CHENNAI: With the launch of a dedicated Deep Tech Startup Policy 2025–26 on Thursday, billed as the country’s first such framework for science-led, IP-intensive ventures, Tamil Nadu is hoping to bridge the ‘lab-to-market’ gap for high-risk, research-driven deep tech startups.
Launched by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin at the Umagine TN, technology summit here, the policy aims to back 100 startups and mobilise Rs 100 crore in public and private investments over the next five years.
According to the policy, the ‘labto-market’ gap will be bridged by offering lifecycle support from early-stage R&D to scale-up and market adoption.
The policy, anchored by the Information Technology and Digital Services Department and implemented through the Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) Hub, sits alongside the broader Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Policy, under which iTNT already supports deep tech incubation, technology commercialisation and sector-focused programmes in collaboration with StartupTN and other incubators.
Its key goals include a 25 per cent increase in annual patent filings by deep tech startups, at least 10 technology transfer or licensing deals from academic and R&D institutions, training of over 10,000 students and professionals in deep tech skills and promoting global
market access for 50 startups.
Deep tech startups are defined in the policy document as ventures built on advanced scientific or engineering breakthroughs, typically at early Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), with strong proprietary intellectual property, long gestation periods
and the potential to create new markets or radically transform existing ones in areas such as healthcare, energy and manufacturing.
The policy notes that such enterprises face a combination of high R&D uncertainty, capital intensity and difficulty in securing early customers, which standard startup schemes are not fully equipped to address.
To tackle these challenges, the government has set out a multi-pronged framework structured around five pillars: research and development support, funding and investment acceleration, infrastructure and ecosystem development, innovation workforce and knowledge alliances, and deep tech adoption and market expansion.
On the funding side, the policy provides TRL-linked R&D grants for early-stage research (up to TRL 4), commercialisation support and scale-up funding for higher readiness levels, along with IP creation and commercialisation assistance and performance-linked micro-fund support for incubators.
A ‘Government as Early Adopter Programme’ with an annual budget of Rs 25 crore is proposed to create pilot deployments and proof-of-concept projects that can later be scaled in the public and private sectors.
iTNT Hub will act as the nodal agency, managing funds, operating a unified digital platform for infrastructure and resource sharing and coordinating with other departments, stated the policy.