ELEVATE NxT 2026–27

About

A pan-India DeepTech grant-in-aid call from Karnataka offering selected startups up to ₹1 crore in milestone-based funding plus mentorship and incubation support.

Benefits

• 💰Grant-in-Aid
  Selected startups are eligible for up to ₹1 crore in grant-in-aid support, disbursed on a milestone basis in two tranches: first after completion of post-selection formalities/programme agreements, second after achievement and review of approved milestones
• 🤝Mentorship
  Selected startups receive milestone-based mentorship
• 🏢Incubation Support
  Selected startups receive mentoring and incubation support at subsidized rates from government-backed incubation centres
• 🔗Ecosystem Linkage
  Selected ventures are mapped to K-Tech Partners / K-Tech Innovation Partners, Centres of Excellence and ecosystem partners for technology validation, market access and industry connections, subject to selection

Eligibility Criteria

• Entity Type
• Mandatory requirement of being a Private Limited Company under the Companies Act 2013, a Registered Partnership Firm under Section 59 of the Partnership Act 1932, a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) under the LLP Act 2008, or a State or Multi-State Co-operative Society registered under applicable Indian cooperative law
• Independent Entity
• Mandatory requirement of being an independent entity and not a subsidiary, spin-off, or internal division of an existing company
• Previous Grants
• Mandatory requirement of not having received an ELEVATE Grant-in-Aid benefit in the last 3 years
• Ownership
• Mandatory requirement that the terms of ownership are not altered to the founders’ advantage during the project
• Pan-India Registration
• Mandatory requirement of registration in India, and the startup may be incorporated and based anywhere across India
• Turnover
• Mandatory requirement that turnover does not exceed ₹300 crores in any financial year since incorporation or registration
• Company Age
• Mandatory requirement of being within 20 years from the date of incorporation at the time of application
• Team Size
• Mandatory requirement of at least two individuals in the founding or core team
• DeepTech Qualification
• Mandatory requirement of being rooted in advanced technology, with high technical complexity and strong IP potential, and addressing a genuine industry, society or environment problem or creating a new market
• Technology Readiness
• Mandatory requirement to declare a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) between 3 and 8 for the underlying technology
• Karnataka Registration
• Mandatory for startups registered outside Karnataka that are declared winners, who must change the registered office of the company to Karnataka within 4 months from the date of result announcement, and non-compliance will result in the application being treated as rejected
• Preferred Criteria
• No separate preferred criteria are stated, and the listed priority sectors are illustrative and not exc

Participation Commitments

• Karnataka Relocation
• Non-Karnataka winners must change their Registered Office of Company (RoC) to Karnataka within 4 months from the date of result announcement, and non-compliance results in the application being treated as rejected
• Ownership Terms
• Winners must not alter terms of ownership to the founders’ advantage during the project
• Milestone-Based Disbursement
• Grant disbursement is milestone-based and requires completion of post-selection formalities/programme agreements and achievement/review of approved milestones

Target Region

Pan-India: startups may be incorporated and based anywhere across India. Startups registered outside Karnataka that are declared winners must change their Registered Office of Company (RoC) to Karnataka within 4 months from the date of result announcement; non-compliance is treated as rejection.

Target Sector

Agriculture & Food, Defense & Security, Education, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate & Construction, Retail & Consumer, Semiconductors & Electronics, Sports & Fitness, Telecommunications, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Hospitality, Other