Meanwhile, across eChai
Government of Uttarakhand centre (est. 2003) at Selaqui — a business incubator for the aromatic/essential-oils sector, supporting cultivation and distillation of Himalayan aromatic crops (lemongrass, mint, d...
CSIR national laboratory (est. 1960) for petroleum-refining and downstream R&D — hydrocarbon processing, biofuels, sustainable-aviation-fuel research. A key deep-science institution and a source of technical...
Erstwhile Dehradun Institute of Technology; founded 1998, university status 2013. ~6,500 students across engineering, architecture, pharmacy, management and computing; NAAC A-grade. One of Dehradun's princip...
Founded 1878 (reestablished 1906); India's premier forestry research and training institution (ICFRE deemed university), set on an iconic heritage campus and a major tourism draw as well as a research/educat...
Dr. Kamal Ghanshala
Founded 1993 (deemed-university status 2008) by Dr. Kamal Ghanshala; NAAC A+ and NIRF top-100 overall (52nd in engineering, 2025). A major private multidisciplinary university and a core pillar of Dehradun's...
Corporate HQ
ONGC — India's largest oil & gas PSU (Maharatna) — is **headquartered in Dehradun** (Tel Bhawan / Deendayal Urja Bhawan complex), established here in 1956. A Fortune-scale employer and the single biggest cor...
SIIDCUL-developed pharma & FMCG manufacturing cluster on ~50 acres at Selaqui (Dehradun district) — hosts units of Rusan Pharma, HAB Pharma, India Glycols (herbal/nutraceutical extracts), Translumina and oth...
National HQ
India's national mapping/geospatial agency (est. 1767) is headquartered in Dehradun. Alongside the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS/ISRO) and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, it makes Dehradun a...
India's most prestigious all-boys boarding school (est. 1935), anchoring a dense cluster that includes Welham Boys, Welham Girls, St. Joseph's, Scholars Home and 70+ boarding schools. This elite-schooling re...
Established 2003; India's first energy-focused private university, now 10,000+ students across 8 schools (Engineering, CS, Business, Law, Design, Health, Media, Liberal Studies). NAAC A-grade, QS-ranked, ~94...
Pawan Dubey & Manas Upadhyay
Founded 2018; builds unmanned aerial drones and ground vehicles for reconnaissance, surveillance and defence/agri use. Raised ~$827K total (initial $500K in Dec 2021, angel round Jun 2024). One of Uttarakhan...
Harshit Sehdev
Founded Nov 2019; D2C Himalayan food/FMCG brand — "Pahadi Namak", Indian pink salt, seasoned salts, spices, millets, teas and juices sourced via 12,000+ women farmers. IIM-Kashipur incubated; raised a pre-se...
STPI-hosted convening designed to bridge ideas and investment, with an inaugural session featuring dignitaries plus innovator/industry/investor tracks. Signals active government-backed event cadence in the city post-2022.
State-level Global Investors Summit convened by the Government of Uttarakhand (Destination Uttarakhand) to attract investment across sectors including IT and startups. A macro anchor event for the state's business/investment calendar.
A Dehradun angel network under the StartupLanes platform. Reviews business plans, hosts monthly investor meetings where startups pitch, and provides mentoring, incubation space and a professional network. Typical cheque sizes cited at ro...
The flagship of Dehradun's ecosystem. UCIE is a Section 8 company under UPES, recognized by the Government of Uttarakhand as a Technology Business Incubator and State Nodal Agency. Its 'Runway' programme (launched 2021) runs 8–10 week bl...
Founded in 2015 with Department of Science & Technology (DST) support, TBI-GEU is described as Uttarakhand's pioneering DST-recognized incubator. Provides office facilities, infrastructure, training and mentorship to startups and SMEs, a...
FRI, a deemed university under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), operates an Entrepreneurship Development / Incubation Cell inviting innovative ideas, project proposals and startup submissions in forestry, bi...
The Government of Uttarakhand's flagship startup policy, administered through the Directorate of Industries and the Startup Uttarakhand cell. Provides recognized startups a monthly sustenance allowance (up to ~INR 30,000/month for a year...
A INR 200 crore state venture fund announced in 2025 to strengthen the Uttarakhand startup ecosystem by channelling capital into early- and growth-stage ventures via approved intermediaries. Represents the state's move from grant-based s...
An autonomous body of the Uttarakhand government (Dept. of Information & Science Technology), operating since 2005 and acting as the state nodal agency for the Dept. of Science & Technology. Runs Innovation Promotion and Retired Scientis...
A state entrepreneurship scheme (launched Sept 2023) by the Department of Higher Education, implemented by EDII Ahmedabad, embedding entrepreneurship training and Centres of Excellence across Uttarakhand colleges/universities. Targets aw...
