Infosys Science Foundation Announces the Infosys Prize 2023 in 6 Categories

Six individuals awarded for their remarkable contributions to scientific research in India

Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) today announced the winners of the Infosys Prize 2023 in six categories – Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences. Since its inception in 2008, the Infosys Prize has honored the accomplishments of the recipients and awarded them for their contributions to scientific research and scholarship impacting India. The prize for each category comprises a gold medal, a citation, and a prize purse of USD 100,000 (or its equivalent in INR). The event was hosted at Infosys Science Foundation’s office in Bengaluru.

The laureates of Infosys Prize 2023 were shortlisted from 224 nominations by an international panel of jurors comprising world-renowned scholars and experts. Over the past 15 years, ISF has recognized some of the best groundbreaking research and scholarship that has contributed to every aspect of human life. The Infosys Prize is currently the largest award in India that recognizes excellence in science and research.

Infosys Prize laureates have gone on to win many international accolades. These include the Nobel Prize (Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo), the Fields medal (Manjul Bhargava and Akshay Venkatesh), the Dan David Prize (Sanjay Subrahmanyam), the MacArthur ‘genius’ Grant (Sunil Amrith), and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (Ashoke Sen). Several laureates have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, among them Gagandeep Kang, who became the first Indian woman to be elected Fellow of the Royal Society. Others have gone on to hold influential posts in government and academia.

The winners of the Infosys Prize 2023 were announced by the trustees of Infosys Science Foundation – Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan (President, Board of Trustees), Mr. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Srinath Batni, Mr. K. Dinesh, and Mr. S. D. Shibulal. The other trustees of Infosys Science Foundation – Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Mr. Mohandas Pai, and Mr. Salil Parekh – extended their felicitations.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, President – Infosys Science Foundation, said, “This year marks a landmark moment in Infosys Science Foundation’s journey. Over the course of 15 years, the Infosys Prize has recognized mid-career researchers who have done impactful, groundbreaking work across disciplines. The prize has helped drive conversations around their work and on a larger scale created meaningful engagement around science and society. I congratulate the winners of the Infosys Prize 2023.”

Sharing his thoughts, Narayana Murthy, Founder – Infosys, Trustee – Infosys Science Foundation, said, “Learnability, creativity and innovation are the ways to navigate our fast-changing world. We must be daringly inventive to tackle the daunting and persistent problems of today. The laureates of the Infosys Prize have shown us the importance of this adaptive thinking through their approach to problem solving – be it for centuries old conjectures in mathematics, translational medicine and diagnostics or finding solutions to societal challenges like poverty. For this I congratulate all the winners of the Infosys Prize and those who have won in 2023.”

Winners of the Infosys Prize 2023 in the six categories are:

Engineering and Computer Science

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Engineering and Computer Science is awarded to Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Professor, Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE), IIT-Kanpur, for the deployment of large-scale sensor-based air quality network and mobile laboratory for hyper local measurements of pollution, data generation and analysis using artificial intelligence and machine learning for effective air quality management and citizens awareness. Prof. Tripathi’s work has shown that the important differences between observations of winter haze formation in Delhi and those in other places like Beijing are that the nano-particle growth-rate in Delhi is much higher and happens at night without photochemistry. This finding holds the key to mitigating air pollution in India.

Humanities

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Humanities is awarded to Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director, Science Gallery Bengaluru, for her brilliant and granular insights into the individual, institutional, and material histories of scientific research in modern India. Her book, The Atomic State, and many articles insightfully braid the global history of science, especially nuclear science, with the anthropology of the postcolonial state to illuminate rich and textured histories of the everyday lives of science in India. Dr. Phalkey’s work has emphasized the need to see the history of science as much as a history of scientific ideas, as one of power, practice, and the nation-state.

Life Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Life Sciences is awarded to Arun Kumar Shukla, Professor, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, IIT-Kanpur, for his outstanding and far-reaching contributions to the field of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) biology. Prof. Shukla’s research has established a new understanding of GPCRs, which are one of the most important classes of drug targets. His work has opened up previously uncharted avenues for designing novel and effective therapeutics.

Mathematical Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Mathematical Sciences is awarded to Bhargav Bhatt, Fernholz Joint Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study and Princeton University, for his outstanding and fundamental contributions to arithmetic geometry and commutative algebra. Prof. Bhatt’s joint work in prismatic cohomology with German mathematician Peter Scholze introduces new ideas and powerful methods in this area at the heart of pure mathematics.

Physical Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Physical Sciences is awarded to Mukund Thattai, Professor, Biochemistry, Biophysics and Bioinformatics, National Centre for Biological Sciences, in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to evolutionary cell biology. Prof. Thattai is a physicist who researches how complex cellular organization emerged from microscopic disorder. Thattai’s work could have profound implications in one of biology’s central mysteries of how complex cells emerged from primordial ones. He is among the pioneers of the physics of life.

Social Sciences

The Infosys Prize 2023 in Social Sciences is awarded to Karuna Mantena, Professor, Political Science, Columbia University for her groundbreaking research on the theory of imperial rule, and the claim that this late imperial ideology became one of the important factors in the emergence of modern social theory. Prof. Mantena’s book Alibis of Empire and related papers are landmark publications in political theory with implications for all social sciences. Her impactful book helps us understand that the dramatic shift in imperial policy, following the 1857 rebellion in India was not a straightforward reaction to this traumatic event but legitimated by a new ideology of indirect imperial rule that was carefully crafted by the ingenious conceptual work of thinker-administrators such as Henry Maine. 

Global Fintech Fest 2023 Set to Emerge as World’s Largest Thought Leadership Platform

The Global Fintech Fest (GFF), emerging as the world’s largest fintech conference, is back with its second physical edition. GFF 2023 is scheduled on September 5 – 7, 2023, at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Global Collaboration for a Responsible Financial Ecosystem: Inclusive | Resilient | Sustainable’.

GFF 2023 is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MietY), the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and is organized by the Payments Council of India (PCI), Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Among the leading international agencies which are partnering with GFF 2023 are the World Bank, the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD), the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and Women’s World Banking. Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany and Israel are the Country Partners of GFF 2023.

Among stalwarts from India who will share their insights at the GFF 2023 are Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, Government of India; Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India; Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Smt. Madhabi Puri Buch, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI); Shri Debasish Panda, Chairperson, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI); Shri K Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA); Dr. Vivek Joshi, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Shri Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, State Bank of India Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma Founder & CEO, Paytm; Mr. Kunal shah Founder, CRED and many other policymakers, regulators and industry captains.

Not only from India, global luminaries from the fintech and finance ecosystem will also converge at GFF 2023. Among them will be: Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank; Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, First Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana; Soraya M Hakuziyaremye Board, Vice-Chairperson and Deputy Governor, National Bank of Rwanda; Mr. Aleksi Grym, Head of Fintech, Bank of Finland; Mr. Eduardo Enrique Torres Llosa Villacorta, General Manager, Central Bank of Peru; H.E. Khaled Al Basias, Director Financial Sector Development, Saudi Central Bank; Ms. Doris Dietze, Head of Division, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany; Mr. Masaki Bessho, Head of FinTech Centre, Payment & Settlement Systems Department, Bank of Japan; Mr. Andy White, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) and Mr. Thomas Kurian, Chief Executive Officer, Google Cloud.

Highlights of Global Fintech Festival 2023:

3 days | 13 tracks | 800+ Speakers | 15+ Thought Leadership Reports |81 Academic Papers| 50+ Workshops | 125+ Countries | 250+ Sessions | 250+ Investors |500+ exhibitors |150K Sq. Ft Exhibition Area|3 Hackathons| 50000+ Delegates

Explaining the key objective and vision of GFF 2023, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chair, Advisory Board, GFF 2023, Chairman Axilor Ventures and Co-founder Infosys, said, “At the Global Fintech Fest 2023, we converge as orchestrators of transformation, bringing together diverse stakeholders onto one platform to engage in discussions and debates concerning the future of the industry. Our vision extends further than just embracing innovation; it encompasses nurturing ingenuity within our startup community, cultivating an environment where every stakeholder can flourish and be part of a journey towards building an ecosystem that fosters growth, inclusivity, and collaborative progress.”

