Kerala Startup HEX20's 'Nila' Satellite Takes Flight, Powered by SpaceX

The launch of the 'Nila' satellite is a groundbreaking achievement for HEX20, a Kerala-based space startup. Named after Kerala's longest river, 'Nila' was launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-13 mission on March 15, 2025. This satellite is designed to control critical components like solar arrays and antennas in space missions.

HEX20, founded in 2020 and operating from Technopark since 2023, collaborated with the German firm Decubed for this mission. The satellite's payload included Release Actuators, showcasing HEX20's commitment to fostering global partnerships. The mission was supported by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and received assistance from ISRO for testing and tracking facilities.

This marks a significant step forward for India's private space sector, and HEX20 is already planning future missions, including a 50kg satellite launch with ISRO next year.

The 'Nila' satellite employs advanced technology to control critical components in space missions, such as solar arrays and antennas. It features Release Actuators, developed by the German firm Decubed, which were integrated into the satellite by HEX20. This innovative payload demonstrates HEX20's commitment to fostering global partnerships and advancing space technology.

The satellite's operations are managed from HEX20's ground station at Marian Engineering College in Thiruvananthapuram, where students and faculty are being trained to handle satellite tracking and mission management. This marks a significant step forward in India's private space sector.

Kerala-based Semiconductor Startup Netrasemi Raises ₹10 Cr in Pre Series A from Unicorn India Ventures

• Netrasemi is building system-on-chips (SOC) to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products
• The company is bringing a family of AI/ML capable SOCs and reference designs for solving 100+ AI/ML use cases making edge AI product development Efficient, Simple and Economical
• The company has started generating strong revenue growth & profits of ~$ 0.75 M from chip design and porting service for strategy partners, which will grow further in FY25 to 150% with IP revenue, and will grow exponentially starting FY27 once volume production of chips starts.
• In the last 12 months, the company has been receiving encouraging responses from large OEMS across various countries operating in Medical, Telecom and Industrial segments
• The funds raised will be used for fabrication of two ML SoC chips (Netra A2000 and Netra R1000)
• Netrasemi has strong recognition and support, backed by government entities including MeitY (Benefits under DLI and C2S programme) and leading accelerators like Taiwan’s TTA.

Kerala-based Semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 10 crore in a Pre Series A round from Unicorn India Ventures to build Edge AI for IoT products. Funds raised will be used for fabrication of two ML SoC chips (Netra A2000 and Netra R1000).

Founded in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, Netrasemi is an Indian Edge AI semiconductor technology company building system-on-chips (SOC) to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products. With a strong 61 member team, the company is bringing a family of AI/ML capable SOCs and reference designs for solving 100+ AI/ML use cases making Edge AI product development efficient, simple and economical. These chips go into motherboards that make these products capable of doing advanced AI-based analytics without the need for sending the data to servers and the cloud hence, making them smart, cheap, responsive and independent. The company is bringing a family of AI/ML capable SOCs and reference designs for solving 100+ AI/ML use cases making Edge AI product development efficient, simple and economical.

In the last 12 months, the company has been receiving encouraging responses from large OEMS across various countries operating in medical, telecom and industrial segments and has started generating strong revenue growth & profits of ~$0.75 M from chip design and porting service for strategy partners, which will grow further in FY25 to 150% with IP revenue, and will grow exponentially starting FY27 once volume production of chips starts.

Commenting on the investment, Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, says “There are attractive opportunities in the Edge AI software market and there is absolutely no denying that the AI industry has the potential to transform various sectors. The funding accelerates Netrasemi’s mission to deploy the solutions on a better scale. We believe Netrasemi will continue to sustain its momentum with its most powerful AI chip for edge devices and strengthen its position in this space. The company has witnessed remarkable progress in the last 12 months and has designed new solutions. Hence, we believe the market opportunity is huge and the company has built the right momentum to capitalise on this segment.”

Netrasemi has designed 3 SoC (System on Chip) family- Netra-R1000, Netra-A2000 and Netra-A4000. All three chips are high-performance ML-capable chips built on an efficient Netrasemi DSA (Domain Specific Architecture) and feature companies' patented graph-stream hardware acceleration architecture. The chips are designed based on various end-customer application requirements and are very power-efficient as well as optimally priced, to be useful for the edge market. Netrasemi chips can enable solution players to develop advanced ML and vision application use cases faster and with ease.

Jyothis Indirabhai, Co-founder Netrasemi, says, “Netrasemi family of chips will be the first AI/ML SoCs from India for intelligent edge devices, with a full array of digital IPs inhouse developed. We not only own the chip but also own what goes inside. We are excited to be backed by Unicorn India Ventures and believe this funding will play a crucial step for us to fuel our continued expansion and success.”

The key target segments of Netra SOCs are surveillance, smart sensors, smart infrastructure, machine vision & industry 4.0, robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles. As the demand for security cameras are surging due to privacy concerns and smart city initiatives, Netrasemi aims to target the market that includes different types of video surveillance among end-user verticals such as government, industrial, BFSI, transportation, and others

About Unicorn India Ventures

Started in 2016 by Bhaskar Majumdar and Anil Joshi, Unicorn India Ventures is a technology focused early-stage venture fund that invests capital in emerging and visionary startups. Unicorn India Ventures launched its first fund with a corpus of Rs 100 crore From its first Fund, UIV has invested in 17 companies like SmartCoin, Open Bank, Sequretek, Pharmarack, Genrobotics, Clootrack, FutureCure to mention some. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was more than 60 percent year over year. The Fund has emerged as the best performing early stage fund in India with the stellar exits provided by the fund to its LPs.

Fund II is a Rs 300 crore fund launched in 2020 that has invested in 20 companies so far like Gamerji, ForeignAdmits, Probus, Daalchini, Esmito, Finin. Most of the portfolio is scaling up fast and has had several uprounds.

Unicorn India Ventures has recently announced its first close of Rs 1000 crore Fund III. The first close reached at Rs 225 crore. With this Fund, UIV aims to build a portfolio of 25 startups that are focused on global SaaS and digital platforms. From the sector's perspective, the Fund is looking at newer sectors of climate tech, agritech, spacetech and the semiconductor ecosystem. Unicorn has already made 4 investments from Fund III.

