IIT Hyderabad and Mahindra University Collaborate on Critical Minerals, AI in Mining, and Start-up Incubation

• Collaboration to advance research, education, and innovation in Critical Minerals, Mining technologies, and Sustainable industrial processes
• Mahindra University to serve as a SPOKE Institute for IIT Hyderabad’s Centre of Excellence in Critical Minerals
• Focus on Mining 4.0, AI-driven Mining, Autonomous Systems, and Start-up incubation aligned with national priorities

Mahindra University and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) have entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a long-term partnership in research, education, training, and innovation, with a strong emphasis on Critical Minerals, Sustainable Mining, and Advanced industrial processes.

The collaboration aims to strengthen India’s capabilities in Critical Mineral exploration and processing—an area of growing national importance—by combining Mahindra University’s interdisciplinary academic approach with IIT Hyderabad’s strong research ecosystem. The partnership will span frontier domains including Iron ore beneficiation, Coal and mineral processing, Ironmaking and Steelmaking, Mining waste utilisation for infrastructure, extraction of Critical and Rare Earth Minerals, and Process modelling and simulation.

Beyond conventional mining research, the MoU also covers emerging areas such as AI and data analytics in Mining, Mining 4.0, Autonomous systems including Drones and Self-driving vehicles, and Incubation support for Start-ups and Innovators. These efforts are designed to translate advanced research into scalable technologies and skilled human capital for India’s Mineral and Manufacturing sectors.

Under the agreement, Mahindra University will function as a SPOKE institute for a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at IIT Hyderabad, enabling structured collaboration between faculty, researchers, and students of both institutions. The engagement will be operationalised through joint research projects, faculty and student exchanges, and shared access to laboratories and academic infrastructure.

The Ministry of Mines, GoI, has recognized 7 institutes – 4 IITs and 3 R&D Labs – as Centres of Excellence (CoE) under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) and IIT Hyderabad is one among the 4 IITs. The recognition of CoEs is an important step for fulfilling a key objective of the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), which is research and technology development in Critical Minerals.

Speaking on the partnership, Dr. Yajulu Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University, said that the collaboration directly addresses national priorities related to India’s Critical Mineral mission and promotes sustainable, indigenous technological solutions through research-led education.

Prof. B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, noted that India’s transition towards self-reliance in Critical Minerals and resource-efficient industrial processes requires sustained academic collaboration. He said the partnership would expand IITH’s research and training ecosystem, enabling multidisciplinary engagement and the translation of scientific knowledge into real-world technologies and skilled manpower.

The MoU places strong emphasis on capacity building and skill development, with planned initiatives including specialised training programmes for Mining professionals, elective and certificate courses in the Critical Minerals sector, a proposed master’s programme in Minerals and Coal processing, and short-duration programmes for working professionals. The collaboration also envisages seed support and incubation for Start-ups and MSMEs, along with engagement with venture capital firms to support commercialisation of research outcomes.

Designed as a long-term engagement governed by the academic frameworks of both institutions, the partnership seeks to advance knowledge, nurture skilled professionals, and support Atmanirbhar Bharat by strengthening India’s leadership in Critical Minerals and Sustainable industrial technologies.

About Mahindra University:

Mahindra University, Hyderabad (India), is a multidisciplinary, private university with a vision of “Educating future citizens for and of a better world”. It aims to play a significant role in driving globally acclaimed innovation in higher education in the coming years. Mahindra University’s special focus is on generating new knowledge through engagement in cutting-edge research, creating a spirit of research and discovery, experiential learning and entrepreneurship, whilst forging collaborations with industry and global academic institutions. The university is established by the Mahindra Group, one of the largest and most admired multinational federations of companies with presence in over 100 countries and with a turnover of over 25 billion.

The group, built on 80 years of legacy, has more than 3,24,000 employees globally. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., its flagship company, is a global leader in mobility products and farm solutions and is the world's largest tractor company by volume. It is also India’s #1 tractor company, #1 electric 3-wheeler company, with strong businesses across financial services and IT services worldwide.

About IIT Hyderabad:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in academics, research, technology development, and Start-ups in a short span of 17 years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first-generation IIT this year), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 664th and 270th in the QS World and Asian University Rankings 2026, respectively (among the top 10% of global institutions in citations per faculty). IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Global Top 2% Scientists World list 2025 released by Stanford University (SU) in collaboration with Elsevier across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with a motto of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH)".

With 340+ full-time Faculty, 360 non-teaching Staff and 5,700+ Students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%), IITH has a strong research focus with 5260+ R&D Projects worth of Rs. 1650+ Cr (Rs. 335+ Cr funding in 2024-25, i.e. Rs. 1+ Cr per Faculty, one of the largest per capita funding among IITs), 12,890+ Publications, 2,48,580+ Citations, 154 h-index, 710+ Patents (250 Patents in 2025, making it 0.75 patents per faculty in 2025), and about 335+ Start-ups (that have generated 1100+ jobs with a revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr).

IIM Mumbai Launches AIC–NIFIE to Incubate Tech Startups and Drive Atmanirbhar Bharat Vision

Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM Mumbai) marked a significant milestone today with the inauguration of the AIC-NITIE Incubation Foundation for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIC–NIFIE) by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge). The centre is envisioned as a transformative platform to catalyze innovation, support early-stage startups, and foster a self-reliant India under the national mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The inauguration was part of Dr. Singh’s visit to the institute, during which he also addressed a distinguished gathering under IIM Mumbai’s Leadership Series, themed “Viksit Bharat: India’s Startup Strides over the Last Decade and the Way Forward.”

AIC–NIFIE, established under the aegis of Atal Innovation Mission, is designed to provide holistic support to innovators and entrepreneurs through incubation, mentorship, industry linkages, and access to research and technology. The centre will work closely with startups in manufacturing, supply chain, sustainability, and digital transformation — sectors critical to India’s economic future.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Singh emphasized the importance of academic institutions like IIM Mumbai in bridging policy, research, and enterprise. “Innovation is the backbone of a developed India. Centres like AIC–NIFIE will be instrumental in translating India’s demographic dividend into tangible economic growth,” he stated.

Director of IIM Mumbai, Prof. Manoj K. Tiwari, noted, “The launch of AIC–NIFIE is a step towards building a dynamic innovation ecosystem within the institute. It aligns with our mission to create impact through thought leadership, research, and entrepreneurship.”

With this initiative, IIM Mumbai deepens its commitment to national development through support for startup ecosystems, with launch of 14 startup’s as on date, industry-driven research, and the creation of new knowledge economies.

About IIM Mumbai:

IIM Mumbai, formerly NITIE, is a renowned management institution established in 1963. Ranked 6th in India's 2024 NIRF Rankings, it excels in Operations, Supply Chain, Sustainability, and General Management. Located in Mumbai, the institute leverages its proximity to the financial capital for industry interface and collaboration. With a faculty from top global institutions like MIT and Kellogg School of Management, IIM Mumbai offers a vibrant intellectual environment.

