ONGC to launch second startup fund of Rs 200 crore, seeks investment advisors
11 May 2026, 05:53 PMThe fund will seek to invest in energy and AI/ML startups.
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State-owned energy company ONGC is preparing to expand its startup investment efforts with plans to launch a second fund that will have a corpus of Rs 200 crore.
The fund will seek to invest in energy and AI/ML startups, a notification on its website showed.
As part of this move, the company has invited applications for two advisor positions on a one-year contract, extendable by another year.
The selected advisors will support startup evaluation, due diligence, investment decisions, portfolio monitoring, and exit planning. ONGC is seeking candidates with over two decades of experience, including at least five years in venture capital fund management.
ONGC had launched its first startup fund worth Rs 100 crore in 2016 under the Startup India programme and later registered it as a Category-I AIF with SEBI. The fund currently manages a corpus of around Rs 101 crore, with nearly Rs 88 crore already invested or committed to startups.
The startups invested by ONGC's first fund include String Bio, Chakr Innovation and StrautX Technologies.
The development reflects a wider trend of PSUs and government-backed institutions increasing support for startups across sectors such as energy, AI, spacetech, and manufacturing. Other PSUs like Oil India, BPCL, HPCL and GAIL have also supported startups through their schemes and initiatives.
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