7 Newly Launched (in Last One Year) Startup Incubators in India You Should Know About

Incubators are key stakeholder in the startup ecosystem of any country. According to the "Fuelling Entrepreneurship" report published by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), there were 68 technology business incubators, 38 business accelerators/incubators in the country as of 2014. In addition, according to the recently released Start-up India Action Plan, 35 new incubators are planned to be set up on a PPP basis and 50 new bio-incubators are planned to be established though the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Below are seven startup/ business incubators recently launched in India, in last one year.

Nvidia Inception Programme

American technology firm Nvidia's Inception is a virtual incubator program to support startups with revolutionary ideas in Artificial Inttelligence (AI) and Data Science. It helps members during critical stages of product development, prototyping, and deployment.

Support/ Grants - Selected startups will receive a custom set of benefits, from hardware grants and marketing support to access to the latest Nvidia deep learning technologies and training with deep learning experts.

Satoshi Studios

New Delhi

Launched in December 2016, Satoshi Studios is South East Asia's first blockchain incubator backed by a bitcoin company, GBMiners. It has a 3-month intensive residence program in New Delhi for startups from south-east Asia region.

Support - Selected startups will get 50,000 USD in funding for 8%-15% equity in the company.

thinQbate

Mumbai

Launched in October 2016, ThinQbate is a community-based startup incubator with a focus on giving individuals the autonomy and resources to grow. The idea is to let the entrepreneur focus on their core product, while the incubator will help them with everything else.

Support - Coworking space with facilities like desks with high bandwidth WiFi access, conference rooms, printers, cafe, relaxation zones and potential funding.

UDGAM

Delhi

Launched in September 2016 by Jagan Institute of Management Studies Founder Manish Gupta UDGAM is a business incubator which aims to nurture fifty early stage startups across Delhi and Jaipur. The selected startups are given an opportunity to be a part of Udgam's Incubation Program at Gurugram and Jaipur for six months, to be a part of an Entrepreneurship course of six weeks and also be provided financial support through seed-funding.

Support/ Grants - Office space, assistance in marketing, networking, logistics, mentoring and recruitment and capital funding.

Plugin by Intel

Bengaluru & Mumbai

Jointly organized by Govt. of India's Department of Science & Technology and SINE of IIT-Bombay, Plugin is a one-of-its-kind incubation program exclusively for hardware startups in India. It provides incubation support for hardware & system startups in India with a focus on moving from proof of concept to final product that can be taken to market.

Support - Upfront cash support of 10 lakhs per startup and an additional 10 lakhs of equity/convertible equity funding will be offered to each team during the program.The selected startups will also get access to Intel India Maker Lab in Bengaluru & SINE facilities in Mumbai.

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Business Incubator Program by National Instruments

Bengaluru

Launched in April 2016, National Instruments India's Business Incubator Program aims to provide increased access to its technology, technical training and support to shared local communities like domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academic incubation centers and startups.

ISEED by IRMA

Vadodra, Gujarat

Launched in August 2016, The Incubator for Social Enterprises and Entrepreneurs for Development (ISEED) at Institute for Rural Management Anand (IRMA) is an incubator specifically for development of rural people through professional management that is why it focus on startups working in agriculture and allied practices. The three verticals of ISEED are:
1. Agriculture and small agribusiness
2. Sustainable habitats and sanitation
3. Servicing rural India covering rural tourism, clean energy, education and ICT.

Support/ Grants - The incubators offers its incubatees a nurturing and empathetic entrepreneurial ecosystem through mentoring and networking support, collaborative research, entrepreneurship training and capacity building.

[Top-most Image - Shutterstock]

Intel Ties up With IIT Mumbai and DST To Launch Hardware Startup Incubator

India’s startup ecosystem has been changed a lot and dominated by news headlines of various accelerators’ programs launches. A new incubator called Plugin is launched by Intel in the collaboration of the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), which is IIT Mumbai’s part and the government's Department of Science and Technology (DST), a leading funding agency. Through this program, Intel wants to offer support to the startups that are focused in hardware segment. The program aims to fill the gap in the hardware start-up ecosystem and troubleshoot difficulties that hardware startups face during product development and its commercialization.

On the other hand, SINE has helped more than 80 startups until now, and planning to reach startups from hardware segment to provide a full package of services including mentoring and funding etc. "Traditionally, SINCE has incubated companies based on IP, and software startups. Plugin is a first because we haven't backed hardware startups like this before."," explains Poyni Bhatt, COO, SINE, IIT Bombay. The program will also help startups to refine and amend their go-to market strategies with the help of world famous experts who are part of its network. He adds,"We will be offering Rs. 30 lakhs, each to 20 startups and that includes hardware toolkits, product development kits which are also quite expensive. Additionally, we have our own prototyping space which these startups can use, so there is a lot of value we're bringing in for the startups. The only requirement is that they should be hardware startups, and we're hoping to see projects in healthcare, to transport, IoT, and consumer products."

Key Highlights of Plugin Accelerator Program:

• Plugin will support “Make in India” campaign by facilitating hardware startups in India


• It will take in 20 startups in its first lot


• It will be a yearly program


• Offered benefits will include support of worth Rs. 30 lakhs plus additional benefits

Nivruti Rai, Vice President, Platform Engineering Group and General Manager, Intel India shares, "Other than the money, we have our maker lab in Bangalore where we have already incubated 17 startups. Now, with SINE and DST, we will be able to increase the scope of what we are doing. Our mentors will be available and will be able to add a lot of value to the startups."

Applications are invited from across the world. The program will start in October, 2016 and selected 20 startups will be incubated through mentoring, intensive training periods, technology related support from Intel experts, business service support from SINE, all along prototyping and manufacturing support.