CIE at IIIT Hyderabad Commences the Summer 2023 Cohort of its AVISHKAR Deep Tech Accelerator

• Cohort started with 4 startups in deep tech, medtech, media tech and mobility domains, selected from over 200 applications.
• Startups will get up to INR 40L seed fund, strategy mentoring, research advisory and market access
• Since 2016, 26 cohorts 48 startups, and about 53% raising follow-on funding.

The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT Hyderabad announced the onboarding of 4 startups for the Avishkar accelerator 2023 Summer cohorts of Deeptech, Mobility, Healthcare and Mediatech domains. Since the launch of Avishkar accelerator in 2016, there have been over 26 cohorts and 48 startups in AI, ML, IoT, and digital health with about 53% of them raising follow-on funding.

The Accelerator Kickoff was held from 29 May - 2 June 2023 with CIE’s panel mentors and experts from the industry. From an overwhelming application pool of 120+ startups, the selection committee shortlisted 6 startups for the program. The shortlisted startups were from domains of real-time data collection of patients' movements, Brain Health management, lithium-ion cell manufacturing, C-V2X, AI & Digital Twins and Web tools for mobile.

As a part of the Avishkar Accelerator, the selected startups will receive INR 40L seed fund along with a detailed 6-month plan that offers 4 streams of mentorship - Business Strategy, GoToMarket Plan, Technical Review and domain-specific mentorship. The program is facilitated jointly by CIE, IIIT Hyderabad, Co-creation Consulting, and SucSeed Indovation fund among other industry leaders. The program also opens avenues for startups through IIITH’s research support and collated networks and Corporate Connects.

Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, COO of CIE-IIITH says “Very happy to see Avishkar in its 7th year. A program that connects deep tech startups, research and market access, thru a structured 6-month accelerator program”

The startups shortlisted for this cohort are:

• NxtQ aims to provide accurate and real-time data about a patient's movements, allowing prosthetists and orthotics to create customized devices that better match their needs.
• Nirvesh Enterprises aims to provide Post Operative Brain Health Management. They plan to provide this through products related to neuro-care.
• Petrol Social aims to bring all the tools found on PCs and the web to mobile. Tools such as content creation platforms, and smart legos on mobile.
• Eranext Auto enables Vehicles To Communicate With Each Other And Their Surrounding Infrastructure, Including Pedestrians And Other Road Users.

About IIIT-Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Cognitive Science, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website: www.iiit.ac.in

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad: The Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) was set up in 2008 and has since grown to be the largest academic incubator in the country. CIE-IIITH was supported by DST (TBI) and MeitY (TIDE) in the initial years. Today, there are very active programs focused on emerging technology startups, research-based startups, medical technologies, and social technology startups. In the past 14 years, CIE has housed over 300+ startups that have raised about 200 Cr in funding and created over 2000 jobs.

For further information, please contact: Sunory Dutt, Head of Communications, IIIT-Hyderabad.

Winners of the DST Geospatial Hackathon 2023

CIE (Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship), one of India's largest and oldest academic incubators, fostering deep-fetch early-stage startups at IIIT (International Institute of Information Technology)-Hyderabad, a leading research university in the country hosted recently the final event of the Geospatial Hackathon in Collaboration with DST (Department of Science and Technology), SOI (Survey of India) and Microsoft.

The four winners were selected. The final 4 winners-built solutions including Weather Forecast API services, efficient Geographical Text Analysis etc. The hackathon attracted over 500 applications, of whom 70 were selected for the final round.

The winners of the challenge are Faizan Khan (A high-resolution, dynamic and accurate weather forecast API ), Dhanashri Patil (App, that will measure the UN SDG Goals via Geospatial data), Ambarish Ganguly (The socio-economic data that would be consolidated with geospatial data as well as tabular data), VSS Kiran (GeoAI entity recognition model to extract a predefined set of entities from raw text and generate thematic maps).

 

The DST Geospatial Hackathon offers the winners a POC(Proof of Concept) to work with Survey of India, Tech Support from IIITH and Azure credits from Microsoft. Also, the opportunities to participate and present at industry events.

