Winning startups gain mentorship, and total conditional funding support of up to Rs 45 lakh
UST, a leading AI and technology transformation solutions company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC), India’s premier deep tech startup hub anchored at IIT-Madras, to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and research-driven solutions in the healthcare and life sciences sector.
The MoU aims to create a collaborative framework between UST and IITMIC to drive innovation through joint programs, engagement with incubates, and industry partnerships, especially in high‑impact domains. This agreement establishes a scalable, structured yet flexible partnership between UST and IITMIC to identify high‑potential startups, provide them with mentorship and targeted funding, and systematically expand pilots and proof‑of‑concepts, form strategic collaborations, and create go-to-market opportunities.
A first in a series of joint innovation programs, this collaboration of UST and IITMIC, in partnership with Pfizer as Knowledge Partner and AWS as Technology Partner, jointly conducted the Pitch to Win: Pharma 4.0 Edition. The innovation challenge received over ninety startup applications from 32 cities across India, reflecting the growing momentum of India’s healthcare and life sciences startup ecosystem. The top ten finalists received a month’s worth of mentorship support from UST and finally presented before a distinguished jury panel at the final pitch day, held at IITMIC, Chennai.
The top three winners of the Pitch to Win – Pharma 4.0 Edition were Nucleo-Vir Therapeutics (Winner), ChemBioSens (First Runner-Up) and LN Infosphere Tech Transformers (Second Runner-Up). They received cash awards of Rs 1,25,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. In addition, UST will offer a total conditional funding of up to Rs 45 lakh to the three startups, along with GTM and other strategic support.
Manu Gopinath, President, UST, said, “Our partnership with IIT Madras Incubation Cell is a strategic leap in how we harness deep tech innovation across industries. With IITMIC’s proven incubation ecosystem and access to cutting-edge research, we are not just backing startups; we are nurturing bold founders, accelerating research-driven ideas, and building a strong pipeline of solutions that can transform businesses, communities, and society at large. By combining IITMIC’s cross-domain innovation capabilities with UST’s global reach, industry partnerships, and mentorship, we are creating a scalable platform to bring impactful, next-generation technologies from the lab to the market.”
Dr Tamaswati Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer, IITMIC, added, “This collaboration with UST reflects our shared vision to advance India’s deep-tech innovation landscape, particularly in healthcare and life sciences. Through initiatives like Pitch to Win: Pharma 4.0, we’re not only nurturing high-potential startups but also building bridges between academia, industry, and investors to scale impactful solutions that can improve lives globally.”
