Six faculty-led teams selected for the inaugural 10-week cohort combining industry mentorship, institutional funding, and investor exposure

Kanpur, October 5, 2026: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) has launched SCALE-Transcend, a flagship initiative aimed at helping faculty-led research move from the laboratory to real-world commercial applications. The inaugural 10-week cohort began with six faculty-led teams.

SCALE-Transcend addresses a key challenge in deep-tech innovation: translating strong academic research into viable and scalable market applications. The programme provides each participating team with one-to-one industry mentorship, along with institutional financial support and structured investor exposure; a combination introduced as a first-of-its-kind approach at IIT Kanpur.

Through dedicated industry mentorship, participating faculty teams will receive guidance on customer discovery, market validation, business strategy, and commercial pathways, helping them navigate real-world business challenges. The Institute is also providing financial support to accelerate technology development and commercialization.

The inaugural cohort brings together innovations in temperature-sensitive smart paints, legal-tech AI agents, computational fluid dynamics, energy-efficient edge intelligence, sulfur-based batteries, and medical-grade neurostimulation devices, reflecting the range of translational research being undertaken at IIT Kanpur.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “At IIT Kanpur, our goal is to ensure that cutting-edge academic research doesn't just stay in the lab, but translates into real-world solutions that drive national growth. SCALE-Transcend is a crucial step in equipping our faculty innovators with the exact mentorship and resources they need to succeed in the marketplace.”

Mr. Anurag Singh, Managing Partner, Dhanavritti LLP, and architect of SCALE-Transcend added, “Great research alone doesn't build great companies. Faculty innovators need capital paired with people who have actually built and scaled ventures before - that combination of funding and real operating experience is what SCALE-Transcend is designed to give every team in this cohort.”

SCALE-Transcend is an initiative under Strategic Capital & Advisory for Launch and Expansion (SCALE), IIT Kanpur’s venture development platform. It focuses on supporting the commercialization of faculty-led translational research by bringing together business mentorship, industry expertise, and institutional financial support.

About IIT Kanpur

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, established in 1959, is recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. Renowned for excellence in science, engineering, and interdisciplinary education, IIT Kanpur spans a 1,050-acre lush green campus and comprises 20 departments, 27 centres, three interdisciplinary programmes, and three specialised schools. With over 570 faculty members and more than 9,500 students, the institute continues to lead in innovation, research, and holistic development.

For more information, please visit: www.iitk.ac.in