Campus incubators hoping for the next million-dollar startup
In May, when Ather Energy listed on the public markets there was an uncommon beneficiary in the form of IIT Madras. The institute’s incubation cell, which had backed the electric scooter maker way back in 2013 with an investment of Rs 29 lakh, received a windfall with its stake in the once campus startup rising more than a hundredfold to a valuation of Rs 50 crore.
The premier college went on to sell a portion of its holding, liquidating 31,000 shares for Rs 1 crore to emerge as a role model for other campus incubation cells that are now eager to replicate IIT Madras’s track record. The institute has incubated 477 startups so far, of which 103 have received follow-on funding from angel and venture funds.