About Netrasemi

Netrasemi is a Kerala-based Indian Edge AI semiconductor technology company building system-on-chips (SOC) to enable the new-age need for optimal computing for smart IoT products. These chips go into motherboards that make these products capable of doing advanced AI-based analytics without the need for sending the data to servers and the cloud. Netrasemi has a power-efficient deep-neural AI acceleration core (NPU) and a rich portfolio of silicon IPs to enable this.

Netrasemi, founded in 2020, is building system-on- chips (SOCs) and system-on-modules (SOMs) supported with a versatile AI software design framework. They enable 100+ smart vision use- cases with low light imaging, on camera video analytics and video compression. Its key target segments are defense, surveillance, smart sensors, smart infrastructure, machine vision & industry 4.0, robotics, drones and autonomous vehicles, among others.

Agri Tech Startup Greenikk Raises Rs 5.04 Cr in pre-seed Funding from Indian and Foreign Investors

Greenikk, a Kerala-based fledgling startup that launched India’s first full-stack supply chain seamlessly connecting banana cultivators, wholesalers, exporters and B2B buyers on a single platform, has raised Rs 5.04 crore in pre-seed funding from a string of institutional funders, angel investors and serial entrepreneurs from India and abroad.

Out of this funding, Rs 3.34 crore will be in equity and the rest in debt, informed Fariq Naushad and Previn Jacob, the co-founders of the award-winning startup that was incubated at Indigram Labs, Delhi.

The latest round of funding for Greenikk has come from 9 Unicorn Ventures, which is the lead investor; Kerala-based angel group Smart Spark Ventures; Manish Modi, who heads Mauritius-based Mastermind Capital Ventures, invested in several agri tech startups and also sits in the investment committee of Venture Catalysts; Saurabh Agarwal and Mayank Tiwari, founders of Reshamandi, a company that has so far raised $40 million; and Arjun Pillai, who sits in the board of Zoom info (NASDAQ listed).

The list of funders for the company, which had earlier secured grant from BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council), also includes 1.0 Ventures, an angel group based in USA with a mix of founders and professionals who invest into exciting early- stage technology startups; Amit Antony Alex (former Country Director, Upaya Social Ventures; serial entrepreneur Shiv Shankar; and Aman Tekriwal (Maxar VC) with a large number of startup investments under his belt.

Among the other investors are CIIE (accelerator of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad); Suresh Aravind (former Worldwide VP, Johnson & Johnson); and Sriram Seshadri, a serial entrepreneur based in USA.

“We will be using the funds mainly to establish model Enablement Centres, gain traction and build up a scalable business model as also for hiring,” said Fariq and Previn, whose pioneering venture in the agri sector has kindled huge interest.

“Our plan is to hit Rs 100 crore in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by FY 23. The next fund raise plan is to attract Rs 50 crore from the top venture capital (VC) funds in the country, and some of them have already made commitments for investment,” they pointed out.

Launched in January 2020, Greenikk has built Enablement Centres (ECs) in the major banana producing agri-belts in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It provides the banana farmers with various kinds of support such as finance, seeds, crop advisory, insurance coverage, agri inputs and market connect, covering the entire gamut of production and marketing both inside the country and outside.

Farmers Fresh Zone Acquires Milk Delivery Platform AM Needs for $2 Mn

Farm produce online retailer Farmers Fresh Zone (FFZ), incubated in Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), has acquired milk delivery platform AM Needs for $2 million (Rs 15.95 crore) in cash and stock deal.With this acquisition, FFZ adds country-milk and value-added products to its product category and it can provide unadulterated country milk to its consumers. Last September, FFZ got Rs 6 crore Pre-Series A funding led by Indian Angel Network (IAN). The online company targets Rs 1,000 crore revenue in the next five years.

FFZ, which operates in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kottayam, and Coimbatore, directly procures products from local farmers within 16 hours of harvest by giving them remunerative prices and take them to consumers.

Founded in 2019 by Sujith Sudhakaran and Ranjith Balan, AM Needs has built a technology stack and platform to ensure delivery of fresh items to customers before 7 am every day. The delivery platform, which is present in four cities in Kerala, offers products like milk, vegetables, and breakfast essentials.

Currently, AM Needs collaborates with Milma to sell milk and dairy products. It delivered more than 1.2 million orders last year.

Commenting on the takeover, Pradeep PS, Founder and CEO, Farmers Fresh Zone, said the acquisition adds locally sourced pure country-milk to their portfolio. “Using the AI-based app, ‘Captain Farm’, we can ensure food safety and traceability for fresh products. We will also be expanding to more cities,” he noted.

According to Sujith Sudhakaran and Ranjith Balan, Co-founders of AM Needs, the collaboration brings in tremendous scope for the company, besides ensuring more effective service to their customers.

Nagaraja Prakasam, Lead Angel investor and Board Member, FFZ, said FFZ pioneered ‘Know your farmer’ and now customers can ‘know their milk’ as well.

 
Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, IAN and Founding Partner, IAN Fund, said consumers are aware of the quality of food and its impact on health. FFZ has created the farm-to-fork supply chain to ensure food safety and such a benchmark in quality will also be applied to the sale of milk.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

Federal Bank Backs Kerala-based Robotics and Automation Startup ASIMOV Robotics

Federal Bank continues to pioneer technology driven innovation. Walking the talk, the bank, has a thriving team at their Digital Centre of Excellence (DCE), a young and dynamic team working at the Kerala Start-Up Mission premises to jam with the fintech ecosystem and is progressively moving ahead in the AI innovation space. The bank’s FedHive is its one stop digital command centre that enables the brand to instantly manage online reputational risks, generate new opportunities and offer enhanced customer service.

This belief in technology and the leverage it can give businesses and societies, is in line with the Digital India and Make in India initiatives. Federal Bank is actively supporting innovation in areas of healthcare, hospitality, public transport etc. In line with the thought, the bank gave tail wind to ASIMOV Robotics Pvt Ltd, a firm innovating in the robotics space, by sanctioning a loan to further their growth ambitions.

