ONGC Mulls New ₹200 Cr Fund To Back Energy & AI Startups

State-run oil and gas company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to launch a new ₹200 Cr fund to back startups operating in energy and artificial intelligence/ machine learning (AI/ML) sectors.

“ONGC shall be launching another AIF of Rs. 200 Cr to nurture and incubate new ideas related to (the) energy sector & AI/ML,” said the company.

As part of this, the ONGC has sought applications for appointing two advisors to formalise the operations of the new startup fund. According to the application form, the advisors will be hired on a contractual basis for 12 months, with the option to extend the term by another year.

ONGC said the new advisors will help the company in evaluating startups, carrying out due diligence, negotiating valuations, monitoring portfolio firms, and advising on investments and exits.

This is not the first time that ONGC has sought to incubate startups. The state-backed company has earlier launched a ₹100 Cr fund in 2016 to back startups in the oil and gas sector. At the time, the company said the initiative would offer seed capital, mentoring, market linkages, and operational support. 

The fund was later registered with SEBI as a Category-I alternative investment fund (AIF) in 2019.

The company noted that the existing fund has a corpus of ₹101 Cr, of which nearly ₹88 Cr has already been invested or committed to startups. Over the years, ONGC’s startup fund has backed a number of emerging ventures in the cleantech segment. 

For instance in 2021, the fund invested ₹2 Cr in Delhi-based cleantech startup Chakr Innovation, which develops technology to capture soot emissions from diesel generators and convert them into printable ink.

ONGC’s renewed startup push comes at a time when energy companies and public sector organisations are increasing their focus on clean energy, industrial innovation, and AI-led technologies.

Over the past few years, state-owned organisations such as Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have launched startup programmes, innovation challenges, and venture funds targeting sectors such as energy, spacetech, manufacturing, AI, and industrial technology.

At the heart of all this is India’s growing cleantech economy, which is projected to cross $41 by 2040.

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