The institute boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure, a world-class library, and a picturesque campus. As a nodal hub for capacity building under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, it hosts a Centre of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. IIM Mumbai innovates in pedagogy and impact, with international student exchange partnerships and cutting-edge research, shaping leaders and India's management ecosystem. Its strong industry connections and research focus make it a leader in management education. For more information, please visit https://iimmumbai.ac.in/

North India’s 1st Biotech Park/Incubator Launched; Aims To Produce 25 Biotech Startups in A Year

Representational Image Only

The Biotech Park to act as hub for incubation of new ideas and will support the Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, Progressive farmers, scientists & scholars not only from J&K, but from neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

After launching North India’s first big space centre in March this year, union minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has inaugurated North India’s first Industrial Biotech Park Ghatti, Kathua, Jammu. The Biotech Park would act as hub for incubation of new ideas and will act as a robust platform to support the Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, Progressive farmers, scientists, scholars and students not only from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh but also from nearby States of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

"Kathua is, because of its resource richness with diversity as well as its geographical location, destined to be North India's StartUp destination.," the minister said.

This comes within a week after BioRRAP — a Single National Portal for Biotech researchers and Startups, was launched.

The newly launched biotech park will carry out research on biodiversity, medicinal and aromatic plants of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and it will also promote green category businesses.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the biotechnology park at Kathua has a potential to produce 25 startups in a year which will be among its great contributions to this region. Dr. Singh informed that with the unlocking of space technology in India under PM Narendra Modi, sixty startups have been established in only one and a half year, Onkar Singh, the young scientist from Jammu present today here is among the best examples of it.

The Biotech Parks of J&K are among 9 Biotechnology Parks supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT)Govt. of India's  Ministry of Science & Technology, in various States.

"Under PM Narendra Modi without any regional bias, the UT of Jammu and Kashmir has seen a new dawn of development in education, health infrastructure, science and technology. The establishment of AIIMS, IIM, IIT, IIMC, Space Centre at Central University of Jammu, Highway villages, Express Corridor, Atal Setu, Mega-Quintal Seed Processing Plants, Medical Colleges some of which have been established in Kathua are some of the national level development projects J&K has seen in last eight years," said the minister.

In addition to this biotech park in Jammu, there are two more Industrial Biotech Parks comin up in the region — one at Ghatti, Kathua, Jammu and other in Handwara, Kashmir. These are jointly funded by DBT  and Jammu & Kashmir Science, Technology & Innovation Council.The work on these Biotech parks was started in February 2019. Notably, the J&K region already has CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, (CSIR-IIIM), which has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of this project.

DBT has established Biotechnology Parks/Incubators across the country to translate research into products and services by providing necessary infrastructure support. These Biotechnology Parks offer facilities to Scientists, and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) for technology incubation, technology demonstration and pilot plant studies for accelerated commercial development of Biotechnology.

IIIT-Delhi Organized Its Annual Research Innovation and Incubation Showcase (RIISE 2022)

Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) organized its annual event “Research, Innovation, and Incubation Showcase, (RIISE)” on Friday, April 8, 2022 with eight key themes - Artificial Intelligence, Core Research, Cyber-Physical Systems, Design, Healthcare, Lab to Market/ Start-ups, Sustainability, and Technology as a Public Good.

This annual event provided an excellent platform to participants to explore the exciting research undertaken at the Institute along with an opportunity to network, collaborate and learn to create a better future. 400+ students from across the country were offered with a chance to present their research work under one roof, and to seek new opportunities, such as to support a start-up idea or for collaborations. These poster presentations exemplified some of the brilliant research and innovations by these young minds, which have the potential to revolutionize the future.

“Research Innovation and Incubation Showcase (RIISE) is a confluence of thought leaders, researchers, innovators and developers, who are passionate about bringing new advances in key areas including AI, Healthcare, Sustainability, Cyber Physical Systems, Design etc. RIISE also had parallel tracks for Technology as a Public Good and Lab to Market + Startups. This unique event provided a platform where some of the most creative minds presented their cutting-edge research work, the way forward, and the multi-faceted opportunities for collaboration”, Prof. Ranjan Bose, Director IIIT-Delhi.

Prof. Ranjan Bose

More than 100 delegates from industry, academia, and government were present including 40 renowned speakers as a part of panel discussions and talks that offered insights into their recent research and findings, including work that has not been published yet. With the presence of eminent personalities such as Dr. Gautam Shroff (Senior Vice President and Head of Research, TCS), as a speaker in Artificial Intelligence theme; Mr. Sachindra Joshi (Lead AI, IBM Research) as a keynote speaker; and Prof. Ram Gopal Rao (Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi), Dr. Lipika Dey (Chief Scientist, TCS Research), Dr. Seema Khanna (Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre), and Dr. Andreia Cathelin (STMicroelectronics) as panellists for the session ‘Women in Engineering’, RIISE 2022 was a magnificent opportunity for young and budding researchers to benefit from.

“RIISE is an annual occasion when we bring together academic researchers, industry leaders, and government think-tank. We had numerous interesting interactions between faculty and industry leaders today. Students of IIIT Delhi, and even student winners of Business Blasters presented their prototypes and start-up business plans. The panel discussion was on a very pertinent topic and views shared by the panellists were truly insightful. More than 2500 people enthusiastically participated in 8-hour long exposition and I am confident that each minute spent was worth its dime.” Dr. Anuj Grover, Associate Dean Innovation and Research and Development, IIIT-Delhi.

Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIIT-Delhi) was created as a state university by an act of the Delhi Government in 2008 empowering it to do research and grant academic degrees. With world-class faculty and an environment that endeavours to nurture state-of-the-art research and innovation, and enables entrepreneurial activities that bring the gains of deep-tech to the society at large, IIIT-Delhi has grown to become one of the most promising young institutions in India. It has been accorded 12-B status by the University Grants Commission. It is ranked #4 among all universities in India in the Times Higher Education world university rankings 2021 and also among all technical schools in India in the latest Dataquest T-School rankings 2021. The institute was awarded “Excellence in Faculty” in the 7th Higher Education Excellence Awards 2021 by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

IIIT-Delhi hosts the academic departments of Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computational Biology, Human Centered Design, Mathematics, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In addition, there are 8 research centres spanning across the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Design and New Media, Technology in Policing, Human-Centered Design, Light Fidelity, Sustainable Mobility, Healthcare and DataKart Centre of Excellence, engaged in high-quality research and development activities. IIITD also houses an Incubation Centre (IC) and a Technology Innovation Hub (TiH).

Binance Labs Concludes Season 3 of Incubation Program with a Virtual BUIDLer Day

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and innovation incubator of Binance, the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, has today announced a ‘BUIDLer Day’ to conclude another successful season of its incubation program. Now in its third season, the Binance Labs Incubation Program focuses on discovering and supporting the most promising founders and blockchain projects worldwide.

Bill Chin, the Head of Binance Labs Fund, said: “The Binance Labs Incubation Program nurtures budding entrepreneurs that can bring mass adoption of crypto and innovation within the blockchain ecosystem. Participating projects gain access to dedicated resources, industry exposure, valuable networks, and mentorship. Through the Incubation Program, we hope to help future industry key players develop and find their product market fit in the global blockchain landscape. Now that Season 3 is approaching the end, we are actively recruiting for Season 4 of the Incubation Program.”

Launched in 2018, the Binance Labs Incubation Program has incubated 25 projects. The first two seasons of the Incubation Program have produced leading and well-positioned blockchain projects, including Polygon, Perpetual Protocol, Dune Analytics and more.