“The Global Fintech Fest has been a testament to the fintech community's prowess, showcasing success stories and milestones that inspire us all. Our commitment to promoting collaboration, innovation, and growth has never been stronger. Through this platform, we invite industry leaders, startups, and investors to seize networking opportunities and forge partnerships that will define the future of finance. Together, we will embrace cutting-edge technologies, data privacy and cybersecurity as the cornerstones of trust in our evolving landscape," said Ms. Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Mr. G Padmanabhan, Former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, Former Chairman, Bank of India and Advisory Board Member, Global Fintech Fest 2023, underlined how the conference was aligned with India’s economic progress: “Global Fintech Fest 2023 is going to be the most vibrant celebration of the industry’s exponential growth. We aim to create more than just a fintech engine and the event is expected to architect a powerhouse that would propel India towards a $30 trillion developed economy by 2047. In this endeavour, we are committed to establishing a sustainable, inclusive, and affordable ecosystem that serves as the destination of first choice for foreign capital to invest and participate in India's transformation into a developed nation”

"The fest since its inception has been showcasing breakthroughs and fostering connections that transcend boundaries. In an era where partnerships drive prosperity, this gathering empowers us to pioneer solutions that navigate regulatory complexities, ensuring a nurturing environment for fintech's growth. As we celebrate women in fintech, in GFF 2023, we acknowledge their pivotal role and strive to amplify their influence. The fest's interactive workshops offer a first-hand glimpse into fintech's dynamic landscape, where technology is not just a tool, but a transformative force. We honour exceptional contributions, driving our industry forward, and emphasize that data privacy, cybersecurity, and trust aren't just buzzwords – they're the foundations of fintech's future," said Mr. Srinivas Jain, Executive Director & Head of Strategy, SBI Mutual Fund and Advisory Board Member, Global Fintech Fest 2023.

Mr. Naveen Surya, Organiser and Advisory Board Member, GFF 2023 and Chairman, Fintech Convergence Council said, "India has proven its leadership in the international fintech landscape by being the 3rd largest ecosystem in the world. As our country gears up to move up to the largest top three economies, the fintech ecosystem would also play an important role and is all geared up for global leadership. Global Fintech Fest 2023 is our effort towards setting up India as the largest thought leadership platform and collaborating with the world and also fostering responsible innovation. We are looking forward to working with the global fintech ecosystem and delivering a future-proof model suitable for the two third of the financially excluded population across the globe."

While PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is the Knowledge Partner of GFF 2023, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is the thought leadership partner.

Global Fintech Fest 2023 will witness policymakers, regulators, administrators, and industry leaders from India and around the world engaging in invigorating discussions on fostering extensive collaboration for a robust and resilient financial ecosystem.

Also instituted under the GFF 2023 are the Global Fintech Awards (GFA), which honour and celebrate the success of fintech companies worldwide. GFA recognize outstanding emerging start-ups, disruptive technologies, unique business models and innovative founders and entrepreneurs across the globe. Fintech companies, financial institutions and start-ups can nominate their works for Fintech Awards in 21 diverse subcategories under 3 classifications.

For more information on the conference, live agenda and list of speakers visit the website: Global Fintech Fest 2023

LeRemitt™ Raises $1.25 Mn in Seed Funding from Axilor Ventures, Capital A, and Angel Investors

(From Left to Right- Mahesh Barate, Sheetal Jain, Hari Ambati) Founders – LeRemitt

LeRemitt™, a cross border platform that streamlines financial transactions, today announced that it has raised $1.25mn in seed funding led by Axilor Ventures. Capital A has co-invested in this round which also saw participation from angel investors such as Ram Govindarajan (Founder -Wizfreight) and Sumit Agarwal (Founder- Vyapar). LeRemittTM empowers businesses, especially MSMEs, by streamlining overseas financial transactions, unlocking new growth opportunities, expanding global reach, and navigating the complexities of international trade.

The newly raised funds will be directed towards several key areas, including assembling a robust team, global expansion, enhancing product capabilities, and forging strategic partnerships.

Commenting on the development Mahesh Barate, Co-founder, LeRemitt™- "The global trade market, valued at USD 32 trillion, offers abundant opportunities for growth and innovation. As our world becomes more interconnected, there is a growing demand for efficient and secure cross-border solutions. Traditional remittance methods are burdened with high costs, slow processing times, and limited accessibility, creating significant challenges. These obstacles particularly impact MSMEs, which often lack the resources to navigate complex financial systems, leading to time-consuming operational hurdles on a day-to-day basis. LeRemittTM aims to reinvent cross-border business transactions, ensuring easy, hassle-free, and prompt international remittances."

Speaking on the fundraise, Sheetal Jain, CEO & Co-founder, LeRemitt™ said, "This marks the first crucial step in LeRemittTM's journey, as we embark on our vision to create an ecosystem for international trade, encompassing various stakeholders, technologies, and services. With a goal to ensure smooth and efficient flow of goods and services,we prepare to unveil our first-ever service, cross-border remittance for B2B transactions, and we are confident that exciting times lie ahead. With Hari Ambati, our Co-founder & CTO, at the helm of our technology initiatives, we are crafting a seamless, state-of-the-art, and secure platform that will revolutionize how B2B transactions are conducted across borders."

Nandan Venkatachalam, Principal at Axilor Ventures, who led this investment, commented “Indian SMEs are expected to contribute to over 60% of the $1 Trillion export target by 2030. This will lead to a strong need for a cross-border payments layer for the SME segment, which banks typically underserve. LeRemittTM is building a new-age financial stack that will enable SMEs execute seamless cross-border trades and we are excited to be backing them.”

"The international remittance market is currently dominated by traditional banks and institutions that rely on legacy processes that are slow and costly, especially for MSMEs. The need of the hour is to build digitally driven, fast, accurate, compliant, and user-friendly remittance mechanisms that can ensure swift funds transfer at costs that encourage startups and the MSME sector players to expand their coverage overseas. This is also crucial from the perspective of making India a global industrial power as quick and affordable remittances will boost exports and the overall manufacturing sector in India. LeRemittTM is a great platform, and the founders know exactly what needs to be reformed in the B2B remittances arena in India. We have complete faith in the vision of the founders and support them in their journey toward creating great impact in the segment in the years ahead." added Ankit Kedia, Founder, Capital A.

LeRemittTM leverages groundbreaking technology to enable swift and seamless money transfers, ensuring recipients have instant access to their funds. Its platform offers competitive rates and minimal transaction fees, making it a highly cost-effective option for all cross-border remittance requirements. LeRemittTM employs advanced encryption and authentication protocols to ensure the utmost security, safeguarding customer funds.

The company was founded by accomplished professionals with vast expertise in the fintech and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) sectors. Among the visionary founders are Sheetal Jain, Mahesh Kumar Barate, and Hari Ambati, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the forefront of the company's operations.

About LeRemitt™

LeRemittTM is a cross-border platform with a mission to empower businesses, especially MSMEs, in broadening their global presence, exploring untapped markets, and harnessing the boundless opportunities of international trade. LeRemittTM envisions establishing a cohesive ecosystem for global trade, uniting diverse stakeholders, cutting-edge technologies, and comprehensive services to facilitate seamless transactions between businesses across borders.

About Axilor Ventures

Founded in 2014, Axilor Ventures is among the top 3 most active seed funds operating out of India. Axilor Ventures invests in early-stage startups across sectors in the supply chain/B2B commerce, Enterprise SaaS, Healthtech, AgriTech, Fintech, and consumer internet space. Axilor Ventures was founded and backed by Indian tech pioneers, including Kris Gopalakrishnan, SD Shibulal, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Srinath Batni, and Ganapathy Venugopal. Axilor Ventures has invested in companies such as Wiz Freight, Vyapar, Detect, Capgrid, Metalbook, Medfin and Enkash, amongst others.

