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Startup-specific scheme

Biotechnology Innovation Fund – Accelerating Entrepreneurs (AcE)

Department of Biotechnology / Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC)

Active Equity Growth / Scaling Biotech, Health & PharmaAgriculture & Food
ActiveChecked 3 October 2026

No change found in Oct 2026 checks; terms as per the June 2026 playbook. Confirm the current call/window on the official link before applying.

The Biotechnology Innovation Fund – Accelerating Entrepreneurs (AcE) provides financial support to biotech startups so they can develop and scale innovative solutions faster and bring them to market.

Type of support
Equity
Best suited for
Scaling
Headline amount
Up to ₹7 crore per startup (plus follow-on up to ₹3.5 crore)
How much
Startup-level investment varies; fund operates through selected AIFs
Source
DPIIT playbook p. 44

Objectives

The AcE Fund is a ‘fund of funds’ that aims to partner with fund managers (AcE Fund Partners) and invest in SEBI-registered AIFs (Daughter Funds). AcE Daughter Funds commit investment of 2x BIRAC’s contribution into biotech startups.

Who can apply?

  • AcE Fund invests and partners with SEBI-registered Category I and II AIFs in biotech sector.
  • Startups and SMEs in subsectors such as Healthcare, Life Sciences, Pharma, Biopharma, Med-tech, Diagnostics, Industrial-Biotech, Agri-tech, Bio-IT/Services and allied areas.

What do you get?

  • The AcE Fund shall make a maximum capital commitment of up to ₹30 crore or up to 30% of the total aggregate capital commitment amount (i.e. fund corpus) in each Daughter Fund.
  • Ticket size of up to ₹7 crore, with provision of additional follow-on funding up to ₹3.5 crore is provided to an eligible startup.

How to apply

Apply on: https://birac.nic.in/aceFund.php

Go to official portal