Kerala deep-tech startup Carbelim has raised ₹10 crore from the IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund, becoming the first startup from the state to be backed by the fund. The investment was announced at a function in Bengaluru, where Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti handed over the cheque, according to an official statement on 29 October 2026. The raise was reported by Press Trust of India, The Hindu BusinessLine and Dealroom.
Carbelim was founded by Dr Karthika Gopi, who serves as CEO, and Rahul Babu, the CTO. Backed by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the company develops microalgae-based bio-integrated systems that capture carbon dioxide and purify air, putting it in India's small but growing climate-hardware segment.
The founders say the new capital should create more than 50 jobs and lift the company's turnover to ₹100 crore. Those figures are the founders' own targets shared with reporters, not commitments made by the fund.
The investor, IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I, was set up by IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures. The fund announced a ₹450 crore first close toward a ₹1,000 crore target corpus on 26 September 2026 and has deployed roughly ₹55 crore across four deep-tech startups so far. Carbelim previously raised a pre-seed round from Campus Fund in August 2025, according to BusinessWire India.
Business Insight: university-linked funds are becoming the first institutional cheques for Indian climate hardware, giving deep-tech founders an alternative to software-focused VC. But targets like ₹100 crore turnover still have to be proven in a market where carbon capture buyers are scarce. Sources: Press Trust of India (29 October 2026), The Hindu BusinessLine (29 October 2026), Dealroom (29 October 2026), IIT Madras Research Park (26 September 2026) and BusinessWire India (5 August 2025). Graphics by The FundForge. This article is for information and is not investment advice.
