He assumed office on 5 January 2022.
Sivarajah Ramanathan confirmed to Industrial Economist that he has stepped down, but did not elaborate on the reasons.
In an interview to Industrial Economist Magazine November 2025 issue, he had pointed out that the registered start-ups in Tamil Nadu rose six-fold to 12,000 from over 2,000 in 2021.
Under Sivarajah Ramanathan’s tenure, StartupTN rolled out TANSEED, providing seed funding support to early-stage startups, TANFUND, a dedicated platform facilitating connections between startups and investors, Tamil Nadu SC/ST Startup Fund, TN SpaceTech Fund among others.
He also played a crucial role in events like Global Startup Summit in Coimbatore, connecting over 115 investors with 400 + startups, leading to Rs 127 crore in raised capital.
The number of DPIIT-recognised startups in Tamil Nadu grew from 2,032 in 2021 to over 14,700 today, making the State one of India’s fastest-growing startup ecosystems. Tamil Nadu was recognised as a Best Performer in the States’ Startup Ranking by the Government of India, while Chennai earned global recognition among Asia’s leading startup ecosystems, Sivarajah said in a LinkedIn post.
“Looking back, I realise that the entrepreneur from Madurai who once struggled without an ecosystem was given the opportunity to help build one for an entire State,” he said.
“I will continue to contribute to Tamil Nadu’s startup ecosystem in whatever way I can, and startups are always welcome to reach out to me for support in my personal capacity,” Sivarajah said.
I will be announcing my next chapter very soon, he added.
Read his earlier interview here: https://industrialeconomist.com/we-didnt-miss-the-bus/