Season 3 of the Incubation Program began in November 2021, and will conclude on January 25, 2022 with a BUIDLer Day. After 8 weeks of incubation, the BUIDLer Day would allow the nine incubation projects to formally pitch their progress and traction to an audience of investors, mentors and other industry figures. Unlike in past seasons, this invite-only pitch event will be held virtually for Season 3.

Ken Li, Investment Director at Binance Labs, said: “The third season of the Incubation Program saw talented projects coming from different sectors, such as gaming, NFTs, DeFi, trading platform, and more. BUIDLer Day will be the perfect opportunity for the projects to showcase their growth to prominent global investors. We believe that all nine projects have the potential to push the blockchain industry forward in meaningful ways."

The nine projects that were selected and participated in Season 3 of the Incubation Program are Mint Club, Raydius, GAT Network, Wombat Exchange, Tranching Protocol, SkyArk Studio, Bird, Copycat Finance, and Block Ape Scissors.

To enrich the Incubation Program experience, Binance Labs invited mentors from various backgrounds and expertise. The regular weekly fireside chat sessions were joined by Binance CEO CZ, CMO He Yi, Polygon Co-Founder Sandeep Nailwal, Zokyo CEO Hartej Sawhney, CertiK Co-Founder Prof. Ronghui Gu, BBS CEO Eyal Hertzog, and Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu.

Throughout the Incubation Program, the incubation projects also had individual sessions with Lisa Wu (Sky Consulting), Rudy Koch (Mythical Games), Leo (Capstone), Kinsey Cronin (TRM Labs), Aniket Jindal (Biconomy), Veronica Wang (SafePal), and Cryan Pellegrino (LayerZero). The whole Binance team also actively got involved in the development of the incubation projects, with 12 internal mentors from Binance Labs, Binance Smart Chain, Binance Research, Binance NFT, and CorpDev.

Application for Season 4 of the Binance Labs Incubation Program is open and available here.

WE HUB Selects 26 Women-led Urban Tech Startups for the 3rd Cohort of its Incubation Program

• The selected start-ups offer innovative solutions in key industries, such as SaaS, Healthtech, ConsumerTech, DeepTech, EdTech, FMCG and the sustainable sector.
• This nine-month program is designed to provide entrepreneurs with a need-based intervention model. It is focused on helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses.
• The program had a successful previous cohort, with 24 start-ups, which graduated in 2021.

WE HUB, India’s first state-led incubator to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start up, scale up and accelerate with global market access, today announced the launch of the third edition of its flagship incubation program. This edition will consist of 26 selected women-led urban tech start-ups that provide solutions for industries, such as SaaS, Healthtech, ConsumerTech, DeepTech, EdTech, FMCG and the sustainable sector.

The start-ups will receive mentorship from leading industry experts on business growth metrics, such as revenue building, customer acquisition, sustainability, market expansion and product development roadmap, access to funds, cross border market connects and access to government.

Close to 101 start-ups from across the country applied to participate in the program, which were evaluated by WE HUB, of them 90 per cent of the application had growth potential. The startups were given orientation on the program in detail and were further shortlisted through one-on-one interview sessions by leaders at WE HUB. The final list of start-ups for the cohort was selected based on the two-day pitching sessions to the jury of WE HUB partners including – Swissnex, IKP, Yashoda Hospitals, CCMB and SucSEED Partners.

Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB, said, "We are excited to launch our third Cohort which consists of 26 startups, from across India. Three years from its inception, WE Hub has reached a stage where every sector of startup incubated with us can be directed to a program which specifically tackles their need along with our partners. Programs like WE Trade, Launchpad, WE Corner launched by us in the previous year along with well-designed coincubation programs we are confident we have the best outcomes for the incubates at WE HUB."

Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary ITE&C Department, Telangana, said, “Congratulations to all the startups selected as part of the third Cohort of the Incubation Program by WE HUB. Year on Year, it is heartening to see the varied sectors from which we are seeing Women Entrepreneurs innovate, startup and create enterprises. We look forward to many of these startups becoming a huge part of the innovation ecosystem to drive growth of startups in Telangana and across the country.”

This nine-month program is designed with a targeted approach to provide entrepreneurs with a need-based intervention model to help them scale up. Start-ups from various cities in India – Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad – are part of the cohort. Some of the selected startups are Moxie and hopper, Bluebot Robotics, Ikshana, Lauriko, Kula Studio, Abby, Mindful Grubs, Forward Parcel, Haemac, Shu Shu babies, Sortizy, Yugiene, Pillplus, Level App, Backbenchers, Lori health, Kaqzu Bottles, Artfils, Hunar, Mera Bills, People of Prints, Akna Innovations, FittR Bites, Innogle, among others.

The selected start-ups will receive access to industrial visits and international market access support through WE HUB’s partnerships with various corporates and international organizations. Additionally, they will receive one-on-one interactions and need-based mentorship sessions, respectively. Based on factors like market competition, scale-up strategy, and product development plan, WE HUB will set goals for each start-up in the cohort and track the progress of the start-ups in addition to mentoring them.

The program had a successful previous cohort, with 24 start-ups graduated in July 2021. Most of the startups from the second cohort grew their revenue by 25 per cent, while WE HUB supported five start-ups to pivot their business model after the pandemic struck.

Shireen Sultana, Cofounder, KinderPass, a startup from the current (third) cohort said, “We are excited about working with WE HUB and looking forward to making KinderPass India's best digital child health and development platform. Over the last few days, the conversations we've had with the team at WE HUB have given us the confidence that they are not just collaborators but will be true partners in our endeavor to help parents across India.”

Mouna Gummadi, Cofounder of Hilo Design, a startup that was part of the previous (second) cohort, said, “Hilo Design is proud to be incubated at WE HUB. The program really helped us to take us to the next stage as a startup with not just the guidance but also providing the right opportunities and marketing connects assisting in growth.”

About WE HUB:

WE HUB is the first-of-its-kind and only state-run platform for women entrepreneurs by the Government of Telangana. WE HUB supports women entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, solutions and entities focusing on emerging areas in technology and allied sectors. WE HUB also supports under-explored/unexplored sectors, such as FMCG, retail, e-commerce, including the service sector. 

The mandate and goal of WE HUB are to eliminate financial and societal barriers for women and help them succeed in their enterprises. WE HUB aims to create a supportive community for aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs where they can interact with VCs for funding, connect with corporates for scaling up their business, get advice from mentors to fine-tune ideas and benefit from technical mentoring.

Binance Labs to Launch 8-Week Long Season 3 of Incubation Program to Support Promising Projects in the Industry

Binance Labs, the venture capital arm and innovation incubator of Binance, announced Season 3 of the Incubation Program to support promising projects in the blockchain space. The Incubation Program is starting on November 15.

For the past 2 seasons of the Incubation Program, Binance Labs incubated market-leading and successful crypto businesses such as Polygon, Perpetual Protocol, Injective Protocol, SafePal, Cere Network, and Dune Analytics. Through the experience of incubating a wide range of projects at a very early stage, Binance Labs has acquired its own knowhow for developing and elevating projects.

The Incubation Program has some key elements:

• 8-week timeline for incubation projects to take advantage of the Binance Labs ecosystem, with a focus on mentorship from successful portfolio companies of Binance Labs, industry influencers, and potential investors.
• Binance Labs will support value-add services like PR & marketing and fundraising advice
• Incubation teams will join weekly fireside chat sessions with founders of Binance and other top crypto mentors for in-depth discussions
• Incubated projects will exhibit at Binance Labs Demo Day and formally pitch their progress and traction to a wide audience of investors and mentors.

