Bengaluru: At the sixth edition of Sangam 2025, a flagship global innovation summit organised by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and its alumni association, nearly 20 start-ups in the field of AI, climate tech, health and biotech, and semiconductors pitched some unique ideas Friday, looking to attract funding.
The start-up founders from across India, picked after a tough selection process, had just 10 minutes each to present their ideas.
Jury members vetted around 200 pitches over a period of two weeks to select 20 start-ups to present their pitch to investors. “From a jury perspective, we looked at a couple of things like, does the product bring differentiation to the market. At times you can have cluttering in the market,” Ashish Lachhwani, one of the jury members told The Print.
The jury focused on the unique value proposition (USP), size and scalability of the ideas from start-ups. The founders’ domain expertise, regardless of institute pedigree, was also looked at as a criteria to make it to the final 20.
Priority was given to start-ups solving fundamental problems with Deep Tech driven solutions, especially those with the global relevance over crowded sectors like Software as a Service (SaaS). Lachhwani emphasised real-world applicability to compete globally.
“From AI and Deeptech to founders and investors, this is where ideas ignite and futures are shaped. With the synergy between the institute and its alumni, I believe we won’t just lead the nation—we will help lead the world,” Shyamala Rajaram, president of the IIT Madras Alumni association told The Print.
Speaking at the event, IIT-Madras Director Kamakoti Veezhinathan said, “We, as an institute, want to contribute very much to Viksit Bharat 2047. India will be a technology superpower only if we have innovation and entrepreneurship as a prime important goal of the institute.”
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From Deeptech to AI-based healthcare
Manu Iyer, an investor at Bluehill.VC, an early stage Deeptech Investment Company, who attended the event and may invest in a start-up at the event, found pitches from space, defence, semiconductors, material science and the energy sector very interesting.
“There has been good research that has been happening in India, but (mostly) research for academic purposes,” Iyer told The Print.
That said, Iyer now sees a shift towards commercialisation of the research and development. “So, that is the thesis that we are now trying to back. It’s definitely not solely focused on an IIT or IISc, but today there are few places where there is R&D happening and even fewer that are thinking about commercialisation,” he added.
In the 100-word pitch from start-ups, Iyer focused on tech differentiation, and the founder’s track record—not just a premiere institute pedigree but the founder’s proven accomplishments in the market. He also looked for founders who deeply understand their domain and can execute, with conversations revealing their capability beyond the pitch.
Madhusudan C.P., director Vyuhaa Med Data, a company that builds AI for healthcare pitched an idea for quicker diagnosis of cervical cancer. His team developed a low-cost kit for sample collection and automated slide processing.
They digitise glass slides using AI-powered whole slide imaging scanners, enabling quick analysis. The AI clears normal samples automatically, flagging only anomalous ones for remote pathologist review. This reduces reliance on scarce pathologists and cuts costs, making screening scalable.
“If we want to solve cervical cancer in India we have to solve it ourselves. The government has set a target of 2030 to eliminate cervical cancer in India and has committed to WHO,” Madhusudan told The Print.
Raviteja Mudireddy’s Hyderabad-based startup, Morph Electric, has asked for Rs 2 crore to support their work to convert existing petrol vehicles into electric vehicles.
“We aim to convert the existing petrol vehicles to electric vehicles and thereby extend the vehicle’s life,” Mudireddy told The Print.
Morph Electric was born out of a college project in 2021 at Chennai SRM University, when Mudireddy joined Venkat Nori at the same university. Nori is an IIT-M alumnus.
Besides funding support, the selected start-ups will also get support from the IIT Madras Innovation Ecosystem that has nurtured over 500 start-ups in the past decade, according to IIT-Madras Media Cell.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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