Gyan Circle Ventures

Check whether a call is open first

• GCV opens applications in windows. The last call we can see closed on 15 July 2025, and its forms were closed when we checked in October 2026.
• Email gcv.manager@iiits.in and ask when the next window opens and who it is open to.
• Do not rely on the date on the programme landing page. It still shows the earlier 10th March 2025 deadline.

Choosing a programme

• Entrepreneur-in-Residence: you have an idea and need to build and validate a proof of concept. You work from the incubator space at IIIT Sri City. Faculty and students are the group the calls encourage most.
• Grants Program: you already have a definite proof of concept and a start-up, and you need to build a minimum viable product and reach go-to-market. The July 2025 call describes the grant as equity based, so understand what that means for you before applying.

How applications work

• Each programme has its own online application form, linked from the Announcements page when a call is open.
• Shortlisted teams present to a committee of experts. The call includes a slide template: team and skills, the problem, your solution, a short video of up to 3 minutes, customers, market and competitors, an initial business plan, and the support you need from GCV, split up.
• The committee's decision is final. Selected teams sign an incubation agreement with GCV, and that agreement governs the incubation.

What reviewers look for

• A new and original idea. The guidelines say an idea taken from elsewhere results in disqualification.
• One application per person. A person cannot be a member of more than one application at the same time.
• For undergraduate teams in the earlier call: two to four students and a faculty mentor.
• Support requested for equipment, manpower, consumables, IPR and limited travel, with a clear split-up.

Gyan Circle Ventures (GCV) is the technology business incubator of IIIT Sri City, in Sri City, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. It was launched in 2020 and is run through a separate Section 8 non-profit company, the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development at IIITS. It is also a MeitY TIDE 2.0 Group 2 centre, which is how it funds the two programmes founders can apply to: the Entrepreneur-in-Residence programme and the Grants Program.

Incubator and host institute are different bodies

IIIT Sri City is the host institute. It runs degree programmes, an Institute Innovation Council and an E-Cell for its own students. Gyan Circle Ventures is the incubator, set up as its own company, and its pages sit inside the institute's website. This page is about the incubator only. The institute's director and the chair of its board of governors are named as directors of the incubator's company, and the incubator's own director is a faculty member of IIIT Sri City.

Is a call open now

Not that we can see. GCV announces calls in windows rather than keeping applications open all year. Its pages show closing dates of 20 November 2024, 10th March 2025 and 15 July 2025. The programme landing page still shows the March 2025 date, but the Announcements page carries the newer July 2025 call, and when we checked in October 2026 the online forms for that call had been closed. No later call is published. If you are planning to apply, write to the team and ask when the next window opens.

How the programmes work

The Entrepreneur-in-Residence programme is for an individual, a student team or a start-up that is ready to turn an idea into a proof of concept. Participants work from the GCV incubator space, and the incubator supports idea development, validation and building the proof of concept. Grant support is paid in at least two instalments, subject to funding received. The earlier 2025 guidelines describe the programme as typically running for 11 months.

The Grants Program is for nascent start-ups that already have a definite proof of concept. The grant is meant to help build a minimum viable product and take the start-up to the go-to-market stage, with mentorship and guidance throughout. The July 2025 call describes this grant as equity based.

Who can apply

This is the part to read carefully. The EiR programme is described as open to individuals, students and start-ups, but the calls say faculty and students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, are encouraged to apply. The earlier 2025 guidelines were campus-focused: open to faculty and students, with undergraduate teams of two to four needing a faculty mentor, and PhD students needing their supervisor in the team or a letter from the supervisor. The Grants Program has no stated incorporation, location or campus requirement beyond having a definite proof of concept. The pages do not say whether outside founders without a link to IIIT Sri City are selected, so ask before you invest time in an application.

For both programmes, shortlisted teams present to a committee of experts, and selected teams sign an incubation agreement with GCV.

Support from the incubator

The guidelines list mentoring by industry experts, venture capitalists, faculty and entrepreneurs, an incubation programme for fine-tuning the business model and the technical and business aspects, access to consultants for legal, financial, IP and business matters, a chance to pitch to angels and venture capitalists, and connections to NGOs and government agencies for field site testing. Incubatees are also described as getting access to work space, communication and computing facilities, equipment labs, the library and training and conference facilities at the institute, and they can hire interns and full-time staff from IIIT Sri City. The pages give no sizes or equipment lists for any of these.

Focus areas and startups

GCV describes its focus as deep tech: emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, block-chain and robotics, in areas including manufacturing, education and smart cities. Its startup lists name 18 startups, 14 of which also appear on its graduated list. The lists are undated and self-reported, and they are mostly hardware and IoT ventures in healthcare, agriculture, water, solar power and workplace safety, from Chennai, Erode, Coimbatore, Pondicherry, Krishna and Chittoor, among other places.

Who is behind it

Dr. Subu Kandaswamy, an Assistant Professor at IIIT Sri City, is listed as GCV's director. A selection and mentoring committee combines IIIT Sri City faculty and officers with outside members from the startup world, including the chief executive of the innovation centre at IIIT Hyderabad and a member of Chennai Angels.

Location and contact

Gyan Circle Ventures is at 630 Gnan Marg, Sri City, Satyavedu Mandal, Chittoor District 517646, Andhra Pradesh. The general inbox is gcv.manager@iiits.in.