STPI Has Backed 136 Startups With INR 31 Cr Seed Funding: DG

SUMMARY

Kumar added that the autonomous body has also “financially incentivised” 359 other tech ventures through a stipend amount of INR 3.57 Cr

The STPI director also noted that 134 startups, “supported” by the incubator, have raised INR 286 Cr in funding so far

Kumar also said that 44% of STPI’s startup portfolio comprised women entrepreneurs, adding that “many” of them came from Tier-II and Tier-III cities

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) director general Arvind Kumar has reportedly said that the state-run incubator has so far invested a seed capital of INR 30.87 Cr in 136 startups.

As per news agency PTI, Kumar said that the autonomous body has also “financially incentivised” 359 other tech ventures through a stipend amount of INR 3.57 Cr. He also noted that 134 startups, “supported” by the incubator, have raised INR 286 Cr in funding so far.

“Amongst these supported startups, 134 have also been able to raise external funding from an investor community comprising angels and venture capitalists of about Rs 286 Cr, which is not only a validation of their business but also the testament of the progress made by these startups,” Kumar reportedly said at an event on Friday (March 21).

Elaborating on this, Kumar said that 44% of STPI’s startup portfolio comprised women entrepreneurs, adding that “many” of them came from Tier-II and III cities.

“… We are not just honouring startup success stories today; we are also reflecting on how we can improve, refine our policies, expand our outreach, and ensure that our startup ecosystem reaches its full potential,” he added.

Founded in 1991 under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), STPI is arguably the oldest incubator in the country. Envisaged to promote entrepreneurship through incubation programmes, it claims to have more than 13 centres of excellence (CoEs) under its belt across India to develop products and solutions in areas such as healthtech, internet of things (IoT), and agritech.

This comes on the same day as commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that the country has set its eyes on minting 5,000 unicorns in the near future. He also said that many nations were looking to adopt India’s development model, which has “given prominence to initiatives such as Startup India”.

Earlier this, the government informed the Parliament that the country is home to more than 1.61 Lakh DPIIT-registered startups as of January, 2025. As per Inc42, Indian startups have raised more than $150 Bn in the past decade and the country is home to more than 119 unicorns and 31 listed startups.