The fund will back about 8-10 startups developing solutions in areas such as autonomy, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, and secure communication systems.
Each company will receive up to $400,000 in pre-seed or seed funding, along with access to mentorship, development facilities and Jaivel’s global manufacturing network.
“Within the deeptech space, aerospace and defence are areas we’ve already worked in. With this new fund, we want to expand and double down on that portfolio,” Vipul Patel, partner at IIMA Ventures told ET. “We’re focusing more on pre-seed and seed opportunities—essentially the first institutional cheque. That’s the approach we’re taking as we look to add new companies in this space.”
IIMA Ventures has previously supported startups such as Sagar Defence, ePlane, Ideaforge, and Nabhdrishti in the aerospace and defence domains. It also counts space-tech ventures such as Agnikul, PierSight, Galaxeye, and Bellatrix in its portfolio.
Patel noted that the fund is not structured as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and is being set up with balance sheet capital from both Jaivel Aerospace and IIMA Ventures. They plan to expand the fund’s size over time and are in talks with other corporates to join the initiative.
“As there are other partners who will join, the overall size and number of companies we can back increase over the period,” Patel noted.
Founded by Vipul Vachhani, Jaivel Aerospace is a manufacturing technology company that provides design, engineering, and advanced manufacturing solutions for global aerospace clients.
“Together with IIMA Ventures, we aim to create the platform for startups to leverage Jaivel Aerospace’s international advanced manufacturing network as well as build a robust execution model from the start,” said Vachhani. “Startups will also benefit from Jaivel Aerospace’s design, engineering and manufacturing ecosystem to accelerate time-to-market.”
Earlier this year, IIMA Ventures announced plans to invest in 30 deeptech startups from a Rs 40 crore corpus under its partnership with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi).
The new fund comes amid growing investor interest in aerospace and defence ventures in India, driven by government initiatives around self-reliance, strong export growth, and heightened geopolitical tensions.
In July, ET reported that Ravi Kapoor, a former senior executive at Citi, is setting up a Rs 1,000 crore aerospace and defence fund named Indusbridge Ventures to tap into the expanding market for military hardware.