Incubator performance metrics: the KPIs funders ask for
Incubator performance metrics are the numbers funders use to judge an incubator: startups supported, funds raised by incubatees, survival, jobs, revenue, IP and follow-on funding. Indian schemes ask for them in set formats. The Seed Fund Scheme, for example, scores incubators on 2-year survival and on startups that crossed Rs 1 crore of revenue.
By Akshay Kendurkar, CEO, MyStartupValley
Ask an incubator how it is doing and you often hear about inputs: applications received, events held, mentors on the panel. Ask its funder and you hear a different question: what happened to the startups?
This note sets out the KPIs that India's main incubator schemes ask for, in their own words, and then separates the counts that show activity from the counts that show outcomes.
Which KPIs do Indian incubator schemes ask for?
The main schemes ask for overlapping KPIs: startups incubated and graduated, funds raised by incubatees, survival, jobs, revenue, intellectual property and follow-on funding. The Seed Fund Scheme, AIM's Atal Incubation Centres, DST's NIDHI incubators and BIRAC's BioNEST each list them in their guidelines, with small differences in wording.
| KPI | SISFS | AIM AIC | DST NIDHI-TBI | BioNEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startups incubated | Yes | Yes, physical and virtual | New ventures admitted | Yes |
| Graduated or exited | Yes | No | Yes | Exited |
| Funds raised by incubatees | External investment and follow-on | From non-government sources | Startups funded by the TBI | Other funding managed |
| Survival | 2-year survival rate | No | No | No |
| Jobs | Jobs created per startup | No | No | Jobs supported |
| Revenue | Turnover; startups past Rs 1 crore | No | No | No |
| IP and products | IP registered | No | Products commercialised | Technologies and PoCs |
"No" means the item is not among the targets in that scheme's guideline tables, not that the funder never asks. Sources and detail for each scheme follow.
Seed Fund Scheme
The SISFS guidelines are the most detailed. To select incubators, DPIIT looks at the last three years: startups incubated and graduated, startups that raised follow-on investment, startups that crossed Rs 1 crore of revenue in the last year, and the 2-year survival rate from the date of joining. It also asks for external investment raised, mentors, average mentoring hours per startup per month and IP registered.
Once funded, an incubator tracks every beneficiary startup's progress from proof of concept to market launch, the loan, angel or VC funding it raised, jobs created and turnover. It also reports return on investment for each startup.
Atal Incubation Centres
AIM's November 2023 guidelines set quarterly targets: startups incubated physically and virtually, accelerator programmes, events, trainings, mentors, startups that raised money from non-government sources, and the cumulative amount they raised, not counting the AIM grant. Centres update their KPIs monthly.
NIDHI-TBI and BioNEST
DST's NIDHI-TBI proforma asks for five-year targets: ventures admitted, ventures graduated, products or technologies commercialised, accelerator programmes run and startups funded by the TBI. BIRAC's BioNEST guidelines judge a scale-up on startups incubated and exited, jobs, funding raised from other sources, and technologies, products and PoCs developed.
Which incubator metrics are vanity and which are outcomes?
Vanity metrics count what the incubator did; outcome metrics count what changed for the startups. Applications, events, mentors listed and startups "supported" are activity. Survival at two years, outside funding raised, revenue crossed and jobs created are outcomes. Report both, but lead with outcomes.
| Activity count | Outcome count that answers the same question |
|---|---|
| Applications received | Startups selected that are still operating two years later |
| Events held | Investor meetings that led to a term sheet |
| Mentors on the panel | Mentoring hours per startup per month |
| Startups supported, cumulative | Startups graduated, with what they went on to raise |
| Patents filed | IP registered, and products commercialised |
| Seed money disbursed | Return on that money, per startup |
Activity counts still matter. AIM checks targets for startups, events and mentors before it releases each tranche of an Atal Incubation Centre's grant. The trouble starts when activity is the only thing a report shows, because a busy incubator and an effective one can look the same on those numbers.
Count what happened to the startups, not what happened at the incubator.
How should an incubator define each KPI?
