Valuing early-stage startups
A machine-learning comparable-company model for early-stage valuation, using CREST's startup datasets instead of cash-flow forecasts that young firms cannot support.
IIT Madras
CREST
Centre for Research on Start-Ups and Risk Financing — an Institute of Eminence research centre at IIT Madras.
About
What the centre does
India's startup boom has been driven largely by policy and practice. CREST exists to add academic evidence — so investment decisions, incubation programmes and public schemes rest on data, not anecdote.
The centre studies innovation, entrepreneurship and risk capital. It builds unique datasets on ventures and investors, publishes scholarly work, and works with ministries, incubators and banks on applied studies.
SIE and CREST sit in the same campus ecosystem. Faculty who mentor SIE founders also advise CREST research, and SIE's PhD programme draws on the same questions: how ventures form, raise and scale in India.
Mandate
What CREST is built to do
01
Scholarly research
New work on innovation, entrepreneurship and risk capital, aimed at top-tier journals and Indian evidence.
02
Data platform
A repository on venturing and risk capital — the missing infrastructure for high-quality research in India.
03
Evidence for practice
Impact studies with incubators, investor networks and government missions, grounded in real programme data.
04
Thought leadership
Reports, dashboards and convenings that put research in front of policymakers and operators.
Focus
Research domains
Shared questions across SIE doctoral work and CREST studies — from venture science to public programmes.
Venture science
How early-stage firms form, hire and survive.
Risk capital
Valuation, venture capital and the cost of capital for Indian startups.
Incubation & policy
What public schemes and incubators actually change for founders.
Deep-tech ecosystems
Lab-to-market paths, IP and university-linked ventures.
Sector platforms
National dashboards for biotech, textiles, education and more.
Impact & inclusion
Health equity, circular economy and grassroots enterprise.
Studies
Current projects and reports
Selected CREST work with ministries, development banks and campus labs. Full listings live on the CREST site.
Biotech startup dashboard
A national view of biotech startups, founders and funding — built on CREST platforms such as VIBGYOR and ONE-INNOVATION.
Ubharte Sitaare impact
Before-and-after social impact assessment of companies supported under the Ubharte Sitaare programme, using an additionalities framework.
GRID grassroots enterprises
Socio-economic outcomes of community enterprises in handloom, pottery, agriculture and rural manufacturing.
MeitY TIDE 2.0 assessment
Impact evaluation of the TIDE 2.0 incubation scheme — revenue, jobs, follow-on capital and IP, triangulated with incubator and founder discussions.
Tamil Nadu startup ecosystem
A state-level snapshot of policy, funding and founder outcomes, aligned with Startup India.
Patents and startup performance
How intellectual property relates to survival, fundraising and competitive advantage in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Student startups from HEIs
Which founder backgrounds, team traits and campus factors predict success for student ventures.
People
Investigators
Principal Investigator
Prof. Thillai Rajan A.
Department of Management Studies
Co-Principal Investigator
Prof. R. K. Amit
Department of Management Studies
Co-Principal Investigator
Prof. P. Krishna Prasanna
Department of Management Studies
Advisory principal investigators
Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala
Electrical Engineering · IITM Research Park
Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam
Civil Engineering
Prof. Krishnan Balasubramanian
Mechanical Engineering
Prof. Prabhu Rajagopal
Mechanical Engineering
Prof. T. Pradeep
Chemistry
Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri
Applied Mechanics · Head, SIE