The 4 winners were selected post a national campaign that attracted applications from a large number of startups/research teams and students applying. CIE IIIT-H launched the hackathon earlier this year on 14 January 2023.

The Geospatial Hackathon had two challenges: A Startup Challenge to promote the use of geospatial technologies in solving real-world problems. The second one was the Research Challenge, which was specific to real-time geospatial problem statements given by DST (Survey of India). The challenges were open to students, innovators, researchers, working professionals and startups.

The top 5 in each challenge are Team Sac (a model that learns segmentation features effectively through a diverse set of satellite images using deep learning), Team Technosync (Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger technology that enables the creation of a decentralized and secure digital record of transactions), Pyare Lal ( point cloud segmentation using deep learning is to utilize the RandlaNet architecture), Garudylatics (GeoAI model which is capable of real-time identification and classification of road cracks), CommutLink (contactless solutions to identify violations in the use of cycle lanes, capture evidence of violation), and The Saviour (Precision agriculture, Environmental monitoring, Building a community for farmers).

The Finale Event of the DST Geospatial Hackathon was held for all the winners and the top 5, which was joined by the DST, SOI, Microsoft and IIIT-Hyderabad Teams.

Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, COO at CIE-IIITH said “Very happy that IIITH got the opportunity to drive this unique challenge hackathon to get solutions from both research and startups. Such initiatives are much needed to seed and nurture innovations coming from research”.

DN Pathak, Director at Survey (Air) & Delhi Geo-spatial Data Centre, Survey of India said “The Geospatial Hackathon not only showcased the power of geospatial technology but also exemplified the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Participants showcased remarkable problem-solving abilities throughout the hackathon and utilized geospatial data to uncover valuable insights. The creative solutions developed during the event highlighted the potential of geospatial technology to transform industries, improve decision-making, and create sustainable solutions for a better future”

Sanjay Dhingra, Director at Public Sector, Microsoft said “The Great Collaboration between Microsoft, IIITH, DST and SOI has created an incredible journey, a hackathon dedicated to Geospatial Technology. We are excited to carry this momentum forward inspiring others and making a long-lasting impact in the world of Geospatial technology".

The winners of the DST Geospatial Hackathon, Startup Challenge are

Tensor Dynamics — A high-resolution, dynamic and accurate weather forecast API providing weather data at multiple spatiotemporal scales designed to serve the needs of the Power industry.

Morai Solutions — The solution is to develop an App, that will measure the UN SDG Goals via Geospatial data. For Eg, in the case of hospitals (UN SDG Goal 3 - Healthcare), it will display the spatial distribution of Hospitals in a given area and per population density. A progress tracker will measure the SDG Goal progress every year.

The winners of the DST Geospatial Hackathon, Research Challenge are:

Ambarish Ganguly — The solution would be to develop the Socio-Economic Hub for India. The socio-economic data would be consolidated with geospatial data as well as tabular data.

Garudalytics Pvt Ltd Developed a GeoAI entity recognition model to extract a predefined set of entities from raw text and generate thematic maps.

The Top 5 of the DST Geospatial Hackathon, Startup Challenge are

Tensor Dynamics — A high-resolution, dynamic and accurate weather forecast API providing weather data at multiple spatiotemporal scales designed to serve the needs of the Power industry.

Morai Solutions — The solution is to develop an App, that will measure the UN SDG Goals via Geospatial data. For Eg, in the case of hospitals (UN SDG Goal 3 - Healthcare), it will display the spatial distribution of Hospitals in a given area and per population density. A progress tracker will measure the SDG Goal progress every year.

Garudylatics Pvt Ltd — GeoAI model which is capable of real-time identification and classification of road cracks, potholes and other features on archived and live video feeds. It analyzes their spatial density and severity and presents the information on a dashboard.

CommutLink — Develop contactless solutions to identify violations in the use of cycle lanes, capture evidence of violation (infringement by other vehicles for movement or stopping) and alert the same to concerned authorities for enforcement.