About Capital A

Founded by Ankit Kedia, the former promoter of Manjushree Techno pack Limited, the largest manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging in South Asia, Capital A is a seed to an early-stage venture capital firm. Capital A has the vision to contribute to a sustainable, diverse, and meaningful startup ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders. Last year, Capital A had unveiled 'Evolve,' a dedicated fund for the electric mobility ecosystem startups. In a short span of time, Capital A has supported more than two dozen startups across gaming, electric mobility, SaaS, the creator economy, and sustainable business sectors. The fund aims to continue supporting 8-10 startups. 

Naveen Unni Joins TVS Capital Funds as Managing Partner

TVS Capital Funds continues the systematic strengthening of its leadership team

TVS Capital Funds, a leading rupee capital private equity fund, is thrilled to announce that Naveen Unni has stepped into the role of Managing Partner. Known for investing in tech-driven financial services and B2B services, the firm has managed ₹3500 crores across 3 funds and 32 investments under its track record.

Naveen Unni, an industry veteran with 20 years of consulting experience, specialises in business transformation, digital strategy, and leadership development. He has a 20-year track record of leadership at McKinsey and Company, where he served as the Managing Partner for the Chennai office and led the India sustainability practice. Joining a solidified leadership team, Naveen Unni will enhance TVS Capital’s long-term vision of offering a steadfast capital platform to upcoming entrepreneurs.

Commenting on Naveen Unni’s appointment, Gopal Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Capital Funds, said, “Naveen [Unni] comes with global consulting experience with significant exposure to comprehensive business transformation and digital strategy initiatives. This is of deep value for us at TVS Capital, where we partner with next-gen entrepreneurs in business building, especially those in the venture growth stage. This assumes more significance as we are preparing the launch of our next fund, to be led by the expanded competent leadership team to offer comprehensive solutions to portfolio entities.”

Naveen Unni, Managing Partner, TVS Capital Funds, said, “I am delighted by the opportunity to empower India’s NextGen entrepreneurs. What Gopal [Srinivasan] and the team have built over the past 15 years is exceptional – and the opportunity to join this mission to forge a leading Indian private capital institution with Gopal [Srinivasan], Anuradha [Ramachandran], Krishna [Ramachandran], and the rest of the TCF team is a privilege. I look forward to bringing my two decades’ experience in strategy and business transformation consulting and practice building, to support our business partners, our clients, and the TCF ecosystem.”

Over the last 18 months, in preparation for Fund-4, TVS Capital Funds has fortified its leadership team by bringing on board Anuradha Ramachandran as Managing Partner – Investments, Krishna Ramachandran as Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer, and Praveen Sridharan as Partner – Investments, and by promoting Gaurav Sekhri to Partner.

About TVS Capital Funds

TVS Capital Funds, with an AUM of ~₹2000 Cr, is preparing to launch its next growth fund soon, building upon its mission to empower tech-driven businesses. Its third fund backs top-quality next-gen entrepreneurs piloting technology-driven businesses in financial services and B2B/enterprise services and includes some industry leaders such as Go Digit, Five Star Business Finance, and Yubi (Cred Avenue).

For more information, visit www.tvscapital.in.

Chiratae, Nvidia Execs -backed Minus Zero Unveils India's 1st Autonomous Car zPod

Bengaluru-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup Minus Zero has just unveiled India's first autonomous/ driverless car — z-Pod.

With z-Pod, Minus Zero achieved fully autonomous driving using only cameras. The young startup dubbed its cutting-edge AI technology — 'Nature-Inspired AI'. The startup's proprietary technology is less dependent on extensive data and costly sensors like LIDAR, and is tailored to Indian roads.

Forget driving, it's time for an extraordinary journey.
Introducing our z-Pod, where the car becomes an immersive experience. Discover the future of mobility with our visionary design...#zpod #autonomousvehicles #minuszero #ai4good #launch #ai #selfdrivingcar #technology… pic.twitter.com/5yEqYEmmgl

— Minus Zero (@teamminuszero) June 5, 2023

Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys and TCM Sundaram Founder and Vice Chairman of Chiratae Ventures take the first ride in the Z Pod.

Founded in 2021, by Gagandeep Reehal and Gursimran Kalra, Minus Zero raised $1.7 million in seed round funding in May 2021, which was led by Chiratae Ventures, JITO Angel Network, a few senior executives from chipmaker NVIDIA and Uber competitor – Lyft.

Experience the cutting-edge technology that's set to revolutionize the way we travel...
Say goodbye to conventional driving and hello to the world of autonomy✨😁💥#autonomousvehicles #minuszero #ai4good #launch #ai #selfdrivingcar #technology #robotics #zday #Makeinindia… pic.twitter.com/maGZ2zYVx8

— Minus Zero (@teamminuszero) June 5, 2023

z-Pod do not have a steering wheel and the strategically-placed high-resolution cameras help the car in analysing driving conditions, which includes traffic.

The surroundings of the autonomous vehicle are captured in a camera-sensor suite which is shared with the AI system embedded in it. In turn, the information is processed by the AI through images to help zPod control its speed, avoid obstacles, and stop.

The startup claimed that the self-driven car can be scaled up to "Level 5" autonomy, which is the ultimate level of autonomy for driver-less vehicles , where the driver does not have to be in control at all during travel, and the vehicle can handle any road condition, type of weather, and no longer be bound to geo-fenced locations.

With z-Pod, Minus Zero has achieved an industry breakthrough in autonomous vehicles sector by bringing down the cost of vehicle from R&D to production by eliminating the usage of high-cost technologies & apparatus. It also minimized the use of large data for training the AI model.

The startup has earlier developed an autonomous three-wheeler prototype for Indian roads. It used an AI that can extract 3D information from a 2D camera image with comparable accuracy.

In the e-Rickshaw, Minus Zero installed eight 2D cameras function as the ‘eyes of the vehicle’ and gather data, the radars and ultrasonics work as backup data collectors in case one or more cameras fail.

Startup Odisha to Feature on CII’s Corporate-Startup Connect Platform CII ICONN

Startup Odisha to leverage strong corporate connection for Odisha startups and help them in scaling their businesses and reach new markets: Dr. Omkar Rai

In an effort to provide startups in Odisha with a strong corporate connection, Startup Odisha has reached an agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry - Centre of Excellence for Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startups (CII- CIES) whereby Startup Odisha will feature on CII ICONN Platform, a one of its kind, industry led platform for the startup ecosystem to catalyse collaboration between corporates, startups and other key players of the startup ecosystem. This arrangement allows Odisha Startups to showcase their leading innovations to Industry leaders, foster collaboration with Corporates, and work in close consonance with other stakeholders of the Startup Ecosystem and fast track their growth to a global scale.

A Letter of Intent (LoI)  shared between Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai and Chairman CII-CIES Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan

A Letter of Intent (LoI) to this effect was shared between Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai and Chairman CII-CIES Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan at CII Startup Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday. CII ICONN platform will provide Startup Odisha with a pavilion for Startups from O-Hub (the Incubation Centre), help it organize exclusive sessions to promote services offered by Startup Odisha, organize startup pitch presentation sessions, have discussion sessions for startups, and enable participation in Corporate Accelerator Programs etc.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the CII Startup Summit in New Delhi on Wednesday, Startup Odisha Executive Chairman Dr. Omkar Rai said that Startup Odisha is trying to bring excellence, inculcate best practices, and give wide exposure to the Startup ecosystem in Odisha to make it dynamic and vibrant. “Our startup Policy is best-in-class and is currently under revision, we are making it more futuristic so that we can meet the emerging challenges and needs, and the startup ecosystem of Odisha is able to position itself among the top three startup ecosystems in the country by 2025 as envisioned by Hon’ble CM of Odisha Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji,” said Dr. Omkar Rai.