Bill Chin, the Head of Binance Labs Fund, said: “Binance Labs Incubation Program was first created to nurture potential and promising entrepreneurs and projects that can accelerate the adoption and innovation in the industry. Through the Incubation Program, we hope to help the future industry key players go through easier ways of development and I am sure our team and the mentors can also be inspired by the fresh and new insights of the talented founders and teams all around the world."

There are 9 incubation projects that have been selected from the Fall 2021 Edition of the Binance Incubation Program submissions. They are all based in different parts of the world, and they are building products across a wide range of sectors.

• (Game) Block Ape Scissors, a play-to-earn ecosystem built on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), incorporating gaming, NFTs and DeFi together into exciting, diverse and rewarding opportunities.
• (DeFi) Tranching Protocol, a yield optimization and hedging protocol implementing tranching for yield farming.
• (Game) GAT Network, a web of connected NFT trading and gaming projects that already has launched several projects on BSC.
• (DeFi/Stablecoin) Wombat, a trusted wallet for gamers and beyond to manage and trade their NFTs and token on different blockchains.
• (DeFi/Credit) Bird.Money, a new type of decentralized oracle that empowers blockchain developers with access to plug and play analytics products for next generation web platforms
• (Social) Mint Club, a smart token building platform without the need for coding or providing liquidity on the BSC.
• (Bridge) Raydius, a middleware solution designed to create a more connected blockchain ecosystem.
• (Trading) Copycat Finance, decentralized copy trading and copy farming platform on BSC where the innovative social trading meets the high yield social farming revolution.
• (Game) XII Braves (SkyArk Studio), a Singapore-based blockchain gaming studio.

Binance Labs invited mentors from the Binance team, potential investors from different venture capitals, and the leaders of previous incubation projects that went through similar processes as the 9 incubation projects will go through.

Ken Li, Investment Director at Binance Labs said - "All of these incubation projects have strengths in what Labs has been looking into. We are excited to support them at an early stage and contribute to the future of the industry through mentorship."

Chase Guo, Investment Director at Binance Labs added, “Our program has successfully incubated major projects for the industry in the past through other seasons of Incubation Program, and we hope to see the same track records from this season’s projects."

After the 8 weeks of the Incubation Program, Binance Labs will host an official demo day for the 9 projects, open to a broad audience of industry experts, mentors and investors. Through the pitches, projects can appeal to potential investors and find partners who will collaborate with them.

Binance Labs has incubated projects that eventually secured funds from other market players and these projects are well-positioned in the industry.

Polygon, formerly known as Matic Network, is one of such projects leading the industry. As an Ethereum scaling aggregator to scale up Ethereum through various scaling approaches, the project has gone through a steady development. Last year, Polygon became the most adoption solution in the industry with 3000+ Dapps and achieving DAUs higher than that of Ethereum mainchain itself. Next year, Polygon is working hard to become the biggest player in the ZK technology scaling. Polygon has already acquired and initiated various ZK initiatives.

Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon, attending as one of the mentors for the Season 3 Incubation Program, said “Binance Labs Incubation Program was an important momentum if we see the history of this project. Through the programs Binance Labs has prepared, we could develop our business more, and eventually, we were able to launch our tokens through the Launchpad. On top of the financial investment Binance Labs made, the project was able to secure additional funding through the Launchpad and the attention of crypto users. We hope that through the Season 3 of Incubation Program, future market leaders can be discovered and incubated."

Dorahacks, a global hackathon organizer and one of the world's most active developer communities, is co-organizing the Season 3 of Incubation Program with Binance Labs. DoraHacks' open source developer platform and curation market, HackerLink, provides unique on-chain tools to incentivize open source developments around the world.

Binance Labs will also launch applications for its Season 4 Incubation Program, which will kick off in March of 2022. As one of the benefits of being part of the Binance Labs ecosystem, all portfolio company founder, mentor or Binance alumni can directly recommend projects to fast-track into the final interview for incubation selection. Interested applicants can apply for the program here.

IIT-Hyderabad with NXP India, MeitY and FabCI Launches Semiconductor Incubation and Acceleration Program for Tech Startups

• Programme aims to find, facilitate and mentor semiconductor and IP design startups to increase Fabless chip designing in India.
  
  
• A vital step to strengthen the core Technology-driven System pillar of the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India vision.

Keeping in line with our Hon’ble PM’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, NXP India, one of the biggest R&D centres for NXP Semiconductors and a world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, in collaboration with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India and Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FabCI), IIT Hyderabad has announced the launch of its maiden ‘Semiconductor Startup Incubation and Acceleration Program’. The objective of this program is to find, facilitate, and mentor semiconductor and IP design start-ups across India in technological as well as business aspects. 

Upto 5 promising start-ups will be incubated for a period of 2 years in each cohort every year. The participants will include Semiconductor Chip Design, IP Design, Design Services startups with an IP focus and Chip Design Tool related startups. Invaluable experience opportunity for start-ups to showcase their products to investor and business community 

Startup selected for the core program will have the following benefits (with benefits accruing upto INR 1 crore per year per startup). 

• EDA Tool Access for design and simulations, 
• Mentoring Access during design and development phase, Selective IP Access for processor or interconnect aspects, Foundry/Packaging Access, Characterization Lab Access, 
• Demo day visibility with NXP.

The programme will support India’s vision of making the country a self-reliant nation as it creates a ready platform to support start-ups who wish to design semiconductor chips in India. The local hardware designing and manufacturing of products will strengthen the core Technology-driven System pillar vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and in turn will boost India’s economy, generate employment, and enhance India’s position globally in the electronics industry by moving up in the value chain.

“The last 10 years in electronics have been all about connecting the world and providing On Demand experiences. Today you can easily order transportation, food or other goods in the “here and now” without moving. The next decade will be all about creating a “world that anticipates & automates” with a lot of smart connected systems around us. All of that will lead into making the planet a better world to live in and fun to innovate in. These smart connected systems have a core semiconductor technology at the heart of it. In that context, I see Semiconductor Startup Incubation and Acceleration program can bring the core impetus to the strengthening of fabless semiconductor design in India and I am very excited and looking forward to see the outcomes with this program” said Lars Reger, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NXP Semiconductors.

Expressing his excitement at the launch, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Country Manager said, “At NXP India, the team has consistent focus on building the Indian technology ecosystem for a Win-Win. When our Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi gave a clarion call to all the Indians to work towards transforming into next emerging technological & innovation focus country in the world, Team India got into a thinking mode and today I am extremely proud to see their efforts finally taking shape. In this endeavor, Team India has created a technology startups focused framework with two key initiatives - Tech startup challenge to recognize most innovative Indian Startups products aligned to NXP businesses and technologies and Technology Startup Incubator to nurture and groom young startups with complete enablement, funding and day to day guidance using a unique collaboration with Govt. of India and top Academic institutes. We are certain that the enthusiastic and budding entrepreneurs of our country will benefit immensely from this program".

Sh. Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, said, “The Government of India has been working towards promoting the ESDM sector to bring electronic manufacturing to India. There is also a need to build a thriving fabless design ecosystem in India. We look forward to this joint initiative of NXP Semiconductors and IIT Hyderabad for this Incubation cum Accelerator Program that aims to find, facilitate and mentor the semiconductor and IP design startups pan India. It is a significant step as India is poised to increase its share in innovation-driven global manufacturing of mobile phones, IT hardware, automotive, industrial and medical electronics, IoT and other devices.” 