Commenting on the above, Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO of the bank said, “We follow our mantra ‘Digital at Fore, Human at Core’ as our lifeline. Over 230+ RPAs (robotic process automation) and 300+ APIs are helping us both increase productivity and engage meaningfully with a range of Fintech Partnerships. As a socially responsible and digitally empowered corporate, we have made inroads in supporting firms to convert their finest ideas into reality which would ultimately benefit the society at large."

The firm's robot, SAYABOT received the loan sanction order from Shyam Srinivasan, MD&CEO of the Bank in the presence of Kuriakose Conil, Senior Vice President and Zonal Head, Ernakulam Zone, M V S Murthy, Chief Marketing Officer, promoters of the firm, and other officials of the bank.

The robot demonstrated a preview of its abilities to take up everyday tasks, with deftness and dexterity. Clearly, technology is a force multiplier, in our Nation's progress. And Federal Bank continues on its journey to Serve भारत, with India’s Trust.

Federal Bank (NSE: FEDERALBNK) is a leading Indian private sector bank with a network of around 1,300 banking outlets and 1,886 ATMs/Recyclers spread across the country. The Bank’s total business mix (deposits + advances) stood at ₹ 3.35 Lakh Crore as on 30 June, 2022. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) of the Bank, computed as per Basel III guidelines, stood at 14.57% as on 30th June 2022. Federal Bank has its Representative Offices at Dubai and Abu Dhabi that serve as a nerve centre for Non-Resident Indian customers in the UAE.

The Bank also has an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Federal Bank is transforming itself, keeping its principles intact, into an organization that offers services beyond par. It has a well-defined vision for the future as a guidepost to its progress.

KSUM Invites Proposals to Partner With Fund of Funds Scheme To Finance Startup Ventures

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has invited proposals from SEBI-accredited funds to become partners in the Fund of Funds scheme, set up by the Kerala Government to financially support startup ventures.

The request for proposal (RFP) aims to consider proposals from interested bidders for receiving a corpus fund from the government which will be channelized to emerging startups in the state through venture investments. According to the RFP, the government will be a limited partner in these funds.

The Fund of Funds scheme is for helping startups obtain investments and attracting venture capital funds to the state. Currently, the government is partnering with four funds under this scheme. Around Rs 750 crore worth corpus fund has been made available for the startup ventures in the state through these four funds.

Moreover, investments of over Rs 75 crore have been received by various start-ups through this scheme.

More details about the scheme can be obtained by visiting https://www.etenders.kerala.gov.in/ Tender ID: 2022_T TBI_471602_1.

Last date for submitting proposals is April 30 till 6pm.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

BigBasket Acquires Kerala Startup Agrima Infotech

(From left) Founders of Agrima Infotech Anoop Balakrishnan, Arun Ravi and Nikhil Dharman

Deal announced on sidelines of KSUM’s Huddle Global 2022

India’s largest online grocery seller BigBasket has acquired the enterprise business unit of a deep-tech company incubated by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) with a view to revolutionizing offline retail in the country.

BigBasket, a TATA enterprise, will be implementing Kochi-based startup Agrima Infotech’s unique customer vision technology platform, Psyight, at the self-checkout counters of the former’s retail stores.

The acquisition was announced by Mr Hari Menon, CEO, BigBasket, on the sidelines of a two-day virtual ‘Huddle Global 2022’ of KSUM that got underway here on Saturday.

Psyight, created by Mr Anoop Balakrishnan, Mr Arun Ravi and Mr Nikhil Dharman under Agrima Infotech, helps identify all Indian fruits and vegetables uniquely from an image without using barcodes.

KSUM Chief Executive Officer Mr John M Thomas described the acquisition as a “milestone” for any Kerala startup. “It not only reiterates the strength of our startup ecosystem, but shows the great impression firms such as BigBasket have about our startups,” he noted. “I hope the deal would encourage startups to move ahead strongly in their attempt to scale up their business.”

Agrima Infotech Co-founder and CEO Mr Anoop Balakrishnan said his startup joining hands with BigBasket will redefine the offline shopping experience in the country.

Agrima Co-Founder and COO Mr Arun Ravi said detecting raw food items such fruits and vegetables uniquely from an image is a complex machine vision problem since the appearance of those items may vary with respect to the location of its origin and seasons. “We have captured thousands of images of each SKU (stock-keeping unit) across the seasons and from different locations to achieve cent per cent accuracy,” he added.

Mr Menon, noting that the acquisition brings “a lot of value to our business”, said BigBasket will use this expertise on AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) to enrich and enhance a whole lot of technological innovation in the company. “We look forward to working with Agrima team to build solid innovation in the grocery space.”

Recently, BigBasket opened its first technology-driven self-service ‘Fresho’ retail store in Bangalore.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

Kerala to Have 15,000 Startups, 2 Lakh Jobs in 5 Years: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

CM opens state’s first Fintech Accelerator as KSUM’s Huddle Global 2022 kicks off

Kerala has set an ambitious target of having over 15,000 startups and 200,000 jobs in emerging technologies in five years, Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said.

He was inaugurating the third edition of the ‘Huddle Global 2022’, organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

The Chief Minister also opened the state’s first Fintech Accelerator and Finishing School on the sidelines of the two-day big-ticket conclave that brings together global leaders from the startup ecosystem to strengthen networking and forging partnerships.

Shri Vijayan said the state government has plans to set up an emerging technology startup hub in the state capital, on the lines of the facility existing in Kochi, considering the vital role of the startups in the emerging scenario.

“Startups being the future of the country, Kerala is committed to providing the right ecosystem. Our startups have raised Rs 3,200 crore as equity investments since 2015. Along with startup infrastructure in the Technology Innovation Zone Kochi, the government is considering a similar campus at Thiruvananthapuram, focusing on emerging technologies,” the Chief Minister said.

‘Huddle Global 2022’ offers startups a platform to showcase products and interact with technology/industry leaders, besides providing them the scope to explore ways on moving ahead in the world emerging from Covid-19.