He further emphasized the importance of having a strong rural innovation ecosystem and Startup ecosystem in tier-II & tier-III cities, one that is well-connected with corporates and unicorns.

Present on the occasion were Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology; Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman CII CIES & co-founder Infosys; Ms. Aastha Grover, Head, Startup India; Ms. Anu Sriram, Chairperson, CII Women in Innovation Steering Committee; Mr. CK Ranganathan, Chairman, CII Startupreneur Awards 2022 and Chairman and Managing Director CavinKare Pvt Ltd; Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission; and other dignitaries.

Startup Odisha has over 1600 startups from across various sectors registered with it and out of which over 40 percent are women-led.

Working on the vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik on a mission mode, Startup Odisha is pulling all stops to make its place among the top three startup ecosystems in the country by 2025 and be a 5000+ strong startup ecosystem by then.

Of late, several key initiatives undertaken by Startup Odisha are spurring the culture of startup, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the State and are futuristic. The one that deserves special mention is the proposed setting up of a Draper Startup House in Odisha. Bitcoin billionaire investor Tim Draper, known for his early bets in breakthrough tech companies also backs startups in a big way. ‘Draper Startup House’ supports startup entrepreneurs across the world, with a vision and mission to one million entrepreneurs by 2030.

Also, Startup Odisha has engaged with SIDBI and would be utilizing its expertise and resources to provide a fillip to the startup ecosystem in Odisha and have a resilient management apparatus with financial management as one of the facets. Startup Odisha would work in tandem with SIDBI to foster growth verticals for the startup ecosystem in Odisha.

Also, the proposed Centre of Excellence (CoEs) at O-Hub, the Incubation space that sprawls over 4 lakh square feet would propel the growth of startups, including the new-age ones, and promotes innovation with best-in-class facilities at par with global standards. It is also pertinent to mention about Fund-of-Funds or Odisha Startup Growth Fund that Startup Odisha banks upon for fostering the growth of startups in the state. The corpus has been growing exorbitantly since its inception which shows the increasing trust of investors in the potential and scalability of startups in Odisha.

TVS Capital Funds Elevates Gaurav Sekhri to Partner

TVS Capital Funds, one of the largest rupee capital growth equity funds, has promoted Gaurav Sekhri to the role of Partner as part of its ongoing efforts to institutionalise its operations. In the six years that Sekhri has been with TVS Capital Funds, he has led the B2B services vertical and has spearheaded investments in LEAP India, Digit Insurance, and Increff. Sekhri brings with him a wealth of experience in private equity and public market investments, having worked with companies such as Piramal Group, SBI Global Markets, ICICI Bank, and Bank of America.

Commenting on Sekhri’s promotion, Gopal Srinivasan, the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds, said, “This is part of our continued efforts to institutionalise TCF and take the fund to the next level. I am confident that Gaurav’s expertise in B2B product software and logistics and his wealth of experience will continue to help TVS Capital in its focus on supporting next-generation entrepreneurs, to build successful businesses.”

Gaurav Sekhri, Partner, TVS Capital Funds, expressed enthusiasm for his new role, saying, “I am delighted with this announcement. Will continue to work hard and stand committed to our focus of empowering next-gen entrepreneurs and delivering value to all our business partners.”

TVS Capital Funds has raised around ₹3,500 Cr so far and continues to invest in tech-driven businesses in financial and B2B services. The company has been strengthening its leadership team with strategic additions such as Anuradha Ramachandran, as the Managing Partner – Investments, and Krishna Ramachandran, as the Managing Partner and COO. These moves are aimed at building robust institutional capability for the firm.

About TVS Capital Funds

TVS Capital Funds is one of the largest domestic capital PE Funds, with an AUM of ~₹2000 crores in its current Fund. Its third fund backs top-quality next-gen entrepreneurs piloting technology-driven businesses in financial services and B2B/enterprise services. It empowers them with capability capital and helps them build great businesses. Category focus, led by best ideas and combined with an established network of advisors, enables the fund its right to win. TVS Capital plans to raise its next venture growth fund in 2023.

For more information, visit www.tvscapital.in/

IoT Test Automation Platform Doppelio Raises $1.2 Mn in Seed Funding from Axilor Ventures and Mela Ventures

Funds to be utilized in product R&D and to expand in the US and Europe

Doppelio, a leading IoT Test Automation platform provider, has raised $1.2 Million in pre-series A funding from Axilor Ventures and Mela Ventures. Founded in 2019 by Gaurav Johri, Sharmila Saha, and Rajesh Kathirvelu, Doppelio is already adding significant value to Fortune 1000 companies from diverse industries, such as Automotive, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing and Connected Products.

Research organizations have estimated that the number of IoT devices will exceed 40 billion by 2026, with a strong CAGR. The number of connected endpoints is expected to be even higher than that. Due to this extensive scale, it is imperative that organizations guarantee their products function seamlessly, minimize product recalls, and, most importantly, prevent any negative consequences on users. However, lab testing of IoT applications is time-consuming, expensive, and still insufficient. This increases the time to market and the risk of failure of connected solutions.

Doppelio enablesthe testing of IoT applications without dependence on physical devices. Its device virtualization, simulation and test automation capabilities enable clients to test comprehensively with speed and reduce their dependence on field trials. With Doppelio, companies can test a wide range of functionalities (including FOTA, remote command and control) and test for performancewith up to a million devices.

Gaurav Johri, CEO at Doppelio, said “The response we are getting from large global enterprisesvalidates that we are solving an important problem for these companies.As connected products proliferate in the coming years, we expect Doppelio to become a critical piece in the IoT ecosystem,We are excited to have Mela and Axiloras investors and this funding will deepen our investments in the product and go-to-market.”

Ganapathy Venugopal, Co-Founder & CEO at Axilor Ventures, said, “Axilor and Doppelio share a common vision of creating category-leading solutions for large global enterprises. IoT devices are becoming pervasive but testing them is still hard. This leads to slower release cycles. Doppelio's advanced testing and simulation capabilities can help enterprises launch better products faster.”

Krishnakumar Natarajan, Managing Partner at Mela Ventures, said, “Doppelio is a great example of a company identifying a relevant and complex global problem and having a simple and impactful solution that can deliver value instantly. I am excited with the traction Doppelio is getting and am confident that they are on a path to becoming the category leaders in this space and being one of the game-changing global product company out of India.”

Doppelio will be at the IoT Tech Expo, Santa Clara, CA, on 17 May, 2023. Visit us at Booth#263 if you are in the area.

About Doppelio

Doppelio enables companies to rapidly test IoT apps by virtualizing and simulating devices at scale. The platform enables the testing of IoT applications for any device, protocol, and scenario.Fortune 1000 to emerging growth leaders across the industries leverage Doppelio’s IoT Test Automation platform to reduce dependence on physical devices, reduce the risk of failure, faster time to market and lower the cost of quality. Visit www.doppelio.com for more information.

About Axilor Ventures

Founded in 2014, Axilor Ventures is among the top 3 most active seed funds operating out of India. Axilor Ventures invests in early-stage startup across sectors in the supply chain/B2B commerce, Enterprise SaaS, Healthtech, AgriTech, Fintech, and consumer internet space. Axilor Ventures was founded and backed by Indian tech pioneers, including Kris Gopalakrishnan, SD Shibulal, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Srinath Batni, and Ganapathy Venugopal.

About Mela Ventures

Co-founded by Krishnakumar Natarajan and NS Parthasarathy, Mela Ventures aims to put Indian B2B SaaS companies that are solving real-world challenges on the global map. They celebrate and support the spirit of entrepreneurship at every stage of the journey. In addition to investment, they also provide guidance and support to achieve collective goals defined by their portfolio companies.