Highlighting the uniqueness of the FabCI at IIT Hyderabad, Prof. B.S. Murty, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, said, “This collaborative effort is an much needed, perfectly timed impetus to usher in, an era of semiconductor ecosystem in India. The endeavors carried out by IIT Hyderabad under the aegis of MeitY to set up Fabless chip design Incubator (FabCI) is the building block of this program. 

FabCI is an unique incubator that provides free access to highly expensive EDA tools and prototyping, apart from the basic infrastructure. With the advent of Atmanirbhar Bharat, more no. of start-ups are expected to come-up across various segment of technology and Incubators like FabCI with support of Technology experts like NXP will definitely strengthen the start-ups ecosystem in the semiconductor industries.” 

India's First Incubation Program for Differently Abled Persons

Inclusive Innovation – SPTBI partners with LoveActually.Me and Adfactors PR to launch India’s first incubator program for differently abled people.

Special mentor board to nurture seven Persons with Disability for next 12 months in Entrepreneurship

Mumbai, December 2, 2020: In an initiative to make the Indian Startup Ecosystem more inclusive, Sardar Patel Technology Business Incubator (SPTBI) in collaboration with social platform LoveActually.Me and India’s largest communications consultancy Adfactors PR, has launched India’s first incubator program for differently abled people wanting to pursue entrepreneurship. The program comes ahead of the world celebrating International Day of Persons with Disability on December 3.
SPTBI has announced applications for the program. The deadline for the application process is December 5 2020.

The ‘Firstpreneurs’ is a 12 month incubation program, the first four months of which will be spent in prepping up the cohort on all aspects of entrepreneurship including business, marketing, financing among others. While the program will have startup mentors to guide the incubatees, a special mentor board comprising of experts from legal, business communication, finance, sales, product development, media and marketing, is being constituted to guide and support the incubatees.

Adfactors PR has partnered with SPTBI to be the communication mentor for the program.

The special mentor board will comprise of Rahul Jain, Vice President, Startup and New Age Business practice at Adfactors PR as communication mentor, Ashutosh Burnwal, Founder of Buddy4study- largest scholarship platform in India, Veena Lala, Founder of VAL & Associates as legal mentor and Deepaq Varthak, with over 25 years of experience as sales mentor among others.

As part of the incubation program, SPTBI will groom incubatees into entrepreneurship and also provide them with support in developing their ideas. Incubatees will also be provided with access to market, seed fund and investor pool, co-working facilities apart from stage wise nurturing.

B. N. Chaudhari, Chairperson, SPTBI said, “The Indian startup ecosystem gives people a chance to change the world through their ideas. We want to make this ecosystem inclusive and equal for even those who are differently abled because skill and talent has no limit. The program will encourage people with disability to test their potential and give them an equal chance in creating innovative solutions for business and society.”

Tanushree Sharma, Founder, LoveActually.Me said, “Our motto is to bring inclusivity through equality. As a social enterprise we conduct several online and offline activities that help differently abled individuals achieve personal and professional independence. Our partnership with SPTBI stems from the strong belief that an opportunity is needed by anyone to succeed in life and through this initiative, we are helping many aspiring individuals who are disabled to turn their dream of entrepreneurship into reality.”

Bhubaneshwar-based ILS Setting Up Bio-Incubator for Bio-Tech Entrepreneurs and Startups

Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Bhubaneshwar, which is operated under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, is in the process of establishing a bio-incubator for nurturing, mentoring and promoting entrepreneurs in biotechnology, announced by ILS Director Dr Ajay Parida, in a webinar series on 'Insight into Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology'.

Speaking at the inauguration of the webinar, Union Biotechnology Secretary Dr. Renu Swarup said that she hoped that with the excellent science base, the ILS will play a major role in developing an enabling ecosystem for bio incubation in the region.

Dr Renu Swarup exuded confidence that biotechnology applications would play an important role in mitigating challenges in most of the sectors.

The innovation ecosystem, promoted by the Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council in the recent times has enabled promotion of young entrepreneurs for development of several products and processes in agriculture, healthcare, environment management, devices and many other areas.

The institute, along with DBT, has recently (in August'20) invited application from startups, entrepreneurs as well as researchers and academicians for incubation supprt that incude lab space, mentoring and funding ideas for all stages PoC, Clinical trials and Commercialization.

Established in the year 1989, ILS was an autonomous institute under Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India. The-then Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated the institute to the nation in July 2003. Three ILS faculties have been awarded prestigious TATA innovation fellowship of DBT. Over the years ILS has produced 80 Ph.D.s, over 450 publications and 27 patents applied.

HDFC Life Launches 'Futurance' Phase 3 to Incubate Startups in Association with IvyCamp

HDFC Life, one of India’s leading life insurance companies and IvyCamp, an initiative of IvyCap Ventures, today jointly launched the third phase of Futurance - the corporate engagement program to identify startups that are building innovative and next-gen capabilities in the insurance sector.

Last year in June, HDFC Life and IvyCamp announced the first phase of the initiative called Futurance followed by its second phase in December 2019. After a successful conclusion of phase two where three startups across health-tech and AI solutions were shortlisted, phase three of Futurance program is now underway. Phase three of the program will scout for startups across the following use cases:

1. Blockchain Application: Policy Management from start to end
2. Virtual Reality for Customers: AR/VR solutions with AI to enhance sales and servicing in Insurance
3. Non-invasive medical innovation: Alternate solutions to replace medical tests
4. Insta Agent: AI based sourcing, selection and management of sales agents

The third phase of Futurance is now live at ivycamp.in/programs/hdfclife-poc-corporate-startup-program.

Speaking on the launch of the third phase, Parvez Mulla, Chief Operating Officer – HDFC Life, said, “HDFC Life has focused on leveraging technology to offer value at every stage of the relationship with its customers and partners. Futurance was designed to build a bridge for start-ups to work alongside us. Futurance phase 3 reinforces our commitment to work with the best brains to provide long-lasting technology solutions."

"The pandemic has given a fillip to technology across industries. COVID-19 has tested us but our investment in digital has given us the techedge. Our agility and tech-readiness has enabled us continue business during the pandemic, in an uninterrupted manner,” he added.

Prasun Gajri, Chief Investment Officer – HDFC Life added, “Every business makes investments with certain long term objectives. We at HDFC Life identify technology as an enabler and have consistently ensured that we invest in avenues that yield rich results. The Futurance program is one such initiative. The launch of Futurance phase 3 is proof that a talent program can deliver great results and also showcases the immense potential of start-ups."

“Our partnership with HDFC Life has proved to be powerful in the past in strengthening the Startup-Corporate Connection in the ecosystem. Today, we have launched the next phase of Futurance that aims to further empower the fraternity, give a boost to entrepreneurship, and help businesses navigate through current times successfully,” said Anju Gupta, Co-founder and President of IvyCamp.

“We believe that our program will address the current challenges in the insurance sector, particularly in these new post COVID-19 times and help scale startups that have truly created opportunities in these tough times, weathered the difficulties and stayed on the path of innovation and problem solving. We wish good luck to the companies participating in phase three of our Futurance programme,” she added.

