Carbelim secures ₹10 crore for microalgae-based carbon capture

Carbelim has secured a ₹10 crore investment from the IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund, BusinessLine reported on October 29, citing a company release. Founded by Karthika Gopi and Rahul Babu, the Kerala startup develops microalgae-based carbon-capture and air-purification systems. The financing stage and valuation were not disclosed in the report. Its bio-integrated systems use microalgae to capture carbon dioxide. The company says it has filed 13 patents, seven in the US and six in India; patent filings should not be read as granted patents. Its products include photobioreactor and building-integrated carbon-capture systems. CEO Karthika Gopi said the investment would support technology development and scale-up, with ambitions to add more than 50 jobs and reach ₹100 crore turnover through international markets. Those are targets, not achieved revenue or employment. Carbelim is among the first four companies backed by the fund, which reported a ₹450 crore first close against a ₹1,000 crore target. Freshness correction: BusinessLine published this report on October 29, but the pictured ₹10 crore cheque is dated September 26, 2026, and Kerala Startup Mission had already described the same investment before this report. This is delayed coverage of an earlier financing, not a new October 29 round.

DTT summary based on BusinessLine's report. The full article is on the publisher's site.