Mela Ventures provides investment, strategy, innovation, research, networking and other mentorships to start-ups and next-generation entrepreneurs.

CII Launches the CoE for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Startups at T-HUB

CII Centre of Excellence for Innovation Entrepreneurship and Startups is an industry-led initiative that works to increase the odds of entrepreneurial success in India by using its reach and resources to bridge critical gaps such as capacity, resources and linkages, through targeted programmes and interventions.

CII launched the CIES initiative in 2020 as a corporate-driven resource platform that enables the growth of successful start-ups in India.

Inauguration of CII CIES

The resource platform has translated to a Co-creating, co-innovating workspace, in 2023 with the launch of the CII CIES Centre in Hyderabad (T-Hub) with a 200-seater world class facility with plug-n-play workspaces, ideation labs, workspaces, mentoring and innovation labs, in partnership with Government of Telangana and Pratiksha Trust.

The centre will work with the ecosystem stakeholders to increase their odds of success for Startups, with focus on innovation and entrepreneurship skill sets.

CIES offers targeted programs throughout the year with training and educational programs, incubation and acceleration program for startups, and corporate engagement for innovation and scaleup agenda. The centre will also work with startups to create, incubate and accelerate within the corporate offices and family office engagements in the long-run.

The launch of the Centre also saw exchange of MOUs for Corporate Accelerator Programmes with Apollo Hospitals, Elico Ltd, Skoda Auto and Vedanta.

Inaugural Session

The Centre was inaugurated by Mr Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments, Government of Telangana today with Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan - Chairman, CII CIES Chairman, Axilor Ventures Co-Founder, Infosys Trustee, Pratiksha Trust and other senior industry leaders.

Mr Jayesh Ranjan in his address mentioned that “8 years ago, Government of Telangana very consciously decided to make Hyderabad a Startup hub and have taken many concrete steps towards this journey. Government of Telangana has consciously collaborated with external talent to exemplary institutions. As envisaged, the CIES will become a corner stone for the startup movement.”

Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan in his address mentioned that “CIES has 2 metrics to measure our success,1.To see the startups we support become 100M$ revenue companies, 2.Our member companies working w/Startups and acquiring them.”

Mr C K Ranganathan, Chairman, CII Startupreneur Awards 2022 & Chairman & Managing Director Cavinkare Pvt Ltd in his address said that “The CIES model will not be about just helping the startups, it will be a win-win partnership, enabling mutual learning for corporates while startups receive right mentorship.”

Ms Suchitra Ella, CII Southern Region & Co-Founder & MD, Bharat Biotech in her address mentioned that “This is the most opportune time to launch CIES, to establish the soft power that India is, around its G20 presidency. This center will establish the imp of creating an ecosystem.”

Ms Shobna Kamineni, Past President, CII and Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals during the MOU exchange mentioned that “Hyderabad has the potential to become number one affordable healthcare destination of the country.”

 

IAN announces the launch of INR 1000 Cr IAN Alpha Fund

This is the second fund launched by IAN, after the successful run of its maiden VC fund, IAN Fund 1.

Indian Angel Network (IAN), India’s first and largest platform for seed and early-age investing, has launched the IAN Alpha Fund, a SEBI Registered Cat II VC fund with a fund corpus of INR 1000 crores. This is the second in the series of IAN Funds.

This Fund is aligned with IAN’s vision of investing in 500 startups, with Rs. 5000 crores and creating 500,000 jobs. It will continue to ease fundraising for startups, bring guidance from mentors who have been there and done that as well as leverage the global network of the IAN ecosystem, enabling entrepreneurs to build high growth, valuable companies.

IAN has played an integral role in unlocking private wealth for seeding and growing startups in the country. It has seeded and bred companies which today, have a market valuation of $9 billion+ and includes 3 unicorns and 5 soonicorns in its portfolio of 200 + companies. With an investment of ~ INR 900 Cr, the IAN platform has catalysed investments of 18000 Cr and created over 80,000 jobs. It has also been recognised by Forbes as an “Iconic Business Event” of Independent India.

Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Co-founder of IAN said, “IAN is recognized in the industry for pioneering angel investing in India and it has continued to innovate by launching a VC fund ( IAN Fund 1) along with the Angel Group to provide a seamless platform for seed and early stage investing. The launch of the IAN Alpha Fund is the logical evolution of our desire to provide quality entrepreneurs with money, mentoring and market access.”

IAN Alpha Fund’s investment thesis is to invest in startups with high quality founders who are solving real problems for a large customer base and are leveraging technology and innovative business models to scale quickly. The Fund looks to invest in companies with both top and bottom lines OR IP focused.

IAN Alpha Fund is a unique fund with several differentiators. It has access to high quality, well-mentored proprietary investment opportunities across sectors. Apart from Tier I, the Fund has access to Tier 2 & 3 entrepreneurs who are solving real problems faced by a large number of people. Their ability to be “innovative & disruptive” enables them to create new ways of solving existing problems and then tap growing markets to build valuable companies. The Fund is therefore looking to invest in Cleantech & environment, Healthtech, Agritech, Edutech, Fintech, and emerging sectors like Industry 4.0, Space tech, Web 3, Robotics, etc. with cheque sizes ranging from US$1 to 5mn, along with co-investors.

The IAN Alpha Fund is being led by Ms. Padmaja Ruparel, Senior Managing Partner of IAN Alpha Fund. She said, “After IAN Fund 1 which has been fully deployed and started to return capital, we wanted to continue building on IAN’s vision of being the single largest platform for early-stage funding. Hence, launching IAN Alpha Fund was the next logical step. This will, in fact, leverage and garner benefits from IAN’s global network, domain experts & high quality mentors to help the Partners build another high-return potential portfolio. We will be keen on investing in innovative ideas that have the capacity to generate profits and aim to solve real-world problems.”

Mr. Jaideep Mehta, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “IAN has always been at the forefront of seed and early-stage funding. I have been involved with the IAN Platform for a decade and, after the success of IAN Fund 1, am delighted to join the IAN Alpha Fund team where we will seek to support Founders building future global giants leveraging future technologies”

Mr. Vinod Keni, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “With IAN Alpha Fund, entrepreneurs can access larger Series A round cheques from IAN. For us the idea is to support the ventures not only from Tier I cities but even from Tier 2 & 3 areas that are solving real-world problems at large. We are eyeing startups that are scaling quickly with technology as their core foundation.”

Mr. Jaideep Mehta, an accomplished angel investor who has served as Business Head, Mint at HT Media, and previously held leadership roles at IDC and Gartner globally and Mr. Vinod Keni who has served as Partner & Advisor to various VC/Private Equity Funds in India and Overseas, have joined IAN Alpha Fund as Managing Partners.

IAN Alpha Fund’s Investment Committee includes industry stalwarts Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Co-Founder of IAN and Co-Founder & Past Chairman, NASSCOM & IVCA, Mr. Ajai Chowdhry, Founder, HCL, Mr. Pravin Rao, who recently retired from Infosys as COO, Mr Raman Roy, father of the Indian BPO Industry and Mr. Atul Batra, Ex-CTO-Manthan Systems & Past Chair-NASSCOM Product Council. In a one-of-a-kind for VC Fund, the Alpha Fund’s IC engages deeply with the portfolio companies helping them build their businesses.

The Fund’s Advisory Board includes luminaries from the tech and manufacturing industries, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys Mr. Sunil Munjal, Chairman & MD, Hero Mindmine & Hero Corporate Services and Mr. CP Gurnani, MD & CEO of Tech Mahindra.

IAN Alpha Fund

IAN Alpha Fund is the second Fund in IAN’s series of Funds. It is being built to leverage the portfolios of both IAN Angel Platform and IAN Fund I apart from investing in new sustainable businesses solving real problems, leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN continues its legacy of building a portfolio of high quality companies by founders who not only understand the customer need but have leadership qualities to onboard high quality teams to build valuable businesses.

