Women co-found 25% of startups in IIT Madras’ incubation push, deep-tech sees gains

Chennai: One in four startups incubated under IIT Madras’ “100 Startups a Year” mission has a woman co-founder, signaling a shift toward diversity in India’s deep-tech sector, according to data from the institute’s incubation cell.

Of the 567 startups incubated so far, 25% have women co-founders, said Tamaswati Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer of the IITM Incubation Cell (IITMIC). “The percentage has been consistently over 25% in the last two years, which is significantly encouraging for the deep-tech sector, where women’s representation has traditionally been lower,” Ghosh said.

The trend holds across both Startup Shatam cohorts for Financial Year 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. Ghosh noted strong participation from women founders in sectors including healthtech, biotech, AI, sustainability, and agritech.

The “100 Startups a Year” mission aims to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation emerging from IIT Madras, with a focus on deep-tech ventures.