The programme will support startups with market access, capital mobilisation, policy support, and access to technology and scale-up infrastructure, the IT/BT department said in a statement.
The cohort comprises aerospace and defence startup AquaAirX Autonomous Systems, biotech startup Fibroheal Woundcare, space-tech startup Hyspace Technologies, deftech startup OptM Media Solutions, space and propulsion startup SpaceFields, autonomous systems startup UNMANND Autonomy, and navigation and sensing startup Yaanendriya.
The Deeptech Enabler programme is aimed at startups that have moved beyond technology validation and early commercial traction, but face challenges in larger deployment.
The programme will focus on issues such as access to anchor customers, infrastructure, manufacturing, regulatory approvals, and growth capital. Each startup will have a company-specific engagement plan, with progress tracked against defined outcomes.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the state’s next challenge was to help startups move from technology development and early market traction to sustained commercial growth.
“By bringing together industry, infrastructure, capital, markets, and policy support around these companies, we can create stronger pathways for Karnataka-born technologies to scale nationally and globally,” Kharge said.
Startups also need customers, regulatory pathways, and ecosystem partnerships to move towards commercial scale, said Pravin Hungund, CEO, Innoverse Foundation.
Karnataka’s deeptech ecosystem comprises 2,610 companies, of which 897 are funded and have raised about $4.6 billion, according to Innoverse. The state has 204 incubators, including 16 centres of excellence and more than 50 technology business incubators.
Deeptech Enabler will run as a nine-month annual cohort with up to 10 startups. Innoverse is also developing the Innoverse Connect Programme for early-revenue startups facing specific challenges.
Innoverse said it is targeting a two-fold increase in the combined annual revenue of companies participating in its Enabler and Connect programmes, from about Rs 35 crore to Rs 70 crore. It also aims to mobilise more than Rs 300 crore in growth capital, compared with a baseline of about Rs 150 crore, said the statement.
The first cohort will run through June 2027. Progress will be tracked against revenue and capital mobilisation, as well as anchor-customer contracts, certifications, and international market-entry pathways, the statement added.