Agritech Startup Kisanserv Giving Back to Farm' Initiative Turning Wet Waste of Metros to Free Organic Compost for Farmers

Centre: Sharma Niranjan (Ceo & Co founder) | Right of NiranjanSharma: Arun Kumar (COO & Cofounder), Durga Shirali, Sushma Tiwari, Mitashi Sinha, Priya Rai, Seema Sharma, Durgesh, Gopal, Pramod, Niketan, Anil | Left of Niranjan Sharma : Pravin Tiwari, Jagan and Ramkrishna.

The company organised a farmers' meet to distribute free organic compost to 200 farmers

With increasing food consumption, urbanisation, growth in large housing societies and lack of dumping ground, wet waste processing has emerged as a major challenge in urban India. Lack of innovative ideas and technology-based solutions have further acted as roadblocks to transform waste to wealth and benefit the farmers. Realising this, leading and responsible agritech startup Kisanserv under its 'Giving Back to Farm' initiative is joining hands with large housing societies to help them process wet waste and turn them into free organic compost for farmers. Kisanserv through its social initiative organized farmers meet in Manchar district of Maharashtra, distributed organic compost to around 200 farmers which was processed and donated by housing societies in Pune.

Keeping sustainability, innovation and technology at its core, the company is trying to find a balance between urban and rural India by transforming waste to wealth to benefit all stakeholders. According to it, the initiative brings multiple benefits such as transforming waste to compost in large residential societies, benefiting farmers with organic compost, enriching soil quality and protecting the environment.

CEO Niranjan Sharma and CTO Praveen Tiwari Distributing Organic compost to farmers of Manchar (Maharashtra) in presence of Kisanserv team

"The wet waste coming out of large housing societies in metros is a burden for urban India. Also, it is tough for societies and municipal corporations to single handedly process it and make it useful. Similarly, farmers too are in need of organic waste at low or free of cost to enrich soil health and eco-friendly farming. This initiative finds a perfect link between the challenges of urban and rural India with a common solution to benefit all. This is a great social service and we feel happy to serve the farmers," said Niranjan Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder.

Kisanserv has joined hands with 3rd parties and large housing societies like Park Royale Housing Society in Pune to help them process wet waste into organic compost. This initiative also helps residential societies to comply with municipal corporations who have made it mandatory to process wet garbage in their society itself by installing a composting machine. Recently, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has said that it would not lift wet waste from as many as 700 residential societies that generate more than 100 kg waste. Instead, the civic body has asked the societies to segregate wet and dry waste and convert wet waste into compost within their premises. The initiative helps such societies process the waste and municipal corporations who are struggling to dump yards for wet garbage by reducing waste.

Kisanserv is currently in Maharashtra having 14 collection centers in rural India. The company is buying fruits and vegetables from farmers directly and serving to its customers in urban India. It uses its reverse logistics to bring back compost from urban India to rural India and distribute the same to farmers free of cost.

Quantic India’s First of Its Kind Event Customer Experience Excellence Awards - Bengaluru Edition to Be Held on 24th June 2022

Business Wire India

Quantic India (https://quanticindia.com/) is all set to organize the first of its kind Customer Experience Excellence Awards (https://cxexcellenceawards.in/) – Bengaluru Edition on 24^th June 2022. CX Excellence Awards is conducted to felicitate the companies that upgraded their strategies and offerings to deliver state-of-the-art customer experience. Due to the pandemic, there has been a transitional shift in the way customers perceive businesses and products. Hence, companies today need to be quick to analyze market needs and develop modern plan of action to deliver best customer experience. Many companies conquered these challenging times with enhanced and dynamic strategic vision in order to fulfill growing customer needs.

With an aim to appreciate the remarkable efforts of such companies and individuals, CX Excellence Awards (https://cxexcellenceawards.in/) will be a multi-purpose platform for everyone. It will witness presence of diverse industry leaders under one roof, who have duly transformed the roadmap of today's customer experience journey. With CX Excellence Awards, Quantic India will also set a new standard to enrich the experience for digital-first customers while overcoming modern challenges.

The event will encompass engaging panel discussions on topics like “The Key Success Factors of CX Design Strategy and Driving a company’s CX Transformation". Additionally, it will have insightful keynotes and immersive networking sessions, which will inspire organization to take action.
 
Here is the complete list of all the eminent speakers who will grace the event with their presence and share their insightful thoughts:

• Abhi Dasgupta - Senior Director, Customer Success, Moglix
• Ashish Himthani - Head of Customer Service Experience, Tata CLiQ
• Nanda Gopal V - AVP, Head of Global Customer Experience, Vauld
• Fasih Abbas M - Senior Director & Head of Customer Success, Cashfree
• Nirupam Daniel Bose - Director of Customer Success, Furlenco
• Ramakrishna M - Senior Director, CoinSwitch Kuber
• Saurabh Batra - Head of Customer Experience and Growth- Pharma, Udaan
• Vivek Sridhar - Head, Enterprise Solutions and Customer Experience, Razorpay
• Mohit Mathur - VP, Business Excellence and Customer Experience, Vedantu
• Tanaya Kilara - Chief Experience Architect, Cuemath
• Sriram Srinivasan - Head of Digital Banking, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
• Savitri Bobde - Head, Customer Experience, Niyo Solutions
• Agni Chatterjee – Director - CX Design and Strategy, Swiggy
• Luvnit Sawhney - Head of Design, Freo
• R. Thiru - COO, Kinara Capital
• Rahul Karthikeyan - CMO, Scaler & InterviewBit
• Amit Ambre - VP, Delivery, Skit.ai
• Pushkina Nautiyal - CMO, Refyne
• Ranjit Kumar - Head of Customer Experience, Ninjacart
• Karthik Hariharan - SVP -Marketing, Capital Float
• Shreejith Menon - COO Operations, Customer Service & Contact Centre, Fincare Small Finance Bank
• Madhur Acharya - VP, E-Commerce, Lenskart
• Hemanth Purohit - CEO, Parahit Technologies
• Sameer Narkar - Founder, Konnect Insights
• Rohit Taneja - Associate Director- Customer Experience, Bombay Shaving Company
• Rizwan Shaikh - VP, Operations CSD, Rapido
• Linish Theodore - AVP- Customer Experience, Connect and Heal
• Nabeel Ahmed - CMO, Medapp
• Abhishek Biswal - Business Head, Airtel IQ
• Shameel Abdulla - CEO, Clootrack
• Somdipto Ghosh - Head of Solution Engineering, Freshworks
• Rahul Adaniya - SVP Marketing, Kotak Life

 
Quantic India's sponsors work with the same goal and aim to provide best of the solutions while extending the scope of the event. The following companies who have sponsored this year’s event are:
 

• Presenting partner - Parahit Technologies
• Co-Powered by - Airtel IQ & Konnect Insights - Omni channel Experience Partner
• Voice AI Partner - Skit.ai
• Customer Experience Partner - Freshworks
• CX Analytics Partner - Clootrack
• Corporate partner - ID Central
• News Distribution Partner - Business Wire India

 
Quantic India invites all to join this exclusive event on the customer experience landscape and master the Hows and Whys of strategy, technology, and leadership in context of delivering superior customer experiences for E-Commerce, D2C Brands, FinTech, Travel & Hospitality, EdTech, Logistics & Healthcare. To register for the event, click on the link below: https://cxexcellenceawards.in/

CoE for Micro Motors and Robotics Launched By Pricol and PSG College of Technology

Pricol Limited (BSE: 540293; NSE: PRICOLLTD), one of India’s leading automotive technology companies, announced the inauguration of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in association with PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

The PSG - Pricol Centre of Excellence was inaugurated jointly by Mr. Vikram Mohan, Managing Director, Pricol Limited and L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee, PSG Institutions in the presence of top management personnel from Pricol and the Management, Governing Council members, faculty and students of PSG College of Technology.