“Given that India is the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem with more than 55,000 startups, the government is aware of the significance of each state’s contribution to the overall development of this national startup ecosystem. Startup India ranking places Kerala as one of the top Indian states for startup environment,” Shri Vijayan said.

“The approach adopted from schools, colleges and to the professional ecosystem has created innovative startups in the state. Various government initiatives such as IEDC (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centers, for colleges), YIP (Young Innovators Programme), programmes for incubation and acceleration, corporate innovation, besides Center of Excellences, infrastructure facilities, government as a marketplace scheme, innovation grants, Fund-of-Fund and International Exposure programmes have made Kerala the best place to start and grow enterprises,” the Chief Minister added.

Minister for Industries, Law and Coir Shri P. Rajeeve, in his presidential address to the meet, said Kerala has built a unique model to nurture startups from ideation to the scale up stage.

“KSUM is dedicated to fostering global entrepreneurship to strengthen the startup community in the state as well as across the nation. The goal of Huddle Global is to create an environment where the passion meets the purpose to learn, network, bridge the gap between business, expose potential and see actual result,” Shri Rajeeve added.

In his video message, Mr Alderman Vincent Keaveny, The Lord Mayor of the City of London, and partner in business law firm DLA Piper, said India is on to the way to becoming Asia’s top fintech hub just as the UK is Europe’s top fintech hub. Mr Keaveny added that Kerala is scaling new heights in technology by becoming a stable model ecosystem for startups.

The Fintech Accelerator and Finishing School is an initiative of Kochi-based Open Financial Technologies in collaboration with KSUM to support startups coming up with fintech solutions. Open will be investing Rs 200 crore for the next five years as part of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and Fintech Accelerator.

Open Fintech Accelerator, which will launch its first cohort from March 1, is led by Anish Achuthan, Mabel Chacko, Deena Jacob and Ajeesh Achuthan.

On the first day of the event, KSUM has signed MoUs with Google for Startups, Habitat, Jetro, Global Accelerator Network, I Hub Gujarat, NASSCOM and CSL, among others.

One of Asia’s largest startup ecosystem congregations and India's biggest networking platform for entrepreneurs, the event focuses on business, investment and partnership opportunities for startups amid sustained fights against the pandemic-induced stalemate.

The event, featuring keynote sessions, leadership talks, tech talks, startup demo and other business-oriented activities, has a startup expo of both global and Kerala-based startups. Also, there are pitch sessions and dedicated mentoring sessions.

The event is being held on a platform created by KSUM to accommodate more than 2,000 people. Kerala IT Parks are also joining hands with KSUM in the conference.

AgriTech Startup PlantMe Agro Raised Undisclosed Seed Funding From Kanaka Polypack Pvt Ltd

PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited, Kerala-based agritech startup that intends to provide natural and chemical free food to the society, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Kanaka Polypack Pvt Ltd. The company is planning to utilize the funds to fuel expansion, augment buy-back system to support farmers and enhance product and services. The company will also invest in innovations in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Algorithms to drive efficiency, improve yield and so on.

Launched in the year 2020, PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited is a hydroponics-based state-of-the-art gardening solutions provider co-founded by Ashwin Ramachandran, Nithin Kumar, Parvathy Sasikumar and Akhila Ramdas to help the urban farmers with trailblazing gardening solutions, quality-checked seeds and semi-grown plants which are sturdy, resilient, and low-maintenance. PlantMe offers the urban farmers with intuitive support towards building a healthy lifestyle.

Nithin Kumar, Co-Founder and COO, PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited said, “We are delighted to have enormous support from Kanaka Polypack Pvt Ltd. We intend to ensure food safety and security for the growers as well as our consumers. We are committed to offer sustainable, healthy lifestyle choices for our consumers at a reasonable cost as the priority placed on affordability has changed considerably with the wake of the pandemic. Since the launch last year, we have been receiving overwhelming responses and heartfelt messages from our users. We are more than excited to lead this journey to revolutionize urban farming through our sustainable farming solutions and are at the forefront of driving this change with a sole objective of bringing agriculture to every household”.

The farmers have the option to choose from a wide range of gardening solutions depending on what they want to grow in their garden. The Dutch Bucket Method, a system that helps to recirculate water and nutrients and conserve space is used to grow fruity vegetables such as cucumber, tomato and capsicum. 

For leafy greens such as spinach, kale and mint, one could opt for the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system and Hydroponic Home Kit, which circulate nutrient-rich water through food-grade UPVC pipes for a richer yield. This system recycles the water and helps in conservation of water. The consistent flow of water helps to avoid salt deposits from forming near the roots. The Hydroponic Home Kit comes with high-quality seeds, nutrient solutions and offers training for farmers to operate and optimise their NFT systems.

All products are available in PlantMe’s ecommerce website www.plantmeagro.com with delivery across India. Plant Me also provides 24/7 customer support and service for the farmers.

About PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited:

Founded in 2020, PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited is Kerala based agritech company. PlantMe Agro Solutions Private Limited is a sustainability-driven venture, run by veteran eco-farmers and entrepreneurs. PlantMe offers the urban farmer intuitive support towards building a healthy lifestyle. Depending on what the farmer is looking to grow in their garden, they can choose from a variety of PlantMe’s solutions. A Dutch Bucket, with a design that helps recirculate water and nutrients and conserve space, offers fruity vegetables such as cucumber, tomato and capsicum the optimum set-up to grow. For leafy greens, such as spinach, kale and mint, one could opt for the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) system and Hydroponic Home Kit, which circulate nutrient-rich water through food grade UPVC pipes for a richer yield. The system recycles the water and thereby helps in conservation of water. The consistent flow of water also helps to avoid salt deposits from forming near the roots. The Home Kit comes with high-quality seeds, nutrient solutions and offers training for farmers to operate and optimise their NFT systems. All products are available in PlantMe’s ecommerce website www.plantmeagro.com with delivery across India. Plant Me provides 24/7 customer support and service for the farmers.

Kochi Based Startup Develops Covid-19 Virus Sterilizing Device – 'The Wolf Airmask'

Allabout Innovations Pvt Ltd Incubating under Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), developed this path-breaking revolutionary electronic device that contains airborne spread of Covid-19 by performing real-time sterilization.

