Chandigarh University Launches CU-IRP in Collaboration with IIT Madras as a Plug-and-Play R&D Hub to Connect Industry with Academic Research and Startups
CHANDIGARH, India, Oct. 10, 2026/PRNewswire/ — Chandigarh: Expanding funding opportunities for India’s next generation of entrepreneurs, Chandigarh University has launched Season 2 of Campus Tank – ‘India’s Next Unicorn’, India’s first university-led startup launchpad with a US$15-million funding pool up from US$6 million in Season 1, providing young innovators opportunity to pitch their ideas and access investors, mentorship and support to take their ideas to market and strengthen India’s start-up growth and build capacity to develop market-ready products and technology-driven enterprises.
The announcements was made on the second day of the national-level Incubator & Capital Summit 2026 and ISBACON 2026, organised by Chandigarh University Technology Business Incubator (CU-TBI) in association with the Indian Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks and Business Incubators Association (ISBA) at Chandigarh University that brought together 400 incubators institutions from over 20 States and Union Territories, 100 curated startups, 80 investors and more than 60 government, policy and industry delegates on a common platform to strengthen India’s startup and deep-tech capabilities. The launch builds on the overwhelming response to Season 1 that recorded 21,789 registrations from more than 1,200 cities including over 10,800 registrations from universities and colleges. The new season brings together eight investment partners including APNA, Venture Catalysts, Aeravti Ventures, PedalStart, Eaglewings, Faad, Be an Angel and Cube Founders Space.
Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Jindal Steel attended as Chief Guest alongside Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chancellor of Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu. The prominent among other dignitaries who participated in the summit were Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, Infosys, Nirmit Parikh, Group CEO, Apna, Hemant Malhotra, COO, Venture Catalysts (VCats), Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Dr. Gaurav Raina, Professor, IIT Madras, Dr Preet Deep Singh, Public Policy, Amazon, Umesh V. Waghmare, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament and Chairman of Jindal Steel said, “India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047 will be driven by youth of the nation pursuing their own ideas, passions and aspirations. Unlike 10 or 20 years ago, young people today have access to far greater opportunities, knowledge, funding and platforms to turn their ideas into reality. India does not lack talent or imagination what young innovators need is the right opportunity, an encouraging environment and support to realise their potential. Initiatives such as Chandigarh University Innovation and Research Park, in collaboration with IIT Madras, and Campus Tank Season 2 can help bridge this gap by connecting promising founders with investors, mentors and resources.”
“I would leave young entrepreneurs with three thoughts, start before you feel completely ready, test your ideas, fail early and learn fast, think big, but build solutions that address real problems and genuine needs and stay rooted because success without service to society is incomplete. Pursue your ideas with passion but remain open to criticism and learn from setbacks. Success takes time and requires conviction, teamwork and perseverance as I experienced during my decade-long effort to secure the right to fly the national flag. Enjoy the journey, not just the outcome. And when you succeed, take others along with you. In a country as large and diverse as India, our progress must also create opportunities for those who are less fortunate.”
Rajya Sabha MP and Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “Campus Tank is an initiative by Chandigarh University aimed at providing young people from small towns and villages with a platform, mentorship and investment opportunities to turn their startup ideas into reality. A nation progresses by drawing inspiration from the vision of its national leadership. After Independence, people spent much of their time striving to meet basic needs. However, in 2014, the country witnessed a new ray of hope with the vision of Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Today, the world’s perception of India and Indians has changed and every Indian is filled with confidence and believes that India will become a developed nation by 2047. Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, Chandigarh University recognized its responsibility in nation-building and launched initiatives such as Campus Tank. He believes that the contribution an educational institution can make to nation-building is difficult for any other institution to replicate. It is essential to transform the potential of young people into opportunities and contribute to building a self-reliant and developed India.”
Nirmit Parikh, Group CEO, Apna said, “The first season of Campus Tank was a huge success and the second season of Campus Tank will be even better with three key themes. First, with the advent of AI, jobs in India and across the world need a lot of reskilling and upskilling. So lots of startups will come up inside that space. Secondly, AI models need pre-training and post-training, so I’ll be excited to see startups coming inside that space. And the third thing is applied AI. So I’m excited about startups in these three areas. I strongly believe that India will not only build applied AI solutions for India but also for the world,”.