The Saviour

1. Precision agriculture
2. Environmental monitoring
3. Building a community for Farmer

CIE at IIITH Startup PiStarTech Wins "Best Idea" Award at Aarambh 2022

Anis Fatima

CIE at IIITH startup PiStarTech’s CEO Anis Fatema won “Best Idea” award at Aarambh 2022, a national entrepreneurship conclave organized on 26-27 November by Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU), Kanpur.

Anis Fatema, whose startup has been incubated at CIE for a year now and is part of the Nidhi Prayas program, has created “Flexible Podiatry System (FlePS) Mat”, a digital automated foot scanning system that provides complete plantar pressure analysis. The highly affordable and advanced patented flexible technology provides the complete plantar pressure analysis in just 5 secs. A doctor with this technology is able to diagnose the problem, track the patient's progress and also prescribe customized insoles according to the orthotics.

The FLePS Mat helps doctors gauge accurate data via a thorough plantar pressure analysis of the foot, which includes static, dynamic, and stabilometry analysis via a RRR functionality (Recognize - Restore - Reinforce). Recognize the root cause of the problem by providing a complete foot pressure analysis. Restore the patient’s health by providing evidence-based rehab treatment and tracking progress throughout. Reinforce treatment using the doctor’s prescribed customized insoles for relief and performance enhancement.

She was selected from a total of 650 entrees, of which 103 participations pitched their ideas at the conclave through 2 rounds – an initial pitching round, followed by an investor round. The jury comprised of representatives from HBTU, Venture Catalysts and iCreate team. Among the 3 categories of the contest (Idea, Prototype and Product), Fatema won the ideation round and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 60,000.

Commenting on her achievement, Prakash Yalla, Professor of Practise at IIITH’s Tech Transfer Office (TTO) said, "We are very happy to see some traction and success from our efforts to seed hardware startups through the Nidhi Prayas maker program at CIE. Hoping to see more products in the market succeed”.

Anis Fatema said, “The most prestigious moment for me was when Smt. Neha Jain, IAS officer of Kanpur Dehat, got her foot screening done on the FlePS mat and appreciated the idea of designing such a device for the doctors. I was overjoyed when all the investors got their foot screening done and appreciated the idea. The representative of iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) also agreed to support our startup through their platform."

About IIIT Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Cognitive Science, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, Education Technologies, Power Systems, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website: www.iiit.ac.in

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad:

IIIT Hyderabad is the first IIIT to be set up in the country, in 1998. IIIT Hyderabad is a research university that ranks in the country for research in various areas of computer science. IIITH also strongly emphasises on translating research into products and startups. To enable this, the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) was set up in 2008, which has since grown to be the largest academic incubator in the country. The Centre has very active programs across the spectrum of a startup journey. Entrepreneurship courses and workshops for students, Product Labs to seed new products from research, a pre-incubation program to help entrepreneurs create new startups, incubation to nurture early-stage startups, mentoring programs to improve strategy and business development of the startups, investor pitch days, and several talks/workshops from experts and successful entrepreneurs. CIE-IIITH was supported by DST (TBI) and MeitY (TIDE) in the initial years. Today, there are very active programs focused on emerging technology startups, research-based startups, medical technologies, and social technology startups. In the past 14 years, CIE has housed over 450+ startups that have raised about 250 Cr funding and created over 2500 jobs.

MeitY Startup Hub and Meta Selects IIIT Hyderabad Foundation (CIE) as the Implementation Partner From the Southern Zone for the XR Startup Program

• Hon'ble Union Minister of State Shri. Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched the program
• XR Startup program will have an Accelerator and a Grand Challenge. Focusing on startups in gaming and entertainment using XR technologies
• 10 early-stage startups will receive INR 20 Lacs each as grant through the accelerator program
• 20 innovators will receive INR 50K each, top 4 among that will receive INR 20 Lacs each as grant through the grand challenge

MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, GoI, and Meta, on 14 Sept 2022, announced the launch of XR Startup Program to support and accelerate XR technology startups across India. This initiative, focuses on skilling and building technological capabilities for the metaverse and will help shape the ecosystem for the emerging technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the country.