Wolf Air Mask Wall Mount Assembly

New Delhi, 19th April 2021: Kerala based startup Allabout Innovations Pvt. Ltd developed a device - The Wolf Air Mask which can reduce 99 per cent of the novel coronavirus according to the test held with support from the Indian Council of Medical Research. Incubating under Kerala Startup Mission, Allabout Innovations’s Wolf Airmask is developed with components from Denmark.

Just one Wolf Airmask can be used for 60,000 hours (spanning 6.5 years). The gadget facilitates sterilization of air up to a space of 1,000 sq.ft and requires no service or change of parts. The Wolf Airmask can deactivate the microbes, bacteria and fungus while also reducing the subject MS2 bacteriophage.

The ‘Wolf Airmask’ ruptures the SARS-CoV-2, and has proven its efficiency at tests conducted by Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The ‘Wolf Airmask’ is the first of its kind in the country for RGCB to give such an attestation.

The product price starts at Rs. 10,000- to Rs 50,000 depending on the area covered. It also helps in reducing difficulty in Asthmatic Patients, reducing stress, boost immune system function, increase metabolism of carbs and fats. It also helps regulate sleep patterns and mood.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
PRODUCT NAME	WOLF AIRMASK ION THRUSTER
OPERATION	PLASMA AIR STERILIZATION
DIMENSION	250 x 209 x 209 MM
INPUT	110-230 AC/50Hz, SINGLE PHASE
POWER RATING	30 WATTS (max)
ESTIMATED ELECTRON PRODUCTION	10-100 TRILLION/SECOND
APPLICABLE AREA	1000 SQUARE FEET
EFFECTIVE AREA COVERED	10,000 CUBIC FEET
OZONE EMISSION	BDL (Meets the requirement of US EPA)
INSTALLATION	WALL MOUNT
WEIGHT (Net/Gross)	2.65/4.05 Kg

The new tool will be of benefit in contemporary world where household routine and office work are subject to pandemic-induced protocols. The closed-door living culture adds to the risk of acquiring the Covid-19 virus, against which is the Wolf Airmask is set to fight successfully. It also promotes low-cost purification of the air in enclosed spaces such as hospitals, laboratories, auditoria (including cinema houses), cafeteria and banks where people frequent great numbers.

Founded in August 2020 and headquartered in Alappuzha, Allabout Innovations has been a working in association with scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, engineers, social volunteers and commercial partners to make out sustainable and eco-friendly solutions complying to the modern revolution 4.0.

The company came up with the country's first ion-based Covid-preventive product, fetching two national awards: MSME Time2Leap Best Covid Solution and Business Mint (under the Social Innovation of 2020).

Speaking on the development of the Wolf Airmask , Allabout Innovations founders said “The company's appliance, when switched on, will provide 360-degree protection, 24x7 shield by sterilizing the air. This will also prevent the in-house transmission of viruses inside any space.”

“The negative ions also have proven to enhance health and vitality. "Negative ion thrusters are standard devices used in developed countries like Japan." the founders added.

KSUM, as a non-profit entity registered in 2014 under Society Act 1956, is an incubator approved by the Union government's Department of Science and Technology's National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board. The agency, which works for the promotion of entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, undertakes planning, establishment and management of technology business incubators and accelerators to promote technology-based ventures by creating the infrastructure and environment

Kerala-based Startup Livve Raises $1.5 Mn in Seed Funding

The Kerala-based startup Livve has announced that they have raised $1.5M in seed funding through angel investors. Livve started in 2015 in Cochin, Kerala, and now has a strong presence in Delhi, NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Dubai. The rental space provider will use the funds to improve the housing industry thus transforming the mindsets of the owners as well as the tenants. 

"We're pumped up with excitement to change the housing ecosystem. With this boost of motivation, we're sure to change the way people perceive rental space till now. Revolution in the rental ecosystem is on its way!," said Maya Lakshman, COO of Livve.

For the property owners, Livve provides an assured high rental returns that help stabilising their rental income whereas for the tenants, they provide low deposits and a standardized living experience with a standard set of furniture which is uniform across all our properties, no owners interference policy or any hidden charges. Another interesting feature the company has evolved is low one-month deposits which can be used as the last month's rent rather than deducting it with unknown charges. Also, with Livve, a tenant can be assured to receive their full advance on the same day of vacating the property, which is a new, hassle-free way of dealing with rental owners.

The business model of Livve involves selecting properties that surpass the average ratings of a house, improve their interiors, offer rent models to the owners at par (depending on the location and society), standardize the property with a set of furniture including the ACs, sofa, TV, wardrobe, bed with a proper mattress, lighting, study table etc. and finally put it up for rent. What makes Livve unique is that for the owner of the property, they will provide you with the agreed rent, irrespective of the pandemic or any crisis, and for the tenants, everything in the property is fixed already so the experience is as if they've entered a luxurious hotel. The company's vision is to sell a lifestyle, both to the owners and the tenants.

Another celebrated initiative taken by the company during the pandemic period was paying rents on behalf of the tenants who are not able to pay for themselves due to the salary cuts and job drops. That way, the owners were safeguarded with the rent they were promised and the tenants were relieved. Around 480 house rents were covered by Livve till the month of May 2020.

For more information, please visit www.livvehomes.com.

COVID-19: KSUM to Hold Webinars for Mentoring Startups

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) has planned a series of online mentorship sessions for startups, in association with industry bodies, on a range of topics to equip them meet the challenges arising
from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

High profile Industry leaders, including those from Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Paytm, are also part of the year-long webinar series.

Startups can ingest ideas from industry stalwarts by taking part in the free sessions from their convenient places.

During this lockdown period, startups are facing difficulty in meeting and networking with industry heads and get expert advice on various aspects of business such as marketing, managing funds, investors perspective on the pandemic, business modelling, technical sessions and much more, a press release said.

The webinars seek to bridge this gap by keeping fledgling entrepreneurs engaged and help the startups learn the best practices to adopt at the time of crisis.

It will also bring in active number of participants than in the physical assembly of conferences.

KSUM is the nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.

