IIMA Ventures partners Jaivel Aerospace to launch fund to back early-stage defence, aerospace startups

IIMA Ventures, the tech-focused investment arm of IIM Ahmedabad, has teamed up with Jaivel Aerospace to launch an aerospace and defence acceleration fund to support early-stage startups in the sector.

The fund will support 8–10 startups working on autonomy, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, and secure communication systems. 

Each startup can receive up to $400,000 in pre-seed or seed funding, plus mentorship, development facilities, and access to Jaivel’s global manufacturing network.

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“Within the deeptech space, aerospace and defence are areas we’ve already worked in. With this new fund, we want to expand and double down on that portfolio,” Vipul Patel, partner at IIMA Ventures. “We’re focusing more on pre-seed and seed opportunities—essentially the first institutional cheque. That’s the approach we’re taking as we look to add new companies in this space.”

Patel stated that the fund is not an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and is being created using balance sheet capital from Jaivel Aerospace and IIMA Ventures. They plan to increase the fund’s size over time and are discussing participation with other corporates.

IIMA Ventures has previously backed aerospace and defence startups like Sagar Defence, ePlane, Ideaforge, and Nabhdrishti. Its portfolio also includes space-tech ventures such as Agnikul, PierSight, Galaxeye, and Bellatrix.

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Founded by Vipul Vachhani, Jaivel Aerospace is a manufacturing technology company offering design, engineering, and advanced manufacturing solutions to global aerospace clients.

“Together with IIMA Ventures, we aim to create the platform for startups to leverage Jaivel Aerospace’s international advanced manufacturing network as well as build a robust execution model from/ the start,” said Vachhani. “Startups will also benefit from Jaivel Aerospace’s design, engineering and manufacturing ecosystem to accelerate time-to-market.”

Earlier this year, IIMA Ventures announced plans to invest in 30 deeptech startups from a ₹40 crore corpus through its partnership with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

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