StartupTN invites applications for TANSEED 8.0, offers up to Rs 15 lakh for early-stage startups
TANSEED (Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Fund) provides Support Equity-linked Grants, offering up to Rs 15 lakh for green tech, rural impact, and women-led startups, and up to Rs 10 lakh for ventures in other sectors.
StartupTN, the Tamil Nadu government’s nodal agency for startups and innovation, has opened applications for TANSEED 8.0, the latest edition of its flagship seed fund initiative designed to support early-stage startups across the state.
TANSEED (Tamil Nadu Startup Seed Fund) provides Support Equity-linked Grants, offering up to Rs 15 lakh for green tech, rural impact, and women-led startups, and up to Rs 10 lakh for ventures in other sectors.
Launched in 2021, the programme has so far sanctioned funding to 169 startups, according to a statement.
The eighth edition, launching on December 6, 2025, follows the near-completion of sanction orders for TANSEED 7.0. Under the model introduced from the fifth edition, StartupTN takes a 3% support stake in beneficiary startups and enrols them in a one-year accelerator programme that includes mentorship, priority access to events, and opportunities to join national and international delegations.
To be eligible, startups must be registered in Tamil Nadu, registered with StartupTN, and recognised by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade). They must be working on innovations with strong potential for job creation, social impact, or wealth generation.
Funds can be used for prototype development, building market-ready products, or pilot production. Entities formed by splitting or reconstructing existing businesses, subsidiaries or JVs of other companies, and Indian arms of foreign firms are not eligible.
Applications for TANSEED 8.0 will be accepted online at startuptn.in from December 6 to December 20, 2025.
Many alumni of previous TANSEED rounds have gone on to scale operations and raise venture capital from prominent investors, said the statement.