Kerala's KSUM to Organise Funding Sessions for Startups in Early-stage

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state, has floated a platform for early-stage startups to raise funds by presenting their ideas before investors.

The sessions 'Venture Capital for Startups 101' would be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode from August 7 to 9. Only 10 selected startups from each venue would get the opportunity to pitch, and they should have a KSUM UNIQUE ID, a press release said.

Chief technology officer of 100x. VC Vatsal Kanakiya would address the startups on venture capital and other topics related to investments.

An early-stage SEBI-registered investment firm, 100X.VC is focused on investing in early-stage startups to effectively become their coach. The final session would be held at KSUM, Technopark, on August 9.

In May, Kerala announced a slew of attractive incentives to encourage women-led companies-- including INR 5 lakh marketing incentives -- which currently account for 13% of the start-ups in Kerala. The state government has issued a notification endorsing the proposals, submitted by KSUM CEO Saji Gopinath. The same is implemented under the "Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme" (YEDP).

Last month, KSUM hold its "Startup to Scale up" programme at the Integrated Startup Complex at Kochi on July 19 and at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, on July 20. The programme, meant for start-ups that have completed the 'prototype' stage, offers orientation on a host of topics like the timing to scale up, selection of team, resource mobilisation, finance management and effective networking.

PTI UD

Huddle Incubated Astrek Innovation Selected for Startup Chile Program Seed G22

Astrek Innovations a startup from Kerala, incubated by Gurgaon based incubator Huddle, and provided acceleration support by HealthStart India has been selected to the Startup Chile program Seed G22 (Generation 22). As part of their selection, they would be receiving around 40,000 USD (25 Million Chilean Pesos) as an equity free grant over the next 7 months. The program’s portfolio is valued over USD $1.4 billion, adding Astrek to a cohort of esteemed ventures, that are picked from all parts of the world.

Astrek Innovation, founded by Jithin Vidya Ajith and Robin Thomas is based out of Maker Village in Kochin, Kerala, and is supported by leading incubator and accelerator, Huddle and HealthStart, based out of Delhi NCR. Recent news showcased another one of Huddle’s incubated ventures, Trillbit, based in Bengaluru being scouted and supported by the TechStars program, thus adding Kerela based, Astrek Innovations, as part of the list of ventures being incubated and further recognized across geographies for their credible work. Astrek Innovations has previously gained recognition, awards, and grants by the Kerela Govt. for their work in creating a lower limb exoskeleton in order to provide assistance to enable paraplegics to walk, and are currently in the latter stages of development.

Robin Thomas, Co-Founder & CEO of Astrek Innovation will be leading the team in Santiago, Chile for the next 7 months with the aim of growing. Astrek Innovation would be part of a complete 6-month acceleration process which includes boards, pitch training, and workshops among other activities, and full access to a network of mentors, companies, investors, global partners, and alumni. The Kerela based team will also receive a work visa for one year so they can grow their business from Chile.

In addition, the best startups of each of the programs will be able to apply for an extension to access another 25 million pesos to stay in Chile doing business. This program has seen the emergence of innovative and impactful ventures, in which Astrek Innovations is a part of the esteemed list representing Indian ventures as part of Startup Chile.

Huddle is one of India’s leading sector-agnostic incubator working with startups across industries, with the primary focus of working closely with the founders of each venture and supporting them through the business functions that require assistance in order to get them to the next stage of their business life cycle.

In order to do so, Huddle provides each startup brought on board a dedicated Huddle mentor as part of the incubation support and framework, therefore following a methodology of one mentor - one mentee. In order to provide contextual support to each startup, Huddle's mentor base consists of over 35 industry-specific experts from around the country, that are either leading entrepreneurs or CXO's of large corporations, with a common interest and expertise in having worked with startups as mentors and investors.

Headquartered in Cyber City, Gurugram, Huddle’s incubation has grown ventures across India.

In Slew of Incentives for Women-led Startups, Kerala Announces Free Incubation, ₹5 Lakh Marketing Endorsement

In a bid to strengthen women entrepreneurship and promote women founded startups, the state government of Kerala has announced a slew of attractive incentives to encourage women-led companies, which currently account for 13% of the start-ups in Kerala.

The state government has issued a notification endorsing the proposals submitted by its nodal agency for technical entrepreneurship, the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in this regard. The proposals, to be implemented under the "Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme" (YEDP), was submitted by KSUM CEO Saji Gopinath.\

Two cohorts of 10 startups exclusively for women shall be taken as part of this scheme.

Incentives announced for Women-led startups -

1. Free 3-months pre-incubation support, including mentorship and technical help,



2. KSUM to bear the registration cost and travel expenses of women founders who have a valid start-up product to exhibit in national and international exhibitions (upto 4-times in the start-up life cycle, subject to review)



3. KSUM to endorse marketing activities for up to Rs 5 lakh per start-up per year for two years.




4. The moratorium (a temporary prohibition) on the seed funding support scheme of the KSUM will be extended to two years from one year.


5. Technology transfer support for women-led startups with a ceiling of Rs 10 lakh

Other highlights of the initiative include fast track soft loan against purchase order, fast track soft loan as advance for projects received from the Government departments. About 10% seats will be earmarked for women in International Exposure Programmes.

In India, the participation of women in the Indian funded startup ecosystem stands at 22%, largely mirroring trends in the West.

However, women constitute around 14% of the total entrepreneurship i.e. 8.05 million out of the total 58.5 million entrepreneurs, said the 6th Economic Census released last December. Out of total women entrepreneurs, 2.76 million women constituting 13.3% of women entrepreneurs work in agriculture sector whereas 5.29 million women constituting more than 65% work in non-agriculture sector. The average employment in women-owned enterprises is meager 1.67.

Recently, in an event in Kerala, Satyajeet Singh, a top Facebook official in India said that lack of networks and accessible technological infrastructure are holding India's women entrepreneurs back in their tracks despite of the fat that 4 out of every 5 women from metros as well as smaller towns in India are eager to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs.

Earlier this year, KSUM partnered with Unity Technologies, a San Francisco, California-based game development company, to launch a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and gaming, in order to help the startup culture boom in the gaming and AR/VR sectors.