Pricol has identified several new Technology products and innovative processes to meet demanding requirement of automotive OEMs in India and International Markets. The Centre of Excellence has been conceptualized to develop high efficiency micro motors and Robotics and Artificial Intelligence based processes and equipment. With Pricol’s strong foot print in product domain and customer connect and PSG Institutions’ expertise in first principle fundamentals, the Centre of Excellence will certainly benefit the community at large to come out with world class new technology products and processes.

Commenting on the CoE inauguration, Mr. Vikram Mohan, Managing Director, Pricol Limited said, “This Centre of Excellence is a small effort from our end towards bringing industry and academia together. Pricol has identified and is implementing several new technology solutions and innovative processes to meet the requirements of automotive OEMs both in India and overseas. We are delighted to be partnering with PSG College of Technology in this venture. PSG will support us in the development of high efficiency micro motors, robotics and artificial intelligence based processes and equipments. This CoE inside the PSG College of Technology campus will help students to proactively be part of real-world challenges and also add value to our product and process.”

Pricol Limited is one of India’s leading automotive technology companies headquartered in Coimbatore. Pricol commenced its operations in the year 1975 in Coimbatore, South India and today it strides as a reputable global brand in the automotive component and products business, highly recognized by top automotive OEMs across the world. The company carries out its business and operations in Driver Information Systems and Sensors, Pumps and Allied Products, Telematics and Wiping Systems catering to leading automotive OEMs in Two / Three Wheeler, Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Farm Equipment and Off-Road Vehicles across India and in International Markets (45+countries) with 2000+ product variants.

Today the company has 7 manufacturing plants across Coimbatore, NCR, Pantnagar, Pune and Sricity, 1 subsidiary manufacturing plant in Satara, 1 manufacturing unit in Indonesia; and 2 international offices in Tokyo and in Singapore. Pricol Group is powered by 5000+ strong, dedicated workforce which resolutely pursues the mission to be PASSIONATE, SUSTAINABLE, DYNAMIC and EVOLVING. The logo addresses the synergistic relationship between the four stakeholders (Customers, Employees, Shareholders and Suppliers) working in a convergent manner in order to create value for each other. As, Indian markets are on the flow to march towards Electric Vehicles manufacturing, Pricol has already switched its gear to be EV ready across its product verticals. http://pricol.com

PSG College of Technology is committed to providing world-class Engineering education by fostering Research & Development, evolving innovative applications of technology and encouraging entrepreneurship. PSG College of Technology, is a Govt. Aided, Autonomous, Affiliated to Anna University and ISO 9001:2015 certified Institution. This is one of the foremost institutions founded by the PSG & Sons' Charities Trust (1926). The College was established in the year 1951 and the Founders wisely decided to locate it in the same campus as the PSG Industrial Institute for effective industry-institute interaction.

The College today has a student strength of about 8518 with 15 engineering and technology departments besides the computer applications, management sciences, basic sciences and humanities departments. Among the various Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate programmes offered by the college, as many as 18 programmes were accredited in the year 1997 itself by the National Board of Accreditation of AICTE. More than 505 research scholars are pursuing research programmes leading to Ph D / MS / M Tech degrees and the college is a recognized QIP centre for Postgraduate and Ph D programmes.

Several advanced centres are set up with financial support from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, DST and other agencies. These include: the CAD/CAM/CIM Centre, Virtual Reality Centre, Virtual Instrumentation Centre, Educational Technology Centre, Centre for Non-Formal and Continuing Education, PROJECT IMPACT Centre (a project funded by the World Bank, Swiss Development Corporation and the Government of India), UNDP Jute Project Centre, TIFAC - CORE, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Centre, Festo-PSG Centre for Pneumatic and Control Engineering, Metals Testing and Research Centre, Industry Institute Partnership Cell and CII - TDB TNET Centre.

Lister Digital Announces New CEO in India; Formally Joins Bounteous

https://ift.tt/JGzRAyp

Business Wire India

Bounteous, the digital innovation partner of the world's most ambitious brands, today introduced the India-based global delivery arm of Bounteous following the full integration of Lister Digital. The rebrand completes Bounteous’ September 2021 acquisition of Lister Digital, which has an office in Chennai, India.

 

Vasan Sampath (Photo: Business Wire)

In conjunction with the integration announcement, Bounteous enters a new phase of leadership in India, promoting President Vasan Sampath to CEO, following the planned retirement of former founder and CEO Srinivasagopalan Chary. Additionally, Bounteous has appointed Shankar Krishnaswamy as Senior Vice President, responsible for leading the CRM team in India and aligning with Katy Allen, Managing Director, on Healthcare initiatives. Krishnaswamy brings nearly 25 years of rich experience in Technology and Delivery in IT Services. This news marks a pivotal moment for Bounteous as the company doubles down on its commitment to accelerate and expand global delivery capabilities across Asia, LATAM, and beyond.

 

“I am confident in Vasan’s proven leadership abilities and excited to see him step into the role of CEO to help to grow Bounteous in India,” Chary said. “Throughout Vasan’s 16 years with the company, he has continued to demonstrate his unwavering commitment to creating a culture of excellence for our team and our clients. We could not ask for a better leader as it enters its next phase of growth.”

 

“I’m honored to lead our India team during this exciting time of growth and innovation, and proud of the amazing team and culture we have built,” Sampath added. “I look forward to continuing to grow this organization as Bounteous expands throughout the globe.”

 

Bounteous has ambitious hiring plans in India, expecting to add thousands of new jobs in digital engineering, commerce, marketing, data and analytics over the next five years. The company will continue to offer a flexible, hybrid workplace for those who prefer working from home. Bounteous is actively hiring in all departments for talent across India and in its Chennai collaboration center, particularly in digital experience platforms of Salesforce and Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), along with digital engineering. Visit http://bounteous.com/about/india/ to learn more.

 

A cornerstone of Bounteous’ effort in India to attract leading talent in the digital experience space is their Beyond Your Break program, a hiring program geared toward attracting industry professionals who have taken a career break of at least one year, and creating a seamless on-ramp to bring them back into the workforce. The Bounteous India team has created a recruiting program around this hiring strategy, along with a comprehensive support system to help new or returning employees remaster their skills and get used to being back in the work space. The program has been so successful, Bounteous plans to adopt the program in its North American market.

 

“We are motivated and encouraged by the great work of our Bounteous team in India, and are eager to implement and expand their people programming to the greater Bounteous organization,” said Leah Weyant, Bounteous Chief People Officer.

 

Bounteous CSR in India endorses several charities, including Akshaya Patra Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting food and education of children; Anandam Trust, a free home for senior citizens that physically and financially supports the elderly and helps them live a dignified life; and Ekam Foundation, a non-governmental organization that aims to provide quality healthcare to needy children and mothers in rural India.

 

Globally, Bounteous boasts more than 1,700 strategists, technologists, designers, analysts, content creators, and marketers who have the opportunity to work in collaboration centers throughout North America, Europe, and Asia to be close to clients and convenient for team members.

 

About Bounteous

 

Founded in 2003 in Chicago, Bounteous is a leading digital experience consultancy that co-innovates with the world's most ambitious brands to create transformative digital experiences. With services in Strategy, Experience Design, Technology, Analytics and Insight, and Marketing, Bounteous elevates brand experiences and drives superior client outcomes. For more information, please visit www.bounteous.com. For more information about co-innovation, download the Co-Innovation Manifesto at co-innovation.com.

 

For the most up-to-date news, follow Bounteous on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.


View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/52673248/en

Bengaluru-based DaveAI Joins Intel’s Open Retail Initiative to Accelerate the Pace of Innovation in the Retail Sector

DaveAI; a visual AI platform empowering businesses to leverage AI to augment customer experience & sales, has collaborated with Intel; the founding member of ORI (open retail initiative) to scale innovative digital solutions in the retail sector.