The second phase of Futurance had successfully shortlisted three startups - Wealthy Therapeutics, a health-tech startup; Worxogo, an AI sales coach; and Pulse Active Stations Network, a healthcare startup.

About HDFC Life

HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (formerly HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited) ('HDFC Life'/'Company’) is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life Aberdeen, a global investment company.

Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a leading long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, Annuity and Health. As on June 30, 2020, the Company had 36 individual and 12 group products in its portfolio, along with 6 optional rider benefits, catering to a diverse range of customer needs.


HDFC Life continues to benefit from its increased presence across the country having a wide reach with 421 branches and additional distribution touch-points through several new tie-ups and partnerships. HDFC Life currently has over 270 partners (including master policyholders) of which more than 40 are new-age ecosystem partners. The Company has a strong base of financial consultants.

About IvyCamp

IvyCamp is an initiative of IvyCap Ventures, a Venture Capital Fund management company. IvyCap invests in early to growth stage entrepreneurs leveraging Global Alumni networks from the IITs, IIMs and other institutes to support entrepreneurs through a combination of expert interaction, training, funding, corporate engagements, and acceleration.

IvyCamp platform has more than 5,000 alumni as entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, 50+ service providers, 10+ funding in IOT, AR/VR, Big Data, tech start-ups, 25+ mentoring deals. Many of our mentors and startups have partnered in long term engagements, targeted at helping the startup work through business and technical issues on an ongoing basis. We regularly conduct events across institutes, targeted at our network supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystems of the institutes and their startups as they graduate. Many of our startups have engaged with our corporate partners through exposure via our programs and startup pitch events.

Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) Launches to Support 1000 Startups of SC Youth in Next 4 Yrs

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlote-launched the “Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs” through Video Conferencing yesterday with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions. Minister of State for SJ&E Shri Rattan Lal Kataria, Secretary, M/o SJ&E Shri R. Subrahmanyam; Secretary, M/o S&T Prof. Ashutosh Sharma; Joint Secretary, M/o SJ&E Shri R.P. Meena; Dy. MD, IFCI Limited Shri Sunil Kumar Bansal and MD, IFCI Venture Capital Funds Limited Shri Shivendra Tomar were also present.

Addressing on the occasion, Shri Gehlot said that the Ministry of Social Justice had launched the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC) in 2014-15 with a view to developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC/Divyang youth and to enable them to become 'job-givers’. The Objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs. Under this fund, 117 companies promoted by SC entrepreneurs have been sanctioned financial assistance to set up business ventures. Under named “Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM)”initiative, 1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in various higher educational institutions. They will be funded @ Rs. 30 lakhs in 3 years as equity funding so that they can translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures. Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs. 

He said that the Ministry has decided to launch ASIIM through the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCFSC). It’s objectives include: To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs; To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology; To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support; and To incentivise students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence.

The Minister said that this initiative under VCF-SC will promote innovation in the SC youth and would help them to become job-givers from job-seekers; and would further give fillip to the ‘Stand Up India’ initiative of the Prime Minister PM Shri Narendra Modi.

Shri Rattan Lal Kataria in his address said that in order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship amongst SC students in the higher education campuses, there is a need to identify innovative ideas and provide focussed support to young entrepreneurs who are engaged in working on innovative and technology-oriented business ideas either in educational campuses or Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) to help them setup successful commercial enterprises. Such an action will not only allow the SC students to pursue with innovation and entrepreneurship, but will give a further boost to the Stand Up India programme of the Government.

The ASIIM initiative will be implemented by the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SCs) which was set up in 2016 with the Fund size of Rs. 500 Cr. Since its inception, VCF-SC has sanctioned financial assistance to 118 companies to the tune of Rs. 444.14 crore. In order to further motivate and encourage Innovative entrepreneurial Startups, M/o SJ&E has modified the Venture Capital for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) guidelines to keep focused attention in providing equity support to entities/companies of young SC entrepreneurs working on innovative and technology-based ideas.

Under this initiative VCF-SC shall target SC students / young entrepreneurs working in Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) in higher education and technology institution including Business / Management schools. The VCF-SC shall extend all support in the form of hand-holding, guidance, mentoring, besides providing equity support up to Rs 30 lakh over a period of three (3) years to each entity of young SC students / entrepreneurs. The budget of ASIIM for the next four years has been kept at Rs 19320lakhs.

More Infoe on this scheme details (PDF)

NSRCEL launches AIM Catalysts to Help Early-Stage Startups

NSRCEL, the startup and innovation hub at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, launched, in virtual mode, a programme for entrepreneurs called ‘AIM Catalysts’, where  early-stage startups, with sustainable ideas, will be welcomed for incubation.

AIM stands for Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.       

The AIM Catalysts programme at NSRCEL was launched in the presence of IIMB Director Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, AIM, Ishita Agarwal, Programme Director, AIM, Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chairperson, NSRCEL, Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula, Professor of Entrepreneurship, IIMB, and Rajiv Sawhney, COO, NSRCEL.

“NSRCEL was among the first six incubation centres in the country to be supported by the Atal Innovation Mission,” said Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula.

Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan emphasized the need for a centre like NSRCEL to adapt to the new norm, make progress during the pandemic, and launch new initiatives, programmes and partnerships. “NSRCEL is also open to taking in global ventures,” he added.

Ramanan Ramanathan pointed out that COVID has created “some never-imagined opportunities for startups in terms of assistive, preventive and curative solutions”. He emphasized importance of teamwork amongst startups, academia, government, and other enablers of the startup ecosystem. “To be catalysed into growth and nurtured from the time it is an idea till it becomes a successful business, the ‘AIM Catalysts’ programme is going to have a tremendous impact in a startup’s life,” he said.

In her overview of the Atal Innovation Mission initiative, Ishita Agarwal listed the number of entrepreneurs impacted, the jobs created, and the mentoring sessions held. She also spoke of NSRCEL being a team player and guiding upcoming incubators. “It’s very important for startups to think about ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and forge ahead,” she said.

Venture Catalysts Forays into 11 New Cities during Lockdown; Aims to expand to 100 Indian Cities by 2021

With the latest expansion, Venture Catalyst’s presence is extended to 35 Indian cities

Continuing its pursuit to create, build and nurture 1000 startup investments by 2025,India’s first, largest and pioneering integrated incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts has expanded its footprint into 11 new Indian cities – Bangalore (Venture Partner), Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Bilaspur, Chennai, Indore, Jaipur, Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Pune, and Goa.

This latest move is a part of the larger mission of Venture Catalysts to create 10,000 angel investors across 100 startup cities in the country and make startup investments as an asset class available to more individuals. Venture Catalysts has also expanded globally into the UK, the MENA and the USA.

With the latest expansion, Venture Catalyst’s presence is extended to 35 Indian cities, which includes tier-I, tier-II, tier-III and even tier-IV cities. The venture capital fund has reached out to high-profile investors and stakeholders in these cities to identify promising local start-ups and empower them through resource allocation, funding and extending other opportunities. This move presents a unique window of opportunity to the startup community in the country, with entrepreneurs ensured of access to a large number of prominent institutional and individual investors from all over the country and foreign shores.

Over 40 percent of investors with Venture Catalysts are from tier II and III towns. From a mere 400 investors in 2016—most from tier I cities, Venture Catalysts has taken its investor count to 1100+ investors as of mid-2020 while also educating empowering and training another 3000+ HNIs to help them start their journey as angel investors. Some of top startups from tier 2 in the VCats portfolio are IGP, Beardo, Rare Planet and Chai Break.