IIIT Hyderabad foundation (CIE) is selected as one of the 4 implementation partners for the program across the country. Earlier this week, Gujarat's GUSEC also selected as one of the implementation partners for the Program.

The Accelerator Program will support 40 early-stage start-ups working in XR technologies with a grant of Rs 20 lakhs each. Further, the Grand Challenge will encourage early-stage innovators in sectors like Education, Learning and Skills, Healthcare, Gaming and Entertainment, Agritech & Climate Action and Tourism & Sustainability. For the grand challenge the innovators will be provided support to upscale from the R&D phase to developing workable products and services. At first 80 innovators will be shortlisted to attend a bootcamp, out of which, a total of 16 innovators will be provided grants of Rs 20 lakhs each and further support to help them develop Minimum Viable Product (MVP)/ prototypes.

Head of the Incubator with Union MoS Shri. Rajeev Chandrashekar

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “It is an important day in terms of achieving Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making the next 10 years as India’s Techade - full of opportunities for young Indians. It is also an important milestone in area of Metaverse which is an important part of emerging future of the internet. I look forward to the collaboration with Meta and I hope it provides the necessary impetus towards fueling the growth of investments in future technologies in line with the government vision for making India a trillion-dollar economy by 2025.”

Speaking on how the Digital India Programme launched in 2015 has transformed citizens lives, governance & democracy, catalyzed India’s Digital economy & created significant capabilities in emerging technologies, the Minister said “According to PM’s Digital India vision, it is clear that India is no longer going to be a consumer of Technology but become a leader in producing emerging technologies”.

Emphasizing on the potential of Indian Startups from tier 2/3 cities & how the Narendra Modi government is committed in encouraging them, the Minister further added, “Young Indian Startups, especially from tier 2/3 cities, will play a significant role in emerging tech areas like Web 3.0, blockchain, AI, Metaverse etc. and will shape the future of technology and the internet for India and the world.

Sharing his views on the collaboration, Mr. Joel Kaplan, Vice President, Global Policy, Meta, said, “India will play a pivotal role in defining future technologies. Decisions and investments made here in India now shape global discussions on how technology can deliver more economic opportunity and better outcomes for people. It is critical that we help to create an ecosystem that will enable India's tech startups and innovators to build the foundations of the metaverse.”

The use cases that IIITH will be focusing are from gaming and entertainment domains. Startups will be benefited with mentorship by industry expert, IIITH technology support and research connect as well as opportunity to present at industry events. Extended Reality comes from the combination of AR, VR and MR technologies. Gaming in the metaverse helps the user experience the game in real time while also allowing them to interact better with other gamers in a multiplayer environment. VR also helps the gamer control the playable characters better unlocking the complete potential of gaming.

“The XR startup program could be a breakthrough to the quicker integration of AR and VR technologies in the entertainment and gaming industry. This will give lot of boost to early stage companies since they will be getting help from their established counterparts through funding and mentoring,” said Anubhav Tiwari (Head DeepTech and MedTech Incubator, CIE, IIIT Hyderabad Foundation)

XR technologies are set to redefine how we see the entertainment industry. Users can join virtual concerts or host virtual parties. Movies can be made much more immersive with the XR technologies. Sports broadcasting can be completely reinvented with people being able to actually visit stadiums virtually. The use cases of this technology go much beyond what we can imagine. Classrooms can be brought to life with simulations of what is being taught and social media can go as far as letting people meet in the virtual world and allow first person interaction with each other.

For the XR Startup Program, other implementation partners along with IIITH Foundation (CIE) are AIC SMU Technology Business Incubation Foundation (AIC-SMUTBI), Rangpo, Sikkim; Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC), Ahmedabad, Gujarat and Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi, New Delhi.

About CIE@IIITH

CIE@IIITH, also known as CIE (Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) is a DST approved incubator operational since 2009. CIE@IIITH has so far supported around 160 startups and has seed- funded 18 startups, 80% of which are cash positive. CIE@IIITH was also instrumental being the kiln of the initiatives that culminated into the foundation of T-Hub. Along with developments in AVISHKAR, CIE@IIITH is also focusing on turning a new leaf in terms of infrastructure facilities, programmes and startup engagements focusing towards building a deep tech startup ecosystem. New working spaces are launched, seed funding programmes, structured workshops and mentoring opportunities and technology transfer facilitation are also being deployed now. Visit https://cie.iiit.ac.in/index.html for more details.