The Open Retail Initiative

Intel has launched an open retail initiative (ORI) in collaboration with various organizations in the industry to initiate digitalization in the processes of retail sector that transcend the existing traditional roles. The open retail initiative is a program that consists of a group of organizations doing work for the retail sector coming together to bring about a successful transformation in retail.

Challenges faced by organizations

With the advancement of AI, the arrival of digital transformation in retail has driven a need to update current working methodologies and enhance the customer experience. Fluctuating customer demands have led the supply chains to re-evaluate the dynamics of the domain. There are many challenges organizations face to bring about this evolution. A unified strategy across all departments is hard to build. Fulfilment of the requirements of technical, operational, and financial feasibility becomes difficult that leads the organizations to slow down their approach.

The partnership solution

To overcome such challenges, the ORI has deployed an open framework for businesses to build scalable solutions on a common platform mitigating the circumstantial need for resources. Seamless integrations are enabling business owners to understand and upgrade all aspects of the retail sector. ORI benefits retailers, SIs, ISVs, OEMs/ODMs, and solution aggregators by making interoperability easily possible to deploy new systems on the go.

About DaveAI

The DaveAI lens projects the ultimate goal of deploying complex AI use cases easily that meets the objectives ORI has. With an understanding of the market and deployment of real time data, DaveAI provides a unique blend of personalization and accuracy with its AI based product solutions. DaveAI's platform enables a seamless customer journey while easing out the process of product discovery.

The chain of improvements seen today, highlights the use of immersive technologies driven by AI when customer satisfaction is seen bubbling with the sales in retail hitting the roof. Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Ananthakrishnan Gopal, Cofounder & CTO - DaveAI said, 'In partnership with Intel, DaveAI will keep contributing to the retail sector by deploying higher value solutions to humanize digital experience and help build meaningful customer relationships.

T-Hub Launches EV Entrepreneurial Program to Fuel India’s Ambition of Becoming an Electric Vehicle Nation

•  It is a unique three-month-long curriculum designed, developed, and delivered by Electric Vehicle (EV) industry experts.
• This expertly curated cohort-based program aims at upskilling students, working professionals and entrepreneurs.
• The participants will receive mentorship from industry veterans, leading CXOs, policymakers, and think tanks from the industry.

T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem, today launched a one-of-a-kind EV Entrepreneurial Program in partnership with EV Master Class. The expertly curated cohort-based program aims at upskilling and empowering students, working professionals and entrepreneurs to become industry-ready. This program will enable startups to enhance their products through mentoring and aims to nurture the students and professionals to acquire the necessary skill sets to build and accelerate their careers in the field of the EV industry.

The program is designed, developed, and delivered by EV industry leaders that include leading CEOs and policymakers as the strongest mentor base to unlock the right talent for the industry and boost the EV ecosystem in the country. Riding on the success of the pilot cohort, T-Hub announced the launch of the new cohort in the presence of Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & IT, Telangana during the Telangana EV Day event. 

The event was organised to bring together government and industry leaders in the EV segment to talk about the need to reskill and upskill the EV industry. Ecosystem enablers like TSREDCO, FTCCI, RICH, TSIC, and TASK were also a part of this event. T- Hub Telangana's innovation hub has taken the lead in collaboration with EV Masterclass in launching the first of its initiative.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & IT, Telangana, addressing the event said, “One of the biggest challenges faced by the EV industries currently is the shortage of the relevant talent pool across the country. Apart from the talent pool, the EV ecosystem also needs more entrepreneurs plunging into this space for the industry to thrive rapidly. Telangana Government has taken a concrete step towards helping the industry by promoting the first such initiative of building an EV Entrepreneurial Program. This initiative aims to nurture and encourage young talent, working professionals and entrepreneurs from across the country to consider EV as a profession to pursue or an enterprise to build.”

The three-month program will start in May 2022 and is open for applications for relevant candidates across India till 30th April 2022, those interested can apply at https://zfrmz.com/dz1fIOHzxMKRfAWhbYQ3.

MSR, CEO of T-Hub said, "India’s startup ecosystem is now a globally celebrated story, and our entrepreneurs are doing some phenomenal work in building solutions that solve critical industry challenges. We have introduced the EV Entrepreneurial Program to support the advancement of technologies, and business models for a sustainable future. It is tailored to the needs of the Indian automobile industry that is moving towards widespread electrification and will enable the participants to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving EV segment."

T-Hub has onboarded Rajeev YSR, an IIT Madras alumnus as a chief mentor of the program who has been recently recognized as “40 under 40” India’s young dynamic EV leaders. He has been evangelizing and crusading the EV adoption and has founded the EV Masterclass. Other industry veterans like Sulajja Firodia, Founder & CEO, Kinetic Green, Karthikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, Charge Zone, and Gopal Krishnan, Automotive Director, Govt of Telangana, Polash Das, Head eMobility, CESL, Venkat Rajaraman, CEO Cygni, Dave Mullaney, Principal Consultant, Rocky Mountain Institute are also part of the program as mentors along with him to nurture and groom the aspiring entrepreneurs.

Rajeev YSR, Founder and CEO of EV Master Class said, “These are exciting times for the EV sector. It is important to have more resources trained in various aspects of the industry. This initiative will not only enable the participants to learn necessary skills but will also provide an opportunity to build relevant connections that will support them as they grow in the industry. Apart from this, the EV companies can also benefit immensely from EV Masterclass by recruiting trained students and professionals who would be productive from Day 1. We are very happy to announce that some of the students have already secured placements in renowned EV companies and a few participants have already started their entrepreneurial journey in this cohort.

With T-Hub’s robust innovation ecosystem and expertise, each segment of the participants will get various opportunities to drive a cleaner transportation future for India. Students by the end of the program will be industry ready and get a chance to gain internships and placement opportunities. Whereas professionals will be equipped with the required knowledge and skillset to switch to EVs and they can pursue new career opportunities. The program will also provide working professionals with a deep understanding of the EV industry landscape to enable them to start their own ventures and scale.

The entrepreneurs through this program will get their ideas validated, receive mentorship, access to market connects, and collaboration opportunities with various ecosystem stakeholders. The participants will also receive access to T-Hub’s growing pool of mentors, and networking opportunities with other startups, corporates, investors, and government entities. The established EV companies can hire skilled talents which will enable reduced attrition and greater productivity in the industry.

The pilot cohort enabled the students to secure internship opportunities with EV startups and organisations. The startups from the cohort also benefited in terms of technical and strategic advisory which enabled them to accelerate their Technology readiness level (TRLs) from level 2 to level 7. They were provided with market access, sector-specific collaborations and networking opportunities by participating in leading industry forums and exhibitions.

T-Hub’s various innovative programs have been successfully scaling startups in partnership with their robust ecosystem of partners. T-Hub till date has impacted 1800+ startups through various programs and initiatives, has 600+ global and national corporate partners, and has provided 2000 mentor connects to help the startup scale.

T-Hub (Technology Hub) is an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler. Based out of Hyderabad, India, T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem. With a mission of enabling and empowering an ecosystem hungry for innovation, T-Hub is creating an impact for startups, corporations, and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Incorporated in 2015, it has provided over 1800+ national and international startups with access to better technology, talent, mentors, customers, corporates, investors, and government agencies. It has elevated innovation for leading national and global corporations, transforming their business models for the better. Working in collaboration with innovation partners and enablers in Telangana, India and worldwide, T-Hub is building a future-ready innovation ecosystem.

For more information about T-Hub, visit www.t-hub.co. 

ABOUT EV MASTERCLASS

EV Masterclass is a first-of-its-kind solution consisting of industry-centric courses developed and taught by industry experts and  CXOs. Students, professionals, and entrepreneurs with an interest in electric vehicles can take courses with us to become qualified professionals and gain a deeper understanding of EVs. EV Masterclass empowers millions of learners to unleash their potential and becomes experts in the EV industry.