IIMA Ventures, the technology-focused investment arm of IIM Ahmedabad, has partnered with Jaivel Aerospace to launch a dedicated aerospace and defence acceleration fund aimed at nurturing early-stage startups in the sector. The fund will support innovators developing cutting-edge technologies in areas such as autonomy, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, and secure communication systems.
Under this initiative, each selected startup will receive up to $400,000 (around ₹3.3 crore) in pre-seed or seed funding, along with access to mentorship, testing and development facilities, and Jaivel Aerospace’s global manufacturing network. The fund is designed to provide the first institutional cheque to promising new ventures, giving them the resources and guidance needed to scale rapidly.
“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,” said Vipul Patel, Partner at IIMA Ventures. He emphasized that the fund is focused on pre-seed and seed opportunities, creating early-stage support for emerging technologies.
IIMA Ventures has previously backed startups such as Sagar Defence, ePlane, Ideaforge, and Nabhdrishti, while its broader portfolio spans space-tech ventures including Agnikul, PierSight, Galaxeye, and Bellatrix. Unlike typical sector-specific funds, this vehicle is not structured as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF); it is being set up using balance-sheet capital from both Jaivel Aerospace and IIMA Ventures, with plans to expand and include other corporate partners.
Vipul Vachhani, founder of Jaivel Aerospace, highlighted the strategic advantage of the collaboration: “Together with IIMA Ventures, we aim to create a platform for startups to leverage Jaivel’s international advanced-manufacturing network and build robust execution models from the start.”
Earlier in 2025, IIMA Ventures had announced plans to invest in 30 deeptech startups from a ₹40 crore corpus under its partnership with SIDBI, reinforcing its commitment to supporting India’s emerging technology ecosystem.
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