The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched ‘Startups for All’, a national initiative designed to make credible startup information accessible and affordable for all.

Developed through its Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST) in collaboration with YNOS, an IIT Madras-incubated startup, the platform seeks to dismantle one of India’s biggest barriers to entrepreneurship — information asymmetry.

The initiative was unveiled by Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan, Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu, during the TN Global Startup Summit in Chennai.

India’s startup ecosystem — now the world’s third-largest — is poised to drive the nation’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and the $5 trillion economy goal. Yet, IIT Madras noted, the ecosystem continues to grapple with what it calls an “information conundrum,” where data is abundant but fragmented, leaving founders, investors, and ecosystem enablers struggling to make informed decisions.

To address this, CREST and YNOS have created the country’s only independent digital platform dedicated entirely to startup intelligence. The platform already hosts a massive database of over 2.75 lakh startups, 15,000 angel investors, 5,500 venture capital firms, 1,400 incubators, 800 banks, and 110 government support schemes, positioning it as India’s largest and most comprehensive startup information repository.

“Information asymmetry has long been one of the biggest barriers for founders,” said Prof. Thillai Rajan A, head of CREST and faculty member at IIT Madras’ Department of Management Studies.

“Through ‘Startups for All’, we aim to level the playing field by giving every entrepreneur and citizen — regardless of geography or background — equal access to credible information that supports smarter decisions and faster growth.”

The platform offers free initial access with complimentary credits for registered users to explore startup and investor profiles, followed by a pay-as-you-go micro-payment model. This pricing design ensures that entrepreneurs, particularly those from smaller towns and institutions, can access verified funding data, investor interests, and engagement models without steep subscription costs.

By breaking down barriers to vital business information, IIT Madras’ ‘Startups for All’ seeks to empower students, researchers, and first-time founders to build, scale, and sustain ventures that will fuel India’s innovation-driven future.