CHENNAI: Youth-focused Ayurvedic researcher and manufacturer Kapiva said it is launching an innovation fund with a commitment of upto Rs 50 crore to support research, development and innovation in Ayurvedic science. The initiative is aimed at strengthening evidence-based Ayurveda by backing projects across academia, laboratories and early-stage startups working on clinically validated solutions for real-world health challenges.
The fund will support work across a wide spectrum, including novel formulations, standardisation and phytochemistry, artificial intelligence applications in Ayurveda, pre-clinical and clinical studies, advanced extraction technologies, bioactive enhancement and tech-enabled wellness models.
Applications will be invited from research institutions, PhD scholars, clinicians, hospitals, startups and incubators operating in or adjacent to Ayurveda, plant-based therapeutics and integrative health. Kapiva said the fund has been structured to support innovation at every stage of development, from early research to projects close to commercialisation, by offering capital, mentorship and access to clinical and research infrastructure.
Announcing the fund, Ameve Sharma, Founder of Kapiva, said the company wants to reposition Ayurveda as an outcome-driven and evidence-backed system of medicine.
“For decades, Ayurveda has been seen as either faith-based or purely traditional wisdom. We believe its future lies in being outcome-led and evidence-backed. This fund is a long-term bet on that future. By investing up to Rs 50 crore in research, collaborations and new technologies, Kapiva wants to help build an ecosystem where Ayurvedic products are developed and tested like modern medicine, yet remain rooted in India’s knowledge systems,” Sharma said.
The innovation fund is now open for applications through a dedicated portal. Shortlisted proposals will be evaluated by Kapiva’s R&D leadership along with external domain experts, based on parameters such as scientific rigour, novelty, feasibility and potential to improve health outcomes at scale. The company said it expects the initiative to play a catalytic role in bridging traditional Ayurvedic knowledge with modern scientific validation and commercial application.
Dr R. Govindarajan, chief innovation officer at Kapiva, said; “If Ayurveda has to sit at the same table as modern medicine, it must be tested with the same discipline. At Kapiva, we already work with standardised extracts, human trials and AI-driven insights that guide our formulations. Through this fund, we want to open that ecosystem to researchers, clinicians and entrepreneurs, share our infrastructure and mentor high-quality projects, so that robust Ayurvedic science can move from paper to products and reach millions of people,” he said.
Kapiva said it already operates one of the more advanced in-house Ayurveda research and development programmes in the country, with ongoing clinical trials on flagship products and a dedicated research team. The company collaborates with institutions such as the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Manipal Hospitals on multiple research initiatives.