IndusDC to earmarks Rs 100 crore to build 5 deeptech startups in 2 years

Deeptech-focused venture studio IndusDC has announced a significant financial commitment of Rs 100 crore for startups focusing on clean technology (cleantech) to “cut down one gigaton of carbon dioxide emissions by 2035”.

The funding will be used to identify and co-build hard tech startups across India for the fiscal year 2024-25.

Each startup founded by IndusDC will have access to Rs 20 crore in capital. This amount will be a mix of grants for tech development, equity for early revenue until profitability, and debt or working capital for scaling beyond profitability.

The studio has already secured a commitment agreement for the first five startups from Mirik Gogri of Spectrum Impact, the family office of Aarti Industries Ltd’s promoters.

Who are the founders?

IndusDC was founded in 2023 by a team of experts: serial entrepreneur Kushant Uppal, who is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and the University of Southern California; Satyanarayanan Seshadri, a professor at IIT-M and founder of the IIT Madras initiative 'Energy Consortium'; and Kaustubh Hanmantgad, an expert in behaviour analytics and building teams.

"At IndusDC, we are building platforms to address each stage of the startup as they scale from lab to market. Our team is deeply committed to establishing the benchmarks for an IP-focused decarbonisation venture studio and making it an attractive asset class for investors," said Uppal.

IndusDC is backed by a range of entrepreneurs and angel investors, including Ashish Gupta of Helion Venture Partners and Sri Myneni of Knoah Solutions.

"We are thrilled to invest and partner with IndusDC in their mission to cut 1GT of CO2 emissions by 2035! The seasoned entrepreneurial founding team is uniquely positioned to identify critical IP entrepreneurs and build global ventures!" said Mirik Gogri of Spectrum Impact.

Building five startups in the next two years

The studio plans to build five startups in the next two years and more than 50 globally over the next decade. It will co-found these startups and onboard entrepreneurs.

Currently, IndusDC is working on three hard-tech startups in collaboration with IIT Madras and intends to explore partnerships with other technology and research institutes to identify intellectual properties and build ventures. The company will sign additional commitment agreements with strategic investors for grants, equity, and debt throughout FY25.