Good Universe, An Organisation Working for Women Sexual/ Reproductive Health Gets Rs. 25 Lakhs Grant from CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, PRIF

GOOD UNIVERSE, an organisation working for women sexual and reproductive health along with the impacts of climate change on women health receives a grant of Rs. 25 lakhs from CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, PRIF (Pernod Ricard India Foundation).

The grant was received for its project E3 for female sanitation workers in the districts of Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Hyderabad. The organisation aims to intervene into the lives of the most vulnerable community of women, the female sanitation workers. Through the project, Good Universe will Educate, Empower and Enable (E3) the female sanitation workers with the right tools and resources that will allow them to live a healthy and dignified life.

This grant is made possible through the WE Incubation Program operated by CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, one of India's largest and oldest deep-tech academic incubators, in collaboration with financial partner Pernod Ricard India Foundation (PRIF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard India.

The main component of this project is the health of the female sanitation workers. Good Universe is working very closely with these females to bring change in their lives.

Why Female Sanitation Workers?

Facing the intersectionality’s of discrimination, female sanitation workers are one of the most vulnerable communities of women. Being underpaid, undervalued, invisible and unrecognised these women strive to have good health and hygiene. Their exposure to hazardous waste puts their health at high risk.

"If you wake up early in the morning, you will see women cleaning the roads and public toilets, they are the Female Sanitation workers. We see them every day working without any break. These women clean and collect waste in their tri-cycle which they push for long-distance. Public roads and streets being their workplace, they often face the problems of unavailability of proper WASH facilities. During their menstrual cycle being closer to unhygienic environments and conditions along with improper WASH facilities puts them at a high exposure to health and hygiene problems. As a result, during their menstrual cycle, these female sanitation workers suffer from various infections, rashes, bruises on the thighs as well as stomach cramps and lower body pains. Because of the socio-economic status and stigma around menstruation, these women fail to approach and express their needs and pains.

Not only this, the psychosocial risks of female sanitation workers indicate that the mental health of these women often goes unaddressed. With COVID-19 uncertainties and socio-economic situation, there is a rise in mental health issues among this community of women." says Kamal Nayak, Founder of Good Universe.

What is Project E3?

E3 stands for Educating, Empowering and Enabling. Project E3 is the new initiative of Good Universe intervening in the lives of female sanitation workers. By educating, empowering and enabling with the right and adequate tools and resources, Good Universe’s E3 Project adds to the ability of female sanitation workers to live a healthy life and adapt informed lifestyle practices.

After receiving the grant of 2.5 million from CIE IIIT-Hyderabad and PRIF, E3 will be functional among female sanitation workers of Sangareddy, Rangareddy and Hyderabad. The major action areas of this project will be sexual and reproductive health, mental health, non-communicable diseases and breast and cervical cancer.

Kamal Nayak mentions, “Sanitation workers have been kept away from the mainstream knowledge and information around sexual & reproductive health, mental health, breast and cervical cancer and non-communicable diseases. Based on the survey conducted among FWS by Good Universe, women at the age as young as 22 underwent hysterectomy in private hospitals for reasons like contraception, swollen uterus which is not the right thing to do. Lack of awareness and understanding being the major reason for this to happen. Our aim is to provide comprehensive health care to these female sanitation workers. In the first phase, we will be working with 6000 FSWs.”

Through E3, Good Universe would be supporting and engaging female sanitation workers and their adolescent girls in active health programmes and provide them with the knowledge to navigate and voice out through various health issues they often come across due to their poor working conditions.