Speaking on the recent development, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, President and Co-founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “Venture Catalysts is committed to democratizing the early-stage investment in India by making startup investments as an asset class available to all investors. The mission is to expand to 100 cities in India by 2021 and we are very optimistic about the startup landscape in India in the times to come. As part of this geographical expansion strategy, we launched our network in many more Indian cities during the past two months of lockdown and this has been met with an overwhelming response. We received 3000+ registrations for our virtual launch in 11 cities, which indicates the growing cognizance of Venture Catalysts. We also plan to expand our presence into 15 more cities in the coming months”.

Committed to becoming No. 1 globally in early-stage startup investment, Venture Catalysts also conducted Angel Investment Masterclass by Dr. Apoorva Sharma and Mr. Anuj Golecha (Co-founder of VCats) to onboard angel investors and educate them about startup investment. Prominent angel investors like Apurva Chamaria, Reavthy Ashok, Balasubramanian Hari and successful startup founders like Mr Harsh Shah, Co-Founder, Fynd (Acquired by Reliance), Mr Vikas Bagaria, Founder PEE SAFE and Mr. Harsmeet Thind, Founder, Coutloot.

“When the HNIs and the business owners in various regions across the country start listening to the tech startups, they will also start re-looking at and re-inventing their own businesses to stay relevant in the current environment and scale up. The impact is huge and multi-dimensional. This will change the outlook of our businesses for decades to come. With the local HNIs beginning to invest in startups, it will also boost the entrepreneurial activities in the respective regions,” he added further.

Sharing his insights, Gaurav Singhvi, Founder of Financial Supermarket Group, commented, “Venture Catalysts has played a pivotal role in building the startup ecosystem in the country, enabling start-ups across geographies and industries to realize their vision in a seamless manner. It has acted as a bridge between startups and investors, effectively building a unique start-up dedicated framework that has helped many entrepreneurs acquire funding and investors bag multi-million exits.”

Speaking on the importance of Partners, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, commented, “VCats, as a platform, has been successful in institutionalizing how angels from Tier 1 cities and Tier 2/3 cities come on one platform and unlock unique opportunities for budding entrepreneurs. This would not have been possible without an active network of Partners who are one of the most important stakeholders in VCats. We work together as a team to achieve one common objective of creating an unparalleled global network of angels and making it accessible to entrepreneur sitting in any part of the globe.”

The Partners are passionate individuals who are driven by one common goal of ‘giving it back’ to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the best way possible. These individuals, generally, bring along with them:

• First-hand entrepreneurial experience, and/or
• Professional experience of heading top companies in an expert manner
• Knowledge about online launch and future launches

At Venture Catalysts, the focus is to foster a democratic, transparent and equal for all entrepreneurial ecosystems. Furthermore, the success of VCats can be attributed to the penetration of angel investing in tier 2 and tier 3 cities alongside a stabilized presence in Tier 1 cities. Venture Catalysts is currently looking for investor partners in a number of Indian cities such as Jodhpur, Gwalior, Patna, Jamshedpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Agra, Allahabad and many others. The company is also actively working on collaborating with exiting angel networks for syndication of deals and curated and committed deal access with regular investor education series.

About VCats

Venture Catalysts is India’s first integrated incubator. It invests $250K – $1.5 Million in early-stage startups that have potential to create enduring value for over a long period of time. Venture Catalysts brings a lethal combination of Capital, Mentoring and Business Network to help investee companies to succeed. Their innovation provides value to startups through its extensive angel network, funding, community, services and co-working facility.

To Support Bio-pharma Innovations, Govt Supported National Facility Opens at Venture Center, Pune

The Center for Biopharma Analysis (CBA) supported by the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) of Department of Biotechnology (DBT)- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) at Pune-based technology business incubator, Venture Center was inaugurated virtually by Secretary, DBT, Dr Renu Swarup.

CBA will provide high-quality analytical services for biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturers. This center is envisioned to become a resource center for structural and functional characterization of biologicals and biopharmaceuticals that will create long lasting value for bioentrepreneurs and industry.

Inaugurating the facility via video conference, Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, said that she expects that the CBA will play a pivotal role in supporting biopharma innovations from academic and government research labs, startups and many Indian companies with not only high-quality analytical characterization but also advise on studies needed for regulatory approvals. This can help speed up the development process.

Also speaking on the occasion, Prof AK Nangia, Director, CSIR-NCL highlighted how NCL is keen to contribute to the large molecule therapeutics revolution waiting to happen in India as it did for small molecule therapeutics in 1970-80s. Mr Prasanta Biswal, CEO of International Biotech Park Limited, Pune said that IBPL is happy to have contributed CSR support for the CBA infrastructure development and looks forward to working closely with Venture Center and BIRAC in positioning the Pune Knowledge Cluster for excellence in biopharma and medtech development and manufacturing.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science & Technology, promotes and accelerates the development of biotechnology in India, including growth and application of biotechnology in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, environment and industry.

About Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) , it is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to strengthen and empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant product development needs

About National Biopharma Mission:

The Industry-Academia Collaborative Mission of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India for accelerating discovery research to early development for Biopharmaceuticals approved by the Cabinet for a total cost US$ 250 million and 50% co-funded by the World Bank is being implemented at Biotechnology Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). This program is dedicated to deliver affordable products to the nation with an aim to improve the health standards of India’s population. Vaccines, medical devices and diagnostics and biotherapeutics are few of its most important domains, besides, strengthening the clinical trial capacity and building technology transfer capabilities in the country.

About Venture Center: Entrepreneurship Development Center (Venture Center) – a CSIR initiative – is a Section 25 company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. Venture Center strives to nucleate and nurture technology and knowledge-based enterprises by leveraging the scientific and engineering competencies of the institutions in the Pune region in India. The Venture Center is a technology business incubator supported by the Department of Science & Technology’s National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (DST-NSTEDB). Venture Center focuses on technology enterprises offering products and services exploiting scientific expertise in the areas of materials, chemicals and biological sciences & engineering. For more information, visit: http://www.venturecenter.co.in/

About CBA: Center for BioPharma Analysis (CBA) is an initiative of Venture Center supported by the National BioPharma Mission, BIRAC (Government of India). The Venture Center is a technology business incubator hosted by CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. It is a state-of-art GLP compliant facility with high-end instrumentation and industry-linked personals provides globally acceptable analysis of biopharmaceuticals. It provides open access cutting-edge technologies for Biopharmaceutical Analysis and would emerge as resource center for Characterization of Biopharmaceuticals. The facility aims to cater all academics, small to medium size biosimilar developers through-out the India and the world. For more information, visit: https://www.venturecenter.co.in/biopharma/

MeitY, STPI Launches Blockchain CoE in Gurugram, Targets Incubating 100 startups in 5 Yrs

Yesterday, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has launched Apiary, a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in blockchain technology at STPI Incubation Centre, Gurugram.

STPI Apiary is launched in association with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Haryana Government, Government Blockchain Association, IBM and Intel. Apiary has also tied up with top tier academic institutions including Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT- IIT Delhi) Sonepat Campus.

