UST and IITM Incubation Cell sign MoU to accelerate deep tech startups in healthcare and life sciences
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Mentorship & funding support announced for winners of Pitch to Win - Pharma 4.0
Strategic partnership to accelerate deep tech startups in India developing breakthrough solutions in healthcare and life sciences
Top three winners of the innovation challenge, Pitch to Win: Pharma 4.0 announced
Winning startups gain mentorship, and total conditional funding support of up to ₹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 ₹1,25,000, ₹75,000 and ₹50,000 respectively. In addition, UST will offer a total conditional funding of up to ₹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.”
This partnership underscores UST’s dedication to advancing research-driven innovation and entrepreneurship, leveraging its global expertise to accelerate next-generation solutions within India’s Life Sciences 4.0 ecosystem.
About IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC)
IITMIC is India’s leading deep-tech startup hub and the umbrella organisation for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship at IIT Madras. IITMIC today has a portfolio of over 500 deep-tech startups across diverse sectors such as manufacturing, space, climate tech, medtech, biotech, AI, mobility, IoT, sustainability, etc. — with a combined valuation exceeding USD 6 billion. Under the guidance of IIT Madras faculty and a robust network of mentors, investors, and corporate partners, IITMIC provides a comprehensive support ecosystem including incubation, seed funding, IP guidance, R&D access, and go-to-market assistance. Its portfolio includes two unicorns and one IPO. Follow us on www.linkedin.com/company/iitm-incubation-cell/
About UST
Since 1999, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a powerful impact through transformation. Powered by technology, driven by AI, inspired by people, and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Our AI-driven digital solutions, proprietary platforms, engineering, R&D, products, and innovation ecosystem turn core challenges into impactful, disruptive solutions. With deep industry knowledge and a future-ready mindset, we infuse expertise, innovation, and agility into our clients' organisations—delivering measurable value and positive lasting change for them, their customers, and communities around the world. Together, with 30,000+ employees in 30+ countries, we build for boundless impact—touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at www.UST.com
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