School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship · IIT Madras
Where IIT Madras research becomes India's next deep-tech companies. One school connects the whole journey — tinkering labs, pre-incubation, degrees, founder fellowships and seed support.
Home of SIE
Sudha & Shankar Innovation Hub
₹1,000 Cr+
Portfolio valuation of Nirmaan startups
₹80 Cr+
Revenue generated by startups in FY 24–25
1,100+
Students involved across the ecosystem
100+
IPs filed by CFI & Nirmaan teams
How it works
The IIT Madras I&E Stack supports you at every stage — wherever you start, there's a next step.
01
Tinker
Centre for Innovation (CFI) ↗
India's largest 24/7 student-run innovation lab. 14 clubs, 8 competition teams, 73 live projects. Walk in with an idea, walk out with a product.
02
Pre-incubate
Nirmaan ↗
The country's first on-campus pre-incubator. Pratham (₹2L) and Akshar (₹5L) programmes take teams from idea to MVP with mentorship and workspace.
03
Learn
MS · PhD · Courses
A research degree where your startup is your thesis, doctoral research on innovation, and founder-led electives for every IITM student.
04
Fund
Founder-in-Residence
UG-FIR and PG-FIR fellowships pay recent graduates and research scholars to build their companies full-time.
05
Scale
IITMIC & Research Park
Graduating ventures move into the IIT Madras Incubation Cell and Research Park — one of India's strongest deep-tech launchpads.
Proof, not promises
Student and alumni companies pre-incubated at Nirmaan are raising serious rounds in spacetech, construction tech, healthcare and climate — on a combined Nirmaan portfolio now valued at over ₹1,000 crore.
Modulus Housing
₹70 Cr
Construction Tech · Series A
GalaxEye
₹58 Cr
SpaceTech · Series A
Arctus Aerospace
$2.6M
Aerospace · Seed
Tan90 Thermal Solutions
₹20 Cr
Cold Chain / Agritech · Series A
Inbound Aerospace
₹9 Cr
SpaceTech · Pre-seed
Plenome Technologies
₹6.5 Cr
Healthcare · Seed
Start here
I'm an IITM student with an idea
Join a CFI club or apply to Nirmaan's next cohort — workspace, mentorship and up to ₹7L in grants.
Explore the ecosystem →
I want a degree in entrepreneurship
MS (Entrepreneurship) — your startup is your thesis. Or pursue doctoral research on innovation.
See the MS programme →
I just graduated and want to build
UG-FIR and PG-FIR fellowships pay you a stipend to work on your venture full-time on campus.
Founder fellowships →
I want to mentor or partner
Join the mentor network, sponsor a programme, or endow an award. Founders need what you know.
Get in touch →
Sponsors & supporters
Organisations that sponsor programmes, teams and infrastructure across the SIE ecosystem.
Our platform
VentureArch is the digital backbone of venture creation at SIE — the platform our founders, mentors and programme teams use to move ideas through the pipeline, from first application to funded venture.
Open VentureArch ↗Latest
Visit · 11 Oct 2026
Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited IIT Madras-incubated Waterfly Technologies in Chennai for the unveiling of Hummingbird, the startup's electric wing-in-ground craft. The craft takes off from water and flies just above the surface, and Waterfly plans its first ocean trial between Chennai and Puducherry by December 2026.
Read the story ↗Achievement · 25 Sept 2026
The team delivered an impressive performance at the RoboNation SUAS 2026 competition, successfully completing 5 endurance laps (10 miles) and a mapping survey with autonomous takeoff and landing, along with nearly 40 minutes of continuous flight without a crash. The team secured 1st Place in the Technical Design Report and Best Website categories and earned $1,250 in performance prizes. Minor payload-system issues prevented the team from completing the payload drops.
Read the story ↗Achievement · 17 Sept 2026
Team AgniRath from IIT Madras secured 3rd Place Internationally at the Sasol Solar Challenge 2026 in South Africa, marking a landmark achievement for Indian solar racing. The team covered 1000+ km across 8 challenging days and recorded the highest distance covered by an Indian team on Day 5, showcasing engineering excellence, teamwork, and innovation in sustainable mobility.
Read the story ↗