involved in innovative public-private funding models. He explained the ‘40-40-20’ model for the India AI mission, where 40% is funded by the central government, 40% by the state government, and the remaining 20% is supported by the industry.To help startups find markets beyond India, IIT Kanpur has signed an MoU with Toyota Tsusho and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support international scaling. Most recently, the SIIC has also partnered with NMexus, a new global business accelerator launched in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The collaboration is expected to help Indian startups gain access to the US through curated support. Startups incubated at SIIC will benefit from soft-landing infrastructure, regulatory guidance, mentoring, and market access services in North America. As per the official release, NMexus will host up to 40 companies annually, aiming to create around 1,500 jobs and contribute over $400 million to the economy over five years. “The New Mexico centre is meant to facilitate the global expansion of startups. Once they gain a foothold internationally, they can shift operations there to scale,” Philip said, adding that Western markets, especially the US, offer larger revenue opportunities and later-stage funding. IIT Kanpur is Open to Everyone According to Philip, IIT Kanpur’s incubation model is uniquely inclusive—open to innovators from any college or region in India, not just IIT students. Startups are selected based on merit and incubated through the entire technology readiness lifecycle, from idea to production-ready stage. “We allow anybody from the country to integrate,  there’s no distinction. If they fit the criteria, we incubate them, no matter where they come from or which college they belong to,” he added. He highlighted Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship – Centre of Excellence (AIIDE-CoE), an initiative backed by the UP government along with institutions like Uttar Pradesh Electronics Corporation Limited (UPLC), which provides seed funding, technical and business mentorship, IP support, and global scale-up opportunities. “Our support starts at TRL (Technology Readiness Level) 0, which is the ideation stage. We help them scale up to TRL 8 or 9, where the product is ready for the market,” he said. He added that one of the biggest hurdles in deep tech startups is covering IP and patenting costs. “Filing and maintaining patents can easily cost ₹60 to ₹70 crore over time. That is why government support is crucial.” Philip highlighted that in a startup’s early days, maintaining cash flow matters more than chasing big investments. He pointed out that even small grants, loans, or CSR funds can keep things moving and help startups survive long enough to gain momentum. He drew a line between ‘hard money’ like VC or angel investments, which often come with high expectations and a loss of control, and ‘soft money’ like government or CSR support, which gives startups the breathing room they need. “Our job is also to ensure the smooth flow of soft money, which allows the startups to work.” Successful IIT Kanpur Startups The professor further said that the institute’s focus on product-based startups, particularly in deep tech, distinguishes its efforts. He shared examples of companies like Ananant Systems, Life and Limb, xTerra Robotics and VU Dynamics. Philip explained that Ananant is at the forefront of communication chip design in India, specifically for 5G or 6G domains. He stressed their contribution to bringing the crucial chip design and concept-proofing aspects, traditionally done abroad, to India. He explained that this domestic capability is vital for fostering an ecosystem of associated companies building drivers, embedded systems, and AI applications. Moreover, he revealed that Life and Limb is developing intelligent prosthetics that respond to muscle twitches and voice commands, moving beyond mere cosmetic function. “Based on the muscle twitch, it may trigger simple functions like grabbing, operating a machine or holding something.” On the other hand, xTerra Robotics is building unmanned ground robots, including robotic dogs used for tasks such as bomb disposal and intelligence gathering in challenging environments. Meanwhile, VU Dynamics, a faculty-led company, specialises in chemical drones equipped with autonomous target acquisition, path planning, and execution capabilities. Philip cited Curadev, a Kanpur-origin immunotherapy startup, as one of the success stories. The company has developed cancer-treatment drugs and made profitable exits. He believes most IIT Kanpur startups prefer private equity over IPOs. Citing the example of Phool, he said, “It’s currently valued at ₹2,000 crore. So they can happily go for IPO, but they are more interested in securing investment.” He cited the example of a 45-kg runway-based UAV developed for BEML, which was showcased at Aero India 2025. Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) are now picking it for large-scale production. According to a recent report, it may soon become part of the Indian Army’s UAV arsenal. Quality over Quantity Referring to Union minister Piyush Goyal’s recent remark about the lack of deep tech startups in India, Philip said it is unrealistic to expect 100 deep tech startups to emerge overnight. “Many people don’t even understand what deep tech means. It’s just a fancy term today,” he said, adding that IIT Kanpur prioritises quality over quantity, even if that results in fewer startups. He contrasted this with China’s philosophy that quality emerges from quantity. “We follow a different path—quality first,” he said, arguing that such an approach leads to long-term impact, much like what the US has achieved. Praising UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Philip said that the UP government is marching steadily towards a $1 trillion economy. According to him, there’s a positive synergy between academia, industry, and the state government, particularly in semiconductors, defence, and biotech. “When we started working on semiconductor chip design, the UP government began building a semiconductor park in Noida. When we focused on defence, they announced the defence corridor. There is a clear alignment.” “There is no dearth of talent in this country. We have to attract them, mentor them, and their products have to be showcased,” Philip concluded.
“The institute has incubated around 425 startups, out of which approximately 200 can be called reasonably successful.”
IIT Kanpur has emerged as a significant hub for deep tech startups, focusing on product-led innovation across sectors like AI, defence, and healthcare. Its incubation centre is now powering both domestic growth and global expansion.
["IIT"]
["Go", "artificial intelligence", "AI", "innovation", "ML", "Aim", "ViT", "GAN", "IIT", "R", "startup"]
["AI", "artificial intelligence", "ML", "Aim", "R", "Go", "GAN", "ViT", "innovation", "startup"]
Siddharth is a media graduate who loves to explore tech through journalism and putting forward ideas worth pondering about in the era of artificial intelligence.