Write one definition per KPI and use it every quarter for every funder. The schemes give most of the wording: survival from the date of joining, funds raised from non-government sources, revenue against a fixed mark, IP as registered rather than filed. A definition that changes between reports makes the trend meaningless.
- Survival: still operating two years after joining the incubator, as the Seed Fund Scheme puts it.
- Funds raised: outside money only. AIM excludes its own grant, so leave out your seed money too.
- Revenue: turnover from the startup's accounts, plus how many crossed Rs 1 crore in the last year.
- Jobs: people on the startup's payroll, counted at the same date each year.
- IP: patents, copyrights, designs and trademarks registered, the four types SISFS names.
- Graduated: moved from one stage of the business cycle to the next, the SISFS wording, or left on the exit terms in its agreement.
- Follow-on funding: a round raised after the incubator's own money, recorded with the amount and the type of investor.
Our guide to startup evaluation criteria for incubators shows how to collect the starting data at selection, so you have a baseline for each startup.
What do the national incubator totals measure?
The national totals mostly measure reach, not outcomes. The government says 72 Atal Incubation Centres have supported over 6,700 startups and helped create more than 32,000 jobs. DST says NIDHI has supported 12,000+ startups, with 1,30,000+ jobs and 1100+ pieces of IP. Survival and follow-on funding are not given.
The Atal figures are in the June 2026 government backgrounder and the NIDHI figures in the January 2026 one. On our arithmetic, that is about 5 jobs per Atal-supported startup and about 11 per NIDHI one, but the two schemes may count jobs differently.
The Seed Fund Scheme gives a money view instead. A Lok Sabha reply of July 2026 says its incubators had selected 4,245 startups, with Rs 706.33 crore of approved funding, as of June 2026. Our note on incubators in India by the numbers explains why these totals overlap.
How often should incubator KPIs be reported?
Report monthly inside the incubator and on each funder's own cycle outside it. AIM wants monthly KPI updates and a quarterly progress report. The Seed Fund Scheme wants data online in real time and a quarterly review by its expert committee. DST reviews NIDHI incubators each year, with funding tied to performance.
One monthly sheet, kept to the definitions above, feeds all three. The same numbers also answer investors, who ask many of the questions in our note on what incubator-backed startups offer investors.
Questions
What are the key performance indicators for an incubator?
The core KPIs are startups incubated and graduated, funds raised by incubatees from outside sources, 2-year survival, jobs created, startup revenue, IP registered and follow-on funding. India's Seed Fund Scheme, AIM's Atal Incubation Centres and DST's NIDHI programme all ask for versions of these.
What is the difference between vanity metrics and outcome metrics for incubators?
Vanity metrics count the incubator's activity: applications, events, mentors listed, startups supported. Outcome metrics count what happened to the startups: how many survived two years, raised outside money, crossed a revenue mark or created jobs. Funders increasingly read outcomes first.
How do you measure incubator success in India?
Measure it the way the schemes do. Track every startup's survival, external funding, turnover and jobs from the day it joins, and report them against the targets agreed with your funder. The Seed Fund Scheme also asks incubators to report return on investment for each startup.
How often should an incubator report its KPIs?
AIM asks Atal Incubation Centres to update KPIs monthly. The Seed Fund Scheme wants data online in real time and presented to its expert committee quarterly. DST reviews NIDHI incubators every year. A monthly internal update covers all three.
Sources: DPIIT, Guidelines for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme · Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Guidelines for Setting up of Atal Incubation Centres, Nov 2023 · DST, NIDHI Technology Business Incubator Guidelines and Proforma · BIRAC, BioNEST Guidelines version 4.0, 10 Nov 2025 · Press Information Bureau, A Decade of Startup India (backgrounder), 15 Jan 2026 · Press Information Bureau, Empowered Youth, Stronger Nation (backgrounder), 13 Jun 2026 · Lok Sabha, Unstarred Question No. 1446 (DPIIT reply), 28 Jul 2026
For more on running an incubator in India, read the MyStartupValley blog or see MyStartupValley for incubators.