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Carbelim raises Rs 10 Cr from IIT Madras's deeptech fund for microalgae carbon capture
The Kerala startup, which turns atmospheric carbon dioxide into oxygen using microalgae systems, is the first from the state to get money from the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund.
Carbelim, a Kerala deeptech startup backed by Kerala Startup Mission, has raised Rs 10 crore from the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund, The Hindu BusinessLine and UNI reported on October 29. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti handed the cheque to the company at a function in Bengaluru. Carbelim is the first startup from Kerala to receive money from the fund.
Founded by Karthika Gopi, who is CEO, and Rahul Babu, Carbelim builds bio-integrated carbon capture and air purification systems that use microalgae to draw carbon dioxide out of the air and convert it into oxygen. The company says it has filed 13 patents, seven in the US and six in India. Gopi described its products as covering carbon capture, clean air, resource production and what it calls Micro Algae Tree, or Liquid Tree, systems for cities and industries.
Carbelim currently has 42 employees, many of them scientists and engineers, according to UNI. Gopi said the investment should create more than 50 more jobs and help the company reach a turnover of Rs 100 crore through international markets. Those are the company's own targets.
The investor is a deeptech fund set up by IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures. It announced a first close of Rs 450 crore towards a Rs 1,000 crore target in September and has deployed about Rs 54 crore to Rs 55 crore across its first four startups: Carbelim, spacetech company Hathor, quantum instrumentation startup Quanstra and battery cell maker Triolt Energy, according to IIT Madras Research Park.