A Dehradun coworking operator offering shared desks, private cabins, meeting rooms and 24/7 access. Notably community-oriented — runs workshops, pitch nights, startup networking events and mentorship sessions, making it one of the more e...
A Dehradun coworking space positioning around innovation and collaboration, with shared and private office options and regular networking events, workshops and seminars aimed at founders and small teams.
A premium coworking space located in Dehradun's IT Park, serving freelancers, startups and established businesses with modern managed-office and shared-desk offerings. Co-location within IT Park places it near STPI and the city's tech cl...
A Rajpur Road coworking space geared to freelancers and remote workers, offering affordable month-to-month plans, high-speed internet and ergonomic seating for both short- and long-term use. One of the more budget-accessible options in t...
A 90-minute in-person eChai networking meetup (4:00–5:30 PM) again co-hosted with Startup Uttarakhand, for leading founders and leaders to swap growth notes and build relationships. The last documented eChai Dehradun event to date — the ...
The state government's nodal startup body (under the Directorate of Industries), running on Uttarakhand Startup Policy 2018/2023. Handles startup recognition, seed funding, mentor network (~213 mentors) and incubator coordination; ~160 r...
Chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs, global body founded 1992). Described as one of the more vibrant TiE chapters, ~10+ years old, connecting entrepreneurs, professionals, investors and policymakers. Managed by Bhumika Rawat. Recogni...
Dehradun chapter of Headstart, one of India's oldest volunteer-run startup ecosystem non-profits (30+ cities, 14+ years). Chapter lead Varun Tiwari. Runs community-building sessions to help early founders learn the startup mindset and to...
Two-day state startup summit (5–6 March 2025) hosted at UPES, positioning groundbreaking ideas against strategic investment opportunities. A flagship annual-style convening tying the university ecosystem to investors — the kind of tentpo...
STPI-organised official pre-summit event (20 Sept 2025) for the national AI Impact Summit 2026, themed 'AI for Disaster Management | Drones' — relevant to Uttarakhand's hill-state context. Shows emerging AI/deep-tech conference activity ...
The hill-state / workation angle: Dehradun sits in the Doon Valley at the Himalayan foothills, marketed as a primary base for the 'Himalayan Digital Nomad' circuit (Rishikesh 45 min, Mussoorie 1 hr). Coworking clusters on Rajpur Road and...
Dehradun's commercial spine and its coworking district, where most of the flexible workspaces, agencies and cafes sit. It is where early teams and remote workers land first, drawn by low overheads and a calmer pace than NCR.
1 company 2 coworking
Strong in Research, Geospatial
Uttarakhand's flagship manufacturing belt about 15 km west of the city and one of North India's larger pharma clusters, with 200 or more pharma units alongside FMCG, food and packaging. Built out on the excise holiday that followed 2003.
2 companies
Strong in Agritech, Aromatic
The education corridor, anchored by Graphic Era and DIT, and the source of much of the city's technical hiring.
1 company 2 coworking
Strong in Education
Answers about the Dehradun startup scene
What does the startup ecosystem in Dehradun look like?
Dehradun's ecosystem is strongest in Edtech, IT services and Agritech, with an unusual deeptech bench built on the city's research institutes. The companies list above shows who is building what, filterable by vertical.
What is Dehradun known for beyond tourism?
Research and pharma. The Forest Research Institute, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing are all based here, which gives the city a geospatial and earth sciences depth that is rare outside the metros, and Selaqui is one of North India's larger pharma manufacturing clusters.
Which incubators and coworking spaces are in Dehradun?
The Runway incubator at UPES in Bidholi is the most active campus programme, and STPI runs an incubation and plug and play facility at the IT Park on Sahastradhara Road. The coworking section below lists the private spaces, most of them on the Rajpur Road belt.
Are there investors and VCs in Dehradun?
Only a small number sit in the city. Most early stage capital reaches founders here through state programmes, campus incubators and investors based in Delhi and NCR, which is a short drive away. The investors section below lists what is active locally.
Where do founders network in Dehradun?
Mostly through the campus incubators and community meetups rather than at conferences. The communities section below lists the groups that convene founders in the city.
Does eChai run events in Dehradun?
Not at the moment. eChai Dehradun launched and then went quiet. The events section shows anything upcoming, and if you would like to help start it up again, get in touch.
Which are the top startup verticals in Dehradun?
Edtech, IT services and Agritech lead, with deeptech and D2C close behind. Use the vertical chips above to browse the companies in each.
How do I join the startup community in Dehradun?
Start with the incubators and communities listed below, since they are what convene founders in the city today. eChai is free and open wherever it runs, with no application or membership fee.
Want to help restart eChai Dehradun?
eChai's Dehradun chapter launched and has been quiet since. If you are a founder or community builder who wants to convene free, open meetups here again, get in touch. No membership, no fee.
Get in touch
