IIT Madras Trains India's Next Deep-Tech Entrepreneurs

India's innovation ecosystem is missing a crucial ingredient, and IIT Madras is stepping up to fill the gap.

The institute's Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship recently hosted its 6th Annual Symposium with a powerful theme: democratizing innovation and entrepreneurship across India. Held on January 17, 2026, the event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and successful founders to address a problem that's been holding India back.

While startups are booming in smaller cities and more women founders are entering the space, experts at the symposium identified something missing. Technology and funding alone aren't enough to build successful deep-tech companies. What India really needs is sustained mentorship and capability building for entrepreneurs themselves.

Lakshmi Narayanan, co-founder of Cognizant Technology Solutions, offered an inspiring perspective during his keynote. Scientists don't have to launch startups to make entrepreneurial impact, he explained. Solving difficult technological challenges within corporations or government projects counts as entrepreneurial success too.

The symposium came at a pivotal moment for India's innovation landscape. A study covering over 100 incubators across 18 states is now providing policy recommendations to make India the global startup capital, with IIT Madras serving as the knowledge partner.

Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman from the Anusandhan National Research Foundation shared exciting news about multiple programs already running this year. These include mission-mode initiatives in electric mobility, AI for science and engineering, and medical technology, supported by a patient capital fund worth ₹1 lakh crore.

Srinath Ravichandran, CEO of deep-tech startup Agnikool Cosmos, shared what makes IIT Madras special. The culture and support from those first five or six years at the university shapes who a company becomes, he said. That's why he's proud to call his company an IIT Madras startup.

Professor Krishnan Balasubramanian explained how the center is changing mindsets among faculty members. Instead of pushing innovations to market, they're learning to listen to market needs and build accordingly. This shift from supply-driven to demand-driven innovation could transform how Indian research reaches real people.

IIT Madras Director Professor V. Kamakoti pointed to proof that democratization is already working. The institute's online BS Program has enabled nearly 50,000 students, many from financially struggling families, to access top-tier education. Now they're extending that same accessibility to entrepreneurs across India through labs, incubators, and specialized programs.

The Ripple Effect

The symposium's impact goes far beyond one event. By training faculty and researchers at hundreds of STEM universities nationwide, IIT Madras is creating a multiplier effect. Each trained professor can nurture dozens of student entrepreneurs, each startup can create jobs and solve problems, and each success story can inspire the next generation.

The focus on building entrepreneurial skills alongside technical knowledge addresses what experts call "the missing piece of the scaling innovation puzzle." Deep-tech ventures need long gestation periods, and entrepreneurs need resilience, business acumen, and decision-making skills to survive the journey.

This approach aligns perfectly with India's vision for Viksit Bharat 2047, a developed India powered by science, research, and innovation. The symposium made clear that achieving this vision requires investing not just in technology and infrastructure, but in the people who will drive change.

One symposium won't transform India's innovation landscape overnight, but it's planting seeds that could grow into a forest of opportunity for millions.