Hemant Malhotra, COO, Venture Catalysts (VCats) said, “The real opportunity lies in discovering promising founders beyond metro cities and supporting them at the right time. India’s next unicorn could emerge from anywhere, and what matters is identifying founders solving real problems, demonstrating customer traction and understanding their markets. At Venture Catalysts, our commitment goes beyond funding to mentoring startups, strengthening their go-to-market strategies and connecting them with the right mentors and incubation support to scale their businesses. Our participation in Campus Tank Season 2 reflects a long-term commitment to Chandigarh University and its startups. Together, we aim to help promising founders access the capital, guidance and support they need to build scalable businesses and take their ventures to the next level.”
India Needs Partnerships for Innovation, IIT Madras-Chandigarh University MoU to Drive innovation at Scale, says Dr Gaurav Raina, Professor, IIT Madras
Dr Gaurav Raina, Professor, IIT Madras said, “IIT Madras Research Park which has incubated 575 startups valued at over 8.5 billion US dollars, generated more than 10,000 jobs, in past 15 years. Our next vision is to have a startup a day and our 2030 vision is to have an IPO a month. Given the size of our country and the problems we have, there’s an opportunity over the next 20-25 years to have 10,000 unicorns. For this, just building platforms for innovation is not going to be enough. For innovation at scale, we don’t need just platform but partnerships also. And it is in that context that we have actually an MOU between Chandigarh University and the IIT Madras Innovation and Research ecosystem to actually build innovation at scale,’
Chandigarh University Launches CU-IRP in Collaboration with IIT Madras as a Plug-and-Play R&D Hub to Connect Industry with Academic Research and Startups
Complementing the Campus Tank Season 2 announcement, Chandigarh University launched the Chandigarh University Innovation & Research Park (CU-IRP) in collaboration with IIT Madras which will serve as a plug-and-play R&D hub for industry, bringing corporate research centres closer to university researchers, faculty, students and startups to facilitate industry-linked research, product development and the translation of innovations into market-ready solutions. The CU-IRP launch was attended by MP Satnam Singh Sandhu and MP Naveen Jindal, along with representatives of IIT Madras. The launch also included the announcement of a ₹50-crore innovation and startup fund to provide financial support to promising ventures and strengthen the commercialisation of research and the development of startups.
Modelled on the IIT Madras Research Park, CU-IRP’s Phase 1 pilot is planned across 30,000–40,000 square feet, providing dedicated space for research, incubation and R&D to bring industry, academic expertise and startups together to develop market-ready solutions. It will bring together Centres of Excellence and advanced laboratories, C-Hub’s incubation and venture infrastructure, and industry consultancy and sponsored research. Planned facilities include MakerSpace; Frontier Labs focused on Artificial Intelligence, Bose-Einstein Quantum and Robotics; and industry anchor laboratories in GeoAI, Automation & Exoskeleton, Biotech and Agritech. A Product Studio and an Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office will further support product development and the transfer of research innovations towards commercial applications. CU-IRP will also serve as a platform for credit-based participation by faculty and students in industry projects, enabling companies to work directly with academic teams on research, technology development and product innovation.
Campus Tank Season 1 Winners Announced; Krvvy, Offlyn and Medoc Health Emerge as Winners
The programme on the second day included the announcement of the winners of the Campus Tank Season 1. The Campus Tank Season 1 recognized three startups for their innovation and business potential.
Krvvy was adjudged as the winner which was co-founded by Thapar University engineering graduates Yash Goyal and Anant Bhardwaj. The women’s innerwear and shapewear brand focuses on comfort, fit and products designed around Indian body types. It received a proposed ₹4-crore investment commitment from Venture Catalysts against a ₹12-crore funding round and a ₹60-crore valuation.
Offlyn, founded by Kumar Ayush Sinha, a postgraduate in Technology and Business Management from Masters’ Union and R. V. College of Engineering alumnus Arpit Arora is a platform for discovering, booking and hosting offline experiences including workshops, supper clubs and social gatherings. It received a proposed funding allocation of ₹3.85 crore at a ₹25-crore post-money valuation.
Medoc Health, founded by Chandigarh University alumnus Utkarsh Luthra, develops hospital management and healthcare technology. With a proposed ₹1-crore funding allocation, it serves 98 hospitals across five states and reported ₹1.26-crore revenue in FY2025–26, with an estimated valuation of ₹24 crore. Together, the three winners span consumer products, offline experiences and healthcare technology.
ICS26 Demo Day featured startup pitches across four tracks, followed by recognition of four track winners and an Investor’s Choice award. The summit also included an industry roundtable on “The Future of R&D on Indian Campuses”, examining the role of industry partnerships in university research and innovation.
About Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.
Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/
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