What is the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0, and can my startup get money from it?
Not directly. The Union Cabinet approved the ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds 2.0 on 14 February 2026, and like the first fund it puts money into SEBI-registered alternative investment funds (VC funds), which then invest in startups. The first fund, from 2016, committed its whole ₹10,000 crore to 145 such funds that backed more than 1,370 startups. This round leans towards deep tech, tech-driven manufacturing and early-growth companies, including through smaller funds. So the way to the money is the funds it backs: watch which VC funds announce a commitment under the scheme and pitch the ones whose thesis fits you. Anyone offering to 'get you' Fund of Funds money for a fee is selling something the scheme does not offer, because the government does not pick startups under it.
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The news report of the Union Cabinet approving the second ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups on 14 February 2026, with the track record of the first fund.
SIDBI's own page lays out how its Fund of Funds machinery actually works: it does not write you a cheque directly, it capitalises SEBI-registered AIFs (the Fund of Funds for Startups, the ASPIRE Fund for MSMEs, and state funds) which are then mandated to deploy into startups. Read this so you understand you reach SIDBI money through the funds it backs, and target the right AIFs rather than applying to SIDBI cold.
From
SIDBIby Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)8 min read
SIDBI runs the Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups (DPIIT), the ASPIRE Fund, and state funds by contributing to SEBI-registered AIFs, not by investing in startups directly.
Backed AIFs must deploy at least twice the SIDBI contribution into Startup India-recognised startups, so recognition is your entry ticket.
The right move is to identify and approach the AIFs that draw from these funds, since that is the layer that actually invests in your company.
This is the single official directory of central and state government schemes for Indian startups, the primary source, not a blog summarising it. If you only bookmark one page for non-dilutive funding, make it this one and filter by your sector, stage, and state.
Aggregates central schemes (Seed Fund, Fund of Funds 2.0, Credit Guarantee Scheme) plus state and ministry-specific programmes in one searchable place.
Links out to the partner desks that actually run the money, BIRAC, Atal Innovation Mission, MeitY Startup Hub, DST NIDHI.
Most listed schemes require DPIIT recognition first, so treat recognition as prerequisite step zero.
Filter by stage and sector rather than scrolling, the wrong-desk application is the most common reason founders get rejected.
