BPCL Ankur Fund

The BPCL Ankur Fund is the current route into Ankur. It invests in early-stage startups working in sectors tied to BPCL's business, taking equity or compulsorily convertible preference shares rather than giving a grant. It does not take applications all year: each intake is a named cohort with its own themes and its own closing date. Two have run so far — Emerge, which closed in April 2025, and Elevate, which closed in December 2025. BPCL's site currently says applications for Elevate are closed and asks founders to watch for upcoming cohorts.

What you get

• An equity investment, made through equity or compulsorily convertible preference shares
• Money released in tranches — the first on signing an agreement with BPCL or the BPCL Ankur Trust, later ones against review and a fund utilisation certificate vetted by a practising chartered accountant
• Periodic review against agreed milestones
• The chance to work with BPCL's own refining, marketing, gas and retail operations

Who can apply

• Startups registered with DPIIT, holding a valid certificate of registration
• Startups whose work sits inside BPCL's focus areas — refinery, marketing, upstream, gas, petrochemical, green energy, non-fuel and digital — or inside the running cohort's theme
• Early-stage startups, which BPCL says includes seed-funded companies
• Companies where the founders still hold more than 26 per cent of the equity
• Teams with a proof of concept, prototype, minimum viable product or a fully implemented solution, in oil and gas or in another industry and ready to move into it

How selection works: a two-stage process. The first stage screens against the eligibility rules. The second scores innovativeness of the solution, team and startup credentials, solution and market size, and feasibility and viability. Shortlisted startups pitch to a committee, which makes the final investment decision subject to due diligence and valuation. IDBI Capital Market & Securities Ltd. has been BPCL's consultant on evaluation, diligence and post-investment monitoring for both cohorts so far.

How to apply: only online, and only while a cohort is open. Sign up on the BPCL startup site, log in, and use the Apply option to complete and submit the form. Save drafts as often as you need — the application counts only once it is in 'Submitted' status. Queries go to startup@bpcl.in.