The objectives of opening this CoE is to boost start-ups in the field of Blockchain Technology and to contribute to “Make-in-India” & “Digital India” programmes of Govt. of India by reducing imports of such services.

Apiary aims to encourage R&D, innovation, Entrepreneurship in the Blockchain Technology in India by providing physical infrastructure and support services for prototyping, developing, testing & marketing.

Targeting 100 start-ups in the next five years, the Apiary CoE, which have 80-seater state-of-the-art incubation and IBM platform, will incubate start-up units to create innovative solutions to meet the existing and emerging needs of sector; to provide business and technological mentorship & guidance in the domain; to provide networking services linking up with funding sources; to enable the creation of IPs domestically.

The Coe has also partnered with Venture Funding Agencies inlcuding Indian Angel Network, Vinners Angel Group, Padup Syndicate and Venture Catalyst.

STPI Apiary is now inviting applications from the Startups/ Entrepreneurs for Idea challenge Program in Blockchain Technology domain. The theme of Idea Challenge Programme is “AATMANIRBHAR”. The Start-ups are expected to solve the problems in the following domains using Blockchain Technology.

• Supply Chain
• Agriculture
• Finance
• E-Governance use cases pertaining to Land Records, Public Health, Labour, Service Record, Pension Delivery and Law Enforcement & Evidence Management.

The last date to apply is August 14th, 2020.

25 Fintech Startups Shortlisted for Pre-Incubation Trip at IIMB’s Start-up Hub NSRCEL

Launched in association with ICICI Securities, the initiative could see many of them receiving funding from the CSR fund of the financial services firm.

NSRCEL, the start-up hub at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), today announced the list of 25 shortlisted fintech start-ups for a 15-month extensive program, which could see many of them receiving funding from the CSR fund of ICICI Securities, India’s leading financial services firm.

The selected ventures will undergo a three-month pre-incubation journey during which they will be engaged in various sessions, workshops, peer-to-peer learning activities while they receive regular one-on-one mentoring and advisory sessions. Networking events, connects with industry experts, mock-pitches and interaction with investors will be major highlights of the program.

Post this, the ventures will be given an opportunity to pitch for incubation and funding and the selected ventures will be taken forward for a further 12-month incubation journey.

The initiative was launched in association with ICICI Securities as part of its CSR activity in April 2020 and received over 240 applications from across the country. The selection panel comprising of Mr. Rajiv Sawhney, COO, NSRCEL, and Prof. Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chairperson, NSRCEL at IIMB, evaluated all applicants and interviewed over 60 entrepreneurs, before handpicking the finalists.

The ventures selected are early-stage startups working in areas like trading, lending, payments, wealth advisory, insurance tech, accounting and financial management, billing software and auxiliary sector-logistics. The cohort covers the participants from nine cities across India including Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Raipur, Noida, Udaipur, and Hyderabad.

ICICI Securities has undertaken to partner the initiative as it believes that fintech have immense potential in jobs creation and economic growth, something which is a need of the hour for India, which has a large population entering the workforce every year.

The selected start-ups are:

Insurtech Startups	Trading	Lending
Wellmo WIMWISURE Zimyo	Tradebeat Purpletrades	WhatsLoan Credochain Mudra Circle

 

Wealth Advisory/ Investment Platforms	Payments	Accounting and Billing SAAS	Auxiliary
7Prosper Jarvis Capital Quotient Patten Effect Labs	MinksPay Paperking Paymatrix Phi-Commerce Zopnote KhaaliJeb NearPe	GIM Books IDOS India Hylo Challenger	Docboyz

 

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Announces Successful Conclusion of Cohort-I of Prarambh, India’s 1st LegalTech Incubator

LegalTech startups JRTC Intern, Leegality, and LegalMind products, developed under mentorship of CAM Partners and International experts’ mentor, find excellent industry response

On April 30th, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas announced the successful conclusion of Cohort I of Prarambh, India’s first LegalTech incubator. Started in October 2019, and housed in the Firm’s Delhi office, Prarambh had mentored 3 LegalTech startups namely JRTC Intern, Leegality, and LegalMind for developing meaningful LegalTech solutions that have already started finding widespread acceptance amongst legal professionals.

Talking about first term’s success, Mr. Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said, “In keeping with our spirit of being Ahead of the Curve, we set up Prarambh in line with our passion for innovation, as also to help equip the Indian legal professionals with technology solutions that meet India’s unique requirements. The keen interest in LegalTech solutions developed at Prarambh is really heartening and speaks volumes about the potential impact Prarambh is set to make on the Indian legal sector. I really wish to congratulate all our Partners and teams involved in Cohort I, who worked very hard to enable the startups and mentored them to realize their full potential."

Mr. Cyril Shroff further added, “COVID has disrupted the normal functioning of both law firms and our clients. The demand and uptake of technology has accelerated. These are redefining the dynamics between all these stakeholders, and necessitating the need for across the board implementation of technology. We feel the outstanding success of Prarambh’s Cohort I will set the benchmark on development of India centric LegalTech solutions. I wish all our incubatee companies all the best."

Prarambh selected three technology startups for its first cohort from a pool of 51 applicants, after a rigorous assessment of the applications against 12 defined parameters. The cohort was then mentored by CAM Partners, leading international experts and the Innovation Team, who guided the startups to develop pioneering and innovating solutions that are especially developed to comply with Indian laws, and focuses on deploying latest technology including Artificial Intelligence etc. in a way that aligned with the unique needs of the legal industry.

These startups worked on a diverse range of products including internship management, workflow for eStamping and eSignature, and AI based legal research and data analytics. CAM Associates were also involved regularly in guiding and giving feedback to the cohort. Simultaneously, the cohort also enhanced its business skills with sessions from industry experts on marketing and branding, legal and regulatory compliance, customer feedback and satisfaction, financial planning and preparing for investments.

Mr. Rishabh Shroff, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said, “It is very timely that we started the Prarambh program. The legal tech sector in India was still at a fledgling stage, but now given the impact of the Corona Virus, I foresee that all our clients and in-house teams will need more LegalTech solutions. The normal lawyer-client relationship will be disaggregated and digitized and our Prarambh program will help such legal tech solutions emerge. Looking back to when we started, I can say that it has been a humbling and proud moment for us because of the success Prarambh’s first term has been fantastic."

Talking about Prarambh, Ms. Komal Gupta, Head - Innovation, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said, “We embarked on a journey of Innovation with 3 unique startups, 7 months ago. Each startup had a different path to take but the goal was the same – Success and Growth. The happiest and most satisfying memories of our work with our incubatee companies were the collaborative atmosphere and sitting alongside them and helping them from one stage to the next. The knowledge sharing and collaboration through the Prarambh Program was the highlight of this journey. The startups interacted with stellar speakers and mentors, each of them a specialist in their field. During the journey, we also were faced with a number of challenges, but we traversed the challenges, found a workaround, learnt from various situations, took corrective actions and made the next day better. We are sure that these startups are set to achieve the extraordinary and will lead the LegalTech space in India. We wish them all the best."

About Prarambh’s Cohort

JRTC Intern: A talent management platform that connects pre-qualified law students with internship opportunities at law firms, advocate offices and corporates (jrtcintern.com)

Leegality: An eSigning and digital document workflow platform that enables enterprises to digitize and automate document signing and provides e-stamp papers. (leegality.com)

LegalMind: An AI based legal research platform. The platform enables users to perform efficient research supported by analