CIE-IIITH & SucSEED Indovation Fund Partner to Invest in Early-Stage Deeptech Startups
- Investing Up to INR 40 Lakhs: The partnership will support promising early-stage deep tech startups in AI and other emerging technologies, especially those at the pre-revenue stage.
SucSEED Indovation Fund will serve as the investment partner for promising deep tech startups emerging from the Avishkar Accelerator and other programs under the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT Hyderabad. This collaboration aims to provide funding and support for startups participating in CIE’s accelerator programs.
CIE-IIITH, one of India’s largest and oldest deep-tech academic incubators, is teaming up with SucSEED Indovation Fund, an Angel Fund registered with SEBI as a Category-I AIF-VC Fund. Together, they plan to invest up to INR 40 lakhs in pre-revenue stage startups focused on deep tech, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies.
Over the past 13 years, CIE has nurtured and scaled over 300 startups, with more than 40 of them actively engaging with IIIT Hyderabad’s deeptech research labs to develop innovative technology solutions. CIE has invested over INR 10 crores in various startups at different stages, using a mix of equity investments and grants, and is well-connected to the broader deep-tech ecosystem in Hyderabad and beyond.
Prof. CV Jawahar, CEO of CIE-IIITH, commented on the partnership, saying, “Early-stage formal VC funds and the structured support they offer address a significant gap in today’s tech startup ecosystem. We are delighted to partner with SucSEED Indovation Fund, which is filling this gap, and we look forward to supporting deep tech and research-based startups together.”
Vikrant Varshney, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of SucSEED Indovation Fund, shared, “There is strong synergy between us and CIE-IIITH. As an early-stage fund, we seek sustainable, innovative solutions to global problems and invest in startups, primarily from India, that have the potential to make a significant impact. Through this partnership, we aim to anticipate deep-tech trends and focus collaboratively on accelerating their growth through our entrepreneurial expertise.”
SucSEED Indovation Fund has evolved from SucSEED Angels Network and IIITH Tech Ventures, an early-stage seed fund initiative started by CIE-IIITH in 2017. This initiative has seen considerable success, with several startups delivering great products and achieving four exits in the last three years. Companies like Byju’s, Ericsson, and Muthoot Finance Ltd. have acquired startups from their portfolio.
Through the CIE-IIITH and SucSEED collaboration, startups will benefit from IIIT Hyderabad’s deeptech research expertise and technical capabilities, along with the business acumen of SucSEED’s general partners, limited partners, and mentors. This partnership will provide startups with hands-on mentoring in areas such as sales and marketing, finance, systems and technology, risk management, legal and compliance, and human resources and training, helping founders scale their ventures more rapidly.
SucSEED Indovation’s investment strategy has proven successful, building a healthy portfolio of early-stage startups that have thrived despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic.
Market Potential
Deep tech has become an integral part of the startup ecosystem. According to a report by NASSCOM, 19% of Indian tech-driven startups are already leveraging deep tech innovations to enhance products and capture greater market share. The deep-tech and startup hubs in India are expected to experience a steady 40-45% CAGR. The report also notes that AI and IoT account for two-thirds of deep tech startups, with sectors like enterprise, health tech, fintech, and industrial manufacturing being the quickest adopters. Investor confidence and interest in deep tech startups are on the rise, signaling consistent growth for the industry in the coming years.