TIDCO Invests Rs 25 Crore Each in Two Deeptech Startups

In Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation announced investments of Rs 25 crore each in two homegrown deeptech startups, Agnikul Cosmos and Raptee Energy, marking the first deployments under its new Startup Investment Policy 2025. Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa handed over the approval letters to the companies' founders during a ceremony at the state secretariat on Saturday.

The investments, structured as minority equity stakes, aim to bolster innovation in emerging sectors and reposition TIDCO as a venture catalyst within the industries department. Established in 1965, TIDCO has a history of supporting industrial ventures, including early investments in Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation in 1972 and Titan Company. Since 2024, the state government has worked to redefine the agency's role, focusing on sunrise industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, aerospace, and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Rajaa emphasized the initiative's broader goal of transforming Tamil Nadu into a "Product Nation," an ambition led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. "To lay the foundation for that goal, we rebranded...