Electronics Development Fund-backed startups raised over Rs 22,550 crore, 128 firms supported: Govt
New Delhi, July 29
The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that startups backed under the Electronics Development Fund have collectively raised over Rs 22,553.82 crore, while the fund has supported 128 startups and companies through investments made by eight SEBI-registered daughter funds.
In a reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Electronics Development Fund has invested Rs 257.77 crore in eight daughter funds as of June 30, 2026. These daughter funds, in turn, have invested Rs 1,335.77 crore in 128 companies and startups engaged in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and Information Technology (IT).
He said, "Some of the Salient Achievements of EDF are, Daughter Funds leveraged EDF Investment to raise ~5X funds from market. Total funds raised by supported startups approx. Rs 22,553.82 crore. No. of IPs Created / Acquired by the invested startups - 373"
The EDF was established as a Fund of Funds to promote market-driven innovation in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing. Under the model, the government-backed fund invests in professionally managed, SEBI-registered venture funds, which then provide risk capital to startups developing new technologies in the electronics and IT sectors.
The government said startups were selected based on parameters including innovation capability, indigenous technology development, intellectual property creation potential, the technical capability of the founding team, and the presence of a scalable and commercially viable business model.
The reply added that the fund manager monitors the performance of the daughter funds, while the daughter funds regularly assess the progress of invested companies based on operational efficiency, technology development and market growth.
Among states, Karnataka accounted for the highest number of investments, with 90 companies, including 89 in Bengaluru, followed by Telangana (7), Maharashtra (8 across Mumbai and Pune), Tamil Nadu (5), Delhi (6), Kerala (6), Haryana (3), Rajasthan (1), West Bengal (1) and Uttar Pradesh (1).
The government also informed Parliament that the Electronics Development Fund is a close-ended fund. Having completed its investment phase in February 2024, it is currently in the divestment phase, while continuing to monitor the performance of its portfolio through the daughter funds.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative but I wonder about the sustainability. 257 crore invested by EDF, leveraging to 1,335 crore from daughter funds, and then startups raising 22,553 crore. That's a 87x multiplier which sounds great on paper. However, we need to see how many of these 128 companies actually become profitable long-term. The divestment phase starting now will be the real test. Hope they track outcomes carefully.
As someone working in electronics design, I can say this is a big boost for the ecosystem. The focus on indigenous technology development and IP creation is spot on. We've been too dependent on imports for too long. But why only 1 startup from UP and 1 from West Bengal? We need more regional distribution. Also, 128 companies in a country of 1.4 billion seems low. We need to scale this up exponentially if we want to compete with China in electronics manufacturing. 🇮🇳
Great to see this level of detail shared in Parliament. Transparency is key. But I do have a concern: the article says the fund invested Rs 257.77 crore but the daughter funds invested Rs 1,335.77 crore. That's about 5.2x leverage, which is good but the article also says ~5X. The math is slightly off? Also, what happened to the startups that didn't make it? Failure rates in startups are high, and we need to learn from those too. Still, overall positive development for India's tech future.
Impressive numbers! As an investor watching Indian tech from abroad, this is encouraging. The fact that 373 IPs were created shows real innovation, not just services. The state-wise breakdown is fascinating too - Bengaluru continues to be the Silicon Valley of India. Would love to see more data on which sectors within ESDM are getting the most traction (semiconductors, IoT, etc.). This could be a blueprint for other developing nations.
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