In March, Kerala, with support from Indian space agency ISRO, had launched Space Technology Application Development Ecosystem (STADE) in Trivandrum, which is aimed as a facilitation centre for companies and startups that are into space data analytics and development of space-tech technologies and components.

Edtech Startup Doubtbox Raises Funding from Times Group Owned Brand Capital

The strategic investment arm of the Times Group Media House, Brand Capital, has done an Investment of undisclosed amount in a Kerala based Educational Technology startup company, Doubtbox. Doubtbox is a learning platform that will make the child learn effortlessly and easily.

Doubtbox is founded by the promoters of eTutor, a path-breaking digital content repository, which is used by more than half a million school students for the last one decade. 

According to Ranjith Balan, the Founder and CEO of Doubtbox, the freshly raised funds will be used for branding in order to compete with other players especially Byju’s and Toppr Learning. Post this funding, the valuation of Doubtbox is expected to be between INR 50 Crores and 60 Crores. The online education sector in India is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 52% to $1.96 billion by 2021, according to a joint study by Google and KPMG.

According to Reni Alphonse, Chief Operating Officer of Doubtbox, this innovative idea has brought technology and the well-acclaimed “Multiple Intelligence learning model” together to offer a different learning experience for the students of Class 1-12. Eminent academicians from IITs and IIMs has formulated the unique learning methodology adopted by Doubtbox. The Doubtbox way of teaching does not aim to alienate students from their school education. In fact, Doubtbox life starts where the daily school life ends. Students can revise the lessons which they learn at school using Doubtbox interactive digital multimedia content. Doubtbox has around 8000 animated topics for the Class 1^st -12^th which covers entire CBSE and ICSE syllabus. Assessment module of Doubtbox covers around 1.25 Lakhs syllabus oriented question bank, which is mapped to subtopic level for better analysis. Through the LIVE teacher feature of Doubtbox, students can Interact LIVE with an expert teacher after the school hours to get their doubts addressed and questions answered. Students/Parents can choose from the pool of certified Teachers according to their Location/Teaching Experience/qualification and the rating. Doubtbox products are available in different mediums like, Pen Drives, Tablets, SD cards and Online. Internet connection is mandatory only for the LIVE Teacher Module of Doubtbox.

Doubtbox products are really affordable when compared to its competitors. The price for its Educational Pen drive starts from INR 2750 per year and the educational Tablets are priced at just INR 13,750. As the LIVE Teacher feature is based on a pay-as-you-use model, it will be affordable and flexible for the parents as well.

Doubtbox has been selected as one of India’s fast-growing Education Technology startup (Ed Start Member) of the year 2018 by Amazon Web Services. Doubtbox Educational Pen Drives and Tablets are marketed in Kerala exclusively by the leading media house Malayala Manorama.

Published unedited via BusinessWire India

Kerala Startup Tranzmeo Gets Funding from Hindustan Petroleum for Its AI-based Fault Detection Tech

Kochi, Kerala-based startup Tranzmeo, a new-age IT solution provider, has secured an undisclosed pre-seed round funding from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for its flagship product called 'T-connect OneView', which is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered technology that detect and predict anomaly in petroleum pipeline.

Tranzmeo will utilize the raised money to accelerate R&D of its proprietary technology and product line-up, bolster business development opportunities, and to double the company headcount over the next 12 months. HPCL will also get board seats in the company.

Tranzmeo, which is a NASSCOM 10,000 incubated startup, has already launched a beta version of T-Connect and it currently analyses 508 km of HPCL’s petroleum pipeline for anomaly detection and prediction.

T-Connect is a self-learning, data-driven, comprehensive anomaly forensics application that runs on data streams to impact energy industries including petroleum industry.

Founded in 2017 by engineer turned entrepreneur Safil Sunny, Tranzmeo has developed T-connect as an auto fault detecting system that streams through real-time machine data to learn machine behaviour and predict anomalies. The application is capable of classifying the kind of failure from the incoming data stream and generate alerts.

The startup has also rolled up its sleeves to on-board more tech talent to speed up operations. In the next one year, Tranzmeo plans to further strengthen its leadership team, improve customer experience of existing product line up and outgrow the start-up tag.

Just to recall, besides HPCL other petro firms are also involved in supporting startups in India. In August, ONGC, an another oil-based Public Sector Unit, had launched a Rs 100 crore Start-up fund followed by Rs 30 crore startup fund scheme by Indian Oil Corporation.

[Top Image - Twitter.com/BloombergQuint]

Source - Business Line, Economic Times

Kerala Invites Proposal from AIF for its Fund-of-Funds Scheme for Startups

Kerala state government's nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and startup activities, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), has invited request for proposal (RFP) from SEBI-accredited alternative investment funds (AIFs) under its ‘Fund-of-Fund’ (FoF) scheme.

Selected AIFs will receive funds from the State Government to invest in the startups from Kerala and thus meet the fund requirements of fledgling technology enterprises.

KSUM has invited the RFP online and the details are available at - startupmission.kerala.gov.in/programs/fof/. Interested AIFs who meet the pre-qualification criteria can submit their expression of interest on or before November 30. After completing the bid process, the final selections will be announced on December 29.

The State Government had launched the Kerala Startup Corpus Fund, a first-of-its-kind initiative in India. A total corpus fund of ₹25 crore was then created with the support of two SEBI-registered AIFs -- Unicorn Ventures India, and SEA Fund. Out of this ₹25 crore, an amount of ₹12.5 crore was contributed by the State Government, and the other half by the two AIFs.

So far, seven investments have been made into startups based out of Kerala, using the Kerala Startup Corpus Fund. One of the startups funded (by Unicorn India Ventures) was Genrobotics, which developed Bandicoot, a robotic system to clean sewers/manholes instead of manual scavenging. Besides, Unicorn India Ventures also made two more investment in Kerala-based startups -- SectorQube and Perfectfit Fashion. The Fund has been actively exploring investment in Kerala post partnering with KSUM.

The objective of the present RFP is to make additional investment into eligible AIFs for supporting exclusively the emerging startups in the State through venture investments, said Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM.

