The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) board on Saturday approved an investment of ₹25 crore each in space-tech startup AgniKul Cosmos and electric mobility startup Raptee Energy under the Tidco Startup Investment Policy 2025.
These investments mark the first deployments under the policy and signal the state government’s decision to directly support high-potential startups emerging from the state’s deep-tech and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
These investments represent a broader institutional shift led by the Department of Industries to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s startup financing ecosystem. Over the past year, Tidco has reshaped its investment mandate to create a structured venture investment framework in highly promising startups, enabling the state to support emerging technology companies at critical stages of their growth and scale.
Investment proposals under the new policy will be evaluated through a dedicated Tidco Investment Committee comprising Tidco’s managing director, finance director, an independent director, and two external subject matter experts.
Handing over the investment approval letters to Dinesh Arjun, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Raptee Energy, and Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of AgniKul Cosmos, Industries Minister T R B Rajaa said: “Since 2024, we have been working on reimagining Tidco’s role in the Department of Industries. Making Tamil Nadu a ‘Product Nation’ has been the ambition of the Honourable Chief Minister, and my personal target, for two years. To lay the foundation for that target, we rebranded Tidco as a ‘Venture Catalyst’ — the first step towards reforming the organisation into a robust investment arm of the government that helps secure the state’s future in sunrise sectors. With these investments, we have opened a brand new chapter in Tidco’s journey with the ambition to recreate the success of our early investments, like the one in Titan, across many more promising startups.”
Arun Roy, secretary to the department of industries, said: “Under this policy, Tidco has been authorised to invest up to ₹25 crore in eligible startups across sunrise sectors…. The policy enables investments across the startup lifecycle, from early-stage innovation to scale and expansion, ensuring that high-growth Tamil Nadu companies have access to patient capital within the state.”
“On a visit to the IIT Madras Thaiyur campus last year, our Honourable Industries Minister Dr TRB Rajaa gave us his valuable time and allowed us to explain what we are building for the world, from Tamil Nadu,” recalled Ravichandran. “Now, to have an actual investment from Tidco into deep-tech startups such as ourselves shows that the entire Tamil Nadu Government under the able leadership of Honourable Chief Minister Thiru M K Stalin is focused and serious about developing Tamil Nadu as a technology hub from the grassroots.”
Arjun of Raptee Energy said: “Having Tidco as a direct investor is a historic first for any state in the country, and it provides Raptee with the institutional credibility to compete on a global stage.”
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