Call for Applications · Cohort One · 2026

Transcend

The National Translation Accelerator.

One application. One national jury. A network of India's finest deep-tech hubs, bootcamps and translation capital behind every selected venture.

Become part of Cohort One Applications open August 2026
§ A multi-institutional partnership · The Translation Endeavors partners
The idea

A single national gateway into India's translation ecosystem.

Think of it as a JEE for deep-tech ventures. Founders apply once, are selected on merit by a national jury, and are matched to the domain hub best equipped to take their science to market.

Design partner

Translation Endeavors

Architects the program as a neutral national platform, runs the call and the jury, and orchestrates a consistent, high-quality experience across every hub.

Domain hubs

Host incubators & co-investors

Leading institutions host ventures in residence within their strongest domains, open up labs, testbeds and faculty depth, and co-invest alongside the platform.

Capital partners

Grants & investment

Project grants de-risk early milestones, followed by co-investment from SIDBI, hub incubators and the platform's investor network.

Program structure

From one application to hub residency and capital, in five stages.

01

National Call

One open application for scientist-founders and lab-born ventures across India.

02

Selection

A national jury of investors, faculty and operators selects on merit and translation readiness.

03

Translation Sprint

An intensive, residential venture-building sprint before ventures join their host hub.

04

Hub Residency

Ventures are matched to the domain hub with the right labs, testbeds and faculty.

05

Capital & Scale

Project grants, then co-investment from hub institutions and platform partners.

Selection is national. Hosting is local. Capital follows the venture through the platform.

Infrastructure access · A national network of domain hubs

Every venture is hosted where its science is strongest.

Each hub brings labs, testbeds, domain faculty and co-investment in its sectors. The network is open by design — new hubs join as the platform grows across domains and geographies.

IIMA Ventures
Space-tech, Plasma & AI

Venture-building and investment depth across frontier digital and space domains.

IIT Madras
Energy & Industrials

India's deepest engineering research base for the energy transition and industrial deep-tech.

IIT Kanpur
Defence & Cybersecurity

National capability in strategic technologies, UAS and cyber-physical security.

C-CAMP
Biotech

A premier bio-innovation platform for life sciences, med-tech and agri-bio ventures.

Venture Center
Mobility & Sustainability

One of India's most prolific science incubators, spanning materials, chemistry and climate.

IPR Gandhinagar
Plasma & Fusion

India's premier plasma-science institute, spanning fusion, plasma processing and industrial applications.

Wet labsFab & prototyping toolsTestbedsPilot facilitiesDomain facultyCorporate pilots
Capital access

Non-dilutive to start. Patient capital that follows the venture.

Grants de-risk the earliest, hardest milestones; co-investment from SIDBI, hub incubators and the platform's investor network carries the venture as it matures.

₹50L
Seed grant · at the Sprint

A seed grant at the residential Translation Sprint funds the first technology and market milestones.

₹1.5 Cr
Convertible · on milestones

A convertible instrument released against build-phase milestones, carrying the venture through Demo Day.

Co-invest
SIDBI · hubs · investor network

Follow-on co-investment from SIDBI, host-hub incubators and the platform's investor network as the venture scales.

Training & handholding

An intensive sprint, then a full build phase of hands-on support.

Kick-off

Translation Sprint

A 7-day residential venture-building sprint in Ahmedabad opens every cohort, run by IIMA Ventures.

~12 weeks

Build Phase

Access to labs, testbeds and faculty expertise at the partner hub, alongside hub mentoring, close monitoring and facilitated corporate pilots.

Showcase

Customer Demo Day

An investor and customer showcase at the host hub, opening the path to follow-on capital.

Students as consultants

Student teams embedded on market discovery and go-to-market, modelled on Endless at NYU.

Faculty as mentors

Structured office hours and clinics on strategy and commercialization economics.

Alumni as co-founders

Experienced alumni engage as mentors, advisors and co-founders in residence.

Program advisors & jury

Selected by a national jury of investors, faculty and operators.

Ventures are chosen on merit and translation-readiness by a standing national jury, then guided by an advisory bench drawn from across the partnership.

Investors

Capital & markets

Venture and growth investors who assess translation-readiness and back ventures as they mature.

Faculty

Science & depth

Domain faculty from partner institutions who vouch for the science and mentor through the build phase.

Operators

Building & scaling

Founders and operators who have taken deep-tech from lab to market and advise on the path to scale.

Named program advisors and the Cohort One jury will be announced ahead of the call. Placeholder — advisor names to be added.
Programme timeline · Indicative, Cohort One

From call for applications to Demo Day.

1 Aug 2026
Call for applications opensNational scouting and outreach begins
TE + Hubs
1–25 Aug
Application windowPortal intake and partner-channel amplification
TE + Hubs
25 Aug
Applications closeTriage of the inbound funnel begins
TE
26 Aug – 9 Sep
Selection · 15–20 daysDiligence, interviews, final pitch and confirm
National Jury
15–20 Sep
Cohort of 12 announcedContracting, host MoUs and onboarding
TE + Hubs
1–7 Oct 2026
Translation Sprint · 7 daysResidential kick-off in Ahmedabad; ₹50L seed grant
IIMA Ventures
8 Oct – 31 Dec
Build phase · ~12 weeksHub mentoring, monitoring and corporate pilots
Domain Hubs
5 & 7 Jan 2027
Customer Demo DayInvestor and customer showcase
Host Hub
15 Jan 2027
Close-out · ₹1.5 Cr convertibleReleased on milestones; Cohort 2 opens
Capital Partners
Become part of Transcend

Cohort One is open to India's most ambitious scientist-founders and lab-born ventures.

Who should apply
  • Deep-tech ventures emerging from Indian labs, institutes and research programs
  • Scientist-founders and founding teams ready to move from prototype to market
  • Technologies across space, defence, energy, biotech, mobility, AI and beyond
What you get
  • The Translation Sprint and residency at the best-fit domain hub
  • Project grants to fund early technology and market milestones
  • A path to co-investment from hub institutions and the platform's investor network
Register your interest Applications open August 2026 · Cohort One begins October 2026