More than 200 startups are presently working from KSUM’s five incubation facilities at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kasargod.

In September last year, chief executive of the KSUM, Saji Gopinath, had announced that it is targeting a corpus of Rs 500 crore under its FoF scheme over the next three years, which will be for Kerala-based startups.


Source - Business Line

India's 1st Fully Automated, 'Amazon Go' Like Retail Store Launches in Kochi, Kerala

Two years back global e-commerce giant Amazon, in its biggest announcement, lunched Amazon Go, a new kind of brick-n-mortar shopping store featuring the world’s most advanced shopping technology with no queening up for checkout required just walk out shopping experience, simply use the mobile app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go!.

As India has still to wait for Amazon Go to arrive in the country, a Kochi, Kerala-based startup called Nayasale Retail Pvt Ltd. is set to launch a fully automated live store called 'Watasale', which is modelled on Amazon Go and will make use of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, computer vision, deep learning, and sensor fusion to provide the customers with a hassle-free shopping experience.

Launched to public #India first fully Automated store #Watasale #DigitalTransformation @retail pic.twitter.com/eEme1JIIUt

— Wat A Sale (@watasale) August 31, 2018

How Watasale Works

Watasale is a fully autonomous unmanned store. The customer can walk into the store with their mobile, take the product and just walk away! That's it. No cashier, no scanning, no waiting in line. The customer scans the QR generated in Watasale app to enter and after you are done with the shopping, you can pick the items and just leave. The bill will be deducted from your credit/ debit card or mobile wallet linked to the app.

According to Rajesh Malamal, CMO of watasale, the watasale concept can be used in retailing any product ranging from ice-creams to packed items.

Moreover as Watasale stores can be installed in any locations, store owners and managers can also use this concept and have a breather into their otherwise monotonous lives by automating store process and use manpower for more productive off store works.

Watasale which opened its first store in Kochi plans to expand to other cities including Bengaluru and New Delhi in the near future.

Future Plans

Watasale is planning to come up with the next generation automated online delivery to customer doorsteps using automated delivery robots. The startup envisions opening 1000’s of stores in various horizontal markets all across the world.

US-based NetObjex Acquires Kerala-based Blockchain Startup Servntire Global

Irvine, California-based NetObjex, a Digital Twin Platform company with technology that leverages AI, Blockchain and IOT technologies, has announced that it has acquired Kerala, India-based Servntire Global, a blockchain startup focusing on future technologies such as Analytics, Cloud and IoT, to expand its product and customer base in the blockchain arena. Terms and financials of the deal were not disclosed.

Based out of Technopark Campus in Kazhakkoottam, a locality in Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala, Servntire Global is a blockchain solutions provider having expertise in deployment of enterprise grade blockchain solutions in areas such as Fintech, Health Care, Agritech, Supply Chain etc., Servntire also work with and contribute to various platforms in the public and private chains.

According to Registrar of Companies [RoC], Ernakulam, the Directors or co-founders of Servntire Global Private Limited are Mahesh Rajagopalan Nair, Mohan Raman, Tittu Varghese, Georgey Punnilethu Jacob and Sreeraj Sudhakaran.

Prior to co-founding Servntire , one of its co-founders Mahesh was leading the marketing team of It startup Lines and Graphs, which got acquired by the diversified transnational business empire Beta Group in 2016. Tittu Varghese, on other hand is also a Blckchain Architect at Buying.com, a decentralized e-commerce network with direct to consumer MOQ plus Hyperlocal Micro-distribution.

Servntire claims to be one of the experienced blockchain dev-house in the market, building blockchain solutions ever since 2015.

About NetObjex, it is a Digital Twin Platform company with technology that leverages AI, Blockchain and IOT technologies. NetObjex has operations in North America as well as offices in India, South East Asia and representatives and partners in Latin America and the Middle East.

Post acquisition, the joint entity will now have Blockchain based product offerings in multiple vertical markets including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Smart Cities, Fintech and more. The team's experience will also span a wide variety of distributed ledger technologies including Ethereum, Hyperledger, Corda, Stellar, IOTA, NEM, BitShares and more, said the company in a press release statement.

[caption id="attachment_125715" align="aligncenter" width="700"] NetObjex and Servntire Leadership Teams (PRNewsfoto/NetObjex, Inc)[/caption]

"We are very proud to announce our acquisition of Servntire Global. This is a coming together of two companies with complementary skills, technologies and culture. We believe together we not only broaden our product offerings, but also now possess the depth and breadth of skills and personnel to engage and assist clients globally," stated Raghu Bala, CEO of NetObjex.

"We are very happy to join the NetObjex family. This acquisition provides us a platform to accomplish bigger goals, with a broader reach. The market for distributed ledger technology is growing rapidly, and we believe the combined entity will be a formidable global player," added Georgey Jacob, CEO of Servntire Global.

"We now have a very strong product offering that ties three key technologies (IoT, AI and Blockchain), and broad set of customer implementations of the platform across multiple domains and geographies. The next phase of our evolution would be to expand on this momentum," noted Bala.

It may also be recalled that in April this year, Kerala Blockchain Academy (KBA) of Kerala state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management has become the first Indian Institution to get membership of Hyperledger Project, an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies.

Blockchain Startups Activity in India

In March, Mumbai-based blockchain-based startup Nuo Bank had raised $250,000 in a seed funding from payment gateway firm PayU India’s chief executive officer Amrish Rau and managing director Jitendra Gupta.

In the same month, an another Mumbai-based blockchain startup Aetlo Tech, which was just a-year-old startup when got acquired by Page Solutions, a global banking and financial firm based out of UK.

In April, New York-based blockchain startup Consensys, which is founded by Joseph Lubin, who is the co-founder of the Ethereum, has signed a nonbinding agreement with Niti Aayog, a govt. of India's policy think tank, to make blockchain prototypes across healthcare, education, land registry, supply chain, and more.

According to a report, blockchain startups across the globe have raised around $1.3 billion through venture capital (VC) funds alone, not counting other funding sources such as individual investors and institutions, or through initial coin offerings (ICOs). And when it comes to India, blockchain startups in the country have raised mere $5.3 million between January 2016 and April this year