MediaTech Startup Accelerator Launched By CIE-IIIT Hyderabad and Arka Media Works, the Production House which Produced Movies like Bahubali

CIE at IIIT Hyderabad, a technology incubator & Arka Media Works, the production house which produced movies like Bahubali togeher Launched MediaTech Startup Accelerator

• Discover and accelerate startups in Virtual Production, Web 3.0 (Blockchain, Metaverse) & Journalism segments
• Focus on DeepTech startups leveraging AI, CV & NLP led solutions
• Will be run jointly with Arka Media Works, with Shobu Yarlagadda as Chief Mentor
• INR 40 lakhs seed fund, strategy mentoring, media market access and research support to startups.

After running multiple successful accelerator programs in the DeepTech and MedTech spaces and supporting over 380+ startups, The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT Hyderabad along with Arka Media Works, the new age production house which produced movies like Bahubali have launched the Media-Tech Accelerator.

The accelerator programs are designed to discover, nurture and scale start-ups developing innovative solutions and AI applications in areas of Virtual Production, Web 3.0 (Blockchain, Metaverse), Media and Journalism.

"Movie production in India now leverages many of the latest technologies available globally. This accelerator will support Indian innovators and startups in creating new technology driven solutions for the media and entertainment sector. The possibilities are immense. I’m looking forward to this exciting program” said Shobu Yarlagadda, Co-Founder & CEO at Arka Media Works.

The programs help startups to leverage cutting-edge research work at IIITH, provides domain mentoring, market access, seed fund and customer connections to help startups achieve their respective goals in the program timespan. Cohorts will be led by key mentors including Prof. Ramesh Loganathan (Professor & Head of CIE at IIIT Hyderabad) and Mr. Shobu Yarlagadda (Co-Founder & CEO of Arka Media Works) as Chief Mentors. This initiative is also supported by the DST, Government of India.

New media is a convergence of digital production, including AI-powered journalism, with emerging virtual worlds, such as the metaverse. AI-powered automatic editing, automatic dubbing, Lip Sync for movies, Computational Cinematography, Decentralized web, NFTs and News Analytics, Immersive and Interactive Mediums for Storytelling, and much more. It's no wonder that these businesses are seeing an increase in opportunities to grow, whether by entering new markets or expanding in existing ones.

"In recent years research in AI and other emerging technologies have made great strides making many challenging MediaTech solutions possible. Using computer vision AI for editing, using language technologies for evaluating scripts, using speech technologies for realistic dubbing, blockchain powering metaverse solutions and more.

Several research areas of AI and emerging technologies have made great progress. Enabling these from India is the focus of this accelerator" says Ramesh Loganathan, Professor, Head of CIE at IIIT Hyderabad

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad:

CIE at IIIT Hyderabad is a technology incubator which was setup in 2008, which has since grown to be one of the largest academic incubator in the country. The centre has very active programs across the spectrum of a start-up journey. CIE IIITH, with a research-led innovation as its primary mandate, focuses on amplifying technology and IP by creating research collaboration and co-creation models for start-ups to work with research groups at IIITH. With over 13+ years of rich experience in seeding, nurturing and growing deep-tech start-ups in emerging segments like med tech, tech4social, visual informatics, data engineering, machine learning, language technologies, gaming and robotics, CIE IIITH has housed over 380+ start-ups, that have raised about 200 Cr funding and created over 2000 jobs. CIE IIITH has been an ecosystem enabler fostering communities that create and scale emerging technology solutions, innovations and start-ups.

About Arka Media Works:

A new age production house, Arka Mediaworks is a leading name in motion picture production, television programming and syndication, and digital content distribution. Founded by Shobu Yarlagadda, and Prasad Devineni in 2001, Arka Mediaworks has produced the sensational, blockbuster movie Bahubali and several other movies and television shows across languages and channels. Their clients include some of the nation’s largest TV channels, distributors and advertisers. Acknowledging the infinite possibilities, Arka Mediaworks passionately explores uncharted territory when it comes to the vision, scale and potential of a project. Committed to leaving an indelible mark on the Indian Film and Television Industry.

About IIIT Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research with great social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website: www.iiit.ac.in

CIE-IIITH commences 14th cohort of deep-tech accelerator Avishkar

4 startups selected from over 150 applications

Startups for Hiring solutions, Industrial manufacturing monitoring, and dispute resolution

In 5 years of Avishkar, a total of 25 startups have been accelerated in AI, NLP, IoT, CV, robotics, and other emerging technologies

Program includes Rs. 40 lakhs seed fund jointly with SucSEED Indovation VC fund

HYDERABAD, India, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT Hyderabad announced the onboarding of 4 startups for the 14th cohort of Avishkar Deep Tech accelerator. From an overwhelming application pool of 150 startups, the selection committee shortlisted 4 startups for the programme. The accelerator offers IIITH's research support, business mentorship, market access and Rs 40L seed fund.

 

Avishkar is a 6-month cohort-based accelerator programme facilitated jointly by CIE, IIIT Hyderabad, Co-creation Consulting, and SucSeed Indovation Fund. It brings together the deep-tech expertise of IIITH's research labs and the opportunity of working within the ecosystem of IIITH Foundation while engaging in in-depth business mentoring from Co-creation consulting and Investor connections from SucSEED Indovation Fund. The program focuses on honing the business plan, team, and overall strategy of the startups and getting the startups business investment ready. It facilitates the startups' journey from a seed level to a VC/Angel level readiness.

Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, COO CIE-IIITH says, "Connecting research with startups is a key need to help realize deep-tech innovation that can succeed in the markets. Happy to see yet another cohort of Avishkar commencing."

The startups in this cohort are:

• Hirex.ai, a cognitive voice-bot solution for automated hiring interviews.
• CometLabs, an AI-powered solution for hiring deeptech developers by competitive development events and bootcamps.
• Embedsense, an industrial IoT company providing remote monitoring, process optimization, and predictive maintenance in moulding manufacturing setup.
• WebNyay, an online dispute resolution ecosystem end-to-end digital platform for the resolution of complaints and disputes in an efficient, speedy, flexible, and inexpensive manner.

Avishkar, through the six years, has enabled a number of alumni Avishkar startups. That have since raised external VC funding. Revos (USD 4M), Instoried (USD 8M) Scholr (Acquired by Edtech giant of India, Byju's), Paymatrix (Acquired by Muthoot) among others.

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad: CIE@IIITH, also known as CIE (Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) is a DST approved incubator operational since 2008. CIE@IIITH has so far supported around 400 startups and has seed- funded 19 startups, 80% of which are cash positive. CIE@IIITH was also instrumental being the kiln of the initiatives that culminated into the foundation of T-Hub. Along with developments in AVISHKAR, CIE@IIITH is also focusing on turning a new leaf in terms of infrastructure facilities, programmes and startup engagements focusing towards building a deeptech startup ecosystem. New working spaces are launched, seed funding programmes, structured workshops and mentoring opportunities and technology transfer facilitation are also being deployed now.

About IIIT Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research with great social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website: www.iiit.ac.in

ANNEXURE

Hirex.ai is a cognitive voice-bot solution for automated hiring interviews.
Age: 2 years
Domain: HR Tech
Customers: IT & ITes Companies - Atom, Data Economy, Ubercomm, Suvega Fleet, Vijaya Management Services
Funding: Friends and Family(approx. 75L)
Website: https://www.hirex.ai/

WebNyay is an online dispute resolution ecosystem end-to-end digital platform for the resolution of complaints and disputes in an efficient, speedy, flexible, and inexpensive manner.
Age: 2 years
Domain: Online dispute resolution software(SaaS)
Customers: Digital Media - Finshots, Newsclick, Cobrapost, The Citizen
Funding: Bootstrapped
Website: https://www.webnyay.in/

Embedsense is an industrial IoT company providing remote monitoring, process optimization, and predictive maintenance in moulding manufacturing setup.
Age: 7 years
Domain: Industrial IoT
Customers: Britannia, Bosch, Pricol
Funding: Bootstrapped
Website: https://embedsense.com/

CometLabs is an AI-powered solution for hiring deeptech developers by competitive development events and bootcamps.
Age: 1.5 years
Domain: Online Community Building
Customers: Krishi Network, Oni, Beyond Innovation
Funding: Bootstrapped(<25L)
Website: https://www.cometlabs.in/