The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and its alumni association hosted ‘Sangam 2025’, their flagship global innovation and alumni summit, in Bengaluru on 4 and 5 July. The sixth edition of the annual event drew attention to artificial intelligence, deep tech, and entrepreneurship, attracting more than 500 participants from around the world.
The summit featured senior government representatives, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, faculty members, and students. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal attended the event and addressed the gathering, which included leading alumni such as Aparna Chennapragada, Chief Product Officer at Microsoft; Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering at OpenAI; and Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy.
During his address, the Union Minister highlighted the government’s commitment to supporting the deep tech sector. He announced that a second tranche of Rs. 10,000 crore from the Fund of Funds had been allocated, primarily to aid innovation and the adoption of new technologies. Additionally, he said the government had recently approved a $12 billion (approximately Rs. 1 lakh crore) package for the Department of Science and Technology as a 50-year interest-free loan.
Piyush Goyal stated that the cost of developing advanced technologies in India is significantly lower than in other countries. He said these investments were aimed at providing flexible support, including equity and grants, to help scale promising innovations. “When we work on new technologies in India, our cost is nearly one-sixth or one-seventh of what it would cost in Switzerland or the US,” he remarked.
The Minister also pointed to the broader goal of transforming India into a developed economy, citing a projected growth from the current $4 trillion GDP to $32 trillion by 2047. “We all have to contribute to make India a developed nation,” he said, echoing the Prime Minister’s message of inclusive development.
IIT Madras Director Prof. V. Kamakoti said the institute was committed to contributing towards India’s long-term development goals, particularly through innovation and entrepreneurship. He noted that Sangam 2025 had been designed to encourage discussions and collaboration on how to make India a product-driven and entrepreneurial economy by 2047.
The event also featured a Startup Pitchfest, where 20 early-stage ventures in areas such as AI, healthtech, robotics, quantum computing, and semiconductors presented their ideas to over 250 investors and venture capitalists. Start-ups selected through the Pitchfest will be supported by the IIT Madras Innovation Ecosystem, which has helped incubate more than 500 ventures over the past decade.
The top three start-ups recognised at the Pitchfest were Folium Sensing, which develops fibre-optic sensing systems for infrastructure monitoring; Q-axis Motors, specialising in precision gimbals for drones and defence applications; and Zentor Medtech, which has patented a solid-state laser technology for eye surgery.
Among the other speakers at the summit were Infosys Co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, former ISRO Chairman Dr. S. Somanath, and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
President of the IIT Madras Alumni Association, Shyamala Rajaram, called Sangam 2025 a platform where alumni from diverse fields could come together to discuss innovation and entrepreneurship. “From AI and Deep Tech to founders and investors, alumni across spheres come together to inspire and lead,” she said.
Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam, Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations at IIT Madras, thanked the alumni community for its support and noted the institute’s continued strong performance in research, innovation, and national rankings. “Sangam 2025, true to its name, embodies the power of an inspired community uniting to place IIT Madras and our nation at the pinnacle of the global stage,” he said.
The event also featured a series of book launches. These included ‘The Co-Intelligence Revolution: How Humans and AI Co-Create New Value’ by Krishnan Narayanan and Prof. Venkat Ramaswamy, and ‘Marketing Mixology: Four Essential Ingredients for Marketing Success’ by Ambi Parmeswaran. In addition, an ‘Entrepreneurship Course for IITM Alumni’ was announced by McKinsey Partner Ramesh Srinivasan in collaboration with IIT Madras.
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