Chennai/Bengaluru: Early-stage venture capital fund Shastra VC on Monday launched India's first venture capital-led deep-tech fellowship, aimed at converting frontier research from laboratories into venture-ready startups.

Titled the Shastra Deep-tech Excellence Fellowship (SDEX), the 16-24 week programme will support researchers from premier institutions such as IITs, IISc, IISERs, NITs, IIITs and national laboratories. Under the initiative, up to 15 teams will be selected in the inaugural cohort and each will receive equity-free funding and resources of up to USD 100,000.

Shastra VC, which has backed over 30 startups including Alt Carbon, Simplismart and SISIR Radar, said applications for the first cohort are open till January 31, 2026.

SDEX will operate through two tracks — a Challenge Track focusing on problem statements sourced from Shastra's ecosystem, and a Frontier Track for researchers working on breakthrough technologies with clearly defined technical goals.

Shastra VC partner Avijeet Alagathi said India's deep-tech ecosystem was witnessing strong policy and institutional momentum, but early proof-to-venture support remained a critical gap.

Officials said the fellowship aims to bridge the “valley of death” between promising research and investable deep-tech startups by enabling early technical validation and close mentorship.