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- Startup Policy Forum (SPF), an industry alliance with India’s leading high-growth startups as its members, will collaborate with IIT Madras’s Centre for Research on Start-Ups and Risk Financing (CREST)
- Partnership to focus on driving policy research and knowledge exchange for advocating progressive regulatory and policy frameworks
- IIT Madras remains at the forefront of entrepreneurial and technological innovation, with successful startups like Ather Energy, Uniphore, Mindgrove Technologies, InCore Semiconductors and MediBuddy emerging from its fore
This landmark partnership leverages IIT Madras’s unparalleled academic, research and innovation expertise alongside SPF’s deep engagement in working on startup policy and regulatory frameworks with startups and policymakers. As India’s leading research and academic institution, IIT Madras has gained a lot of prominence for incubating high-impact startups—such as Ather Energy, Uniphore, MediBuddy, Mindgrove Technologies and InCore Semiconductors.
As part of this collaboration, SPF will support the Centre for Research on Start-Ups and Risk Financing (CREST), which engages in high-quality research to support the financing of innovation, startups and entrepreneurship. The partnership will specifically collaborate to contribute to and promote IIT Madras’ YNOS, a startup intelligence platform that brings together information and research on various stakeholders and government schemes.
Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (IC & SR), said, “This collaboration with SPF aligns with our vision to translate research excellence into meaningful policy contributions. We are excited to co-create knowledge, support founders and industry leaders, and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs through impactful policymaking.”
Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President & CEO, Startup Policy Forum (SPF), said “For India to cement its position as a global startup hub, it is imperative to have a robust policy framework and data-driven policymaking. This partnership with IIT Madras is a testament to our commitment to shaping policies that are not just reactive but proactive in addressing the needs of India’s dynamic startup landscape.”
Thillai Rajan, Professor, IIT Madras, shared, “IIT Madras has been at the forefront of fostering disruptive startups and pioneering technology research. By joining forces with SPF, we are strengthening the bridge between rigorous academic research and real-world policy impact. This partnership will enable data-driven policymaking that empowers startups and fosters a thriving innovation ecosystem.”
With IIT Madras’s legacy of incubating some of India’s most influential startups and SPF’s strategic role in policy advocacy, this collaboration is set to create a structured, research-backed approach to startup policymaking. This underscores the power of academia-industry partnerships in shaping a more supportive, informed, and globally competitive startup ecosystem.
IIT Madras and SPF will co-host policy discussions, research workshops, and roundtables to drive forward-thinking policies that empower Indian startups and entrepreneurs and promote strategic thought leadership and regulatory innovation.
About Startup Policy Forum
Startup Policy Forum (SPF) is an industry alliance for India's new-age companies. SPF’s members include many of India’s most successful and valuable startups, including Razorpay, CRED, Groww, Zerodha, Pine Labs, OYO, Acko, Swiggy, Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Livspace, Cars24, CarDekho, MobiKwik among others. SPF’s mission is to be a trusted partner to founders and policymakers. It engages in policy advocacy for new-age companies, promotes the Indian startup ecosystem on a global stage and brings together a curated community of leading startups and founders. The Forum provides a platform for networking, community engagement, and consensus building, enabling startups across diverse sectors to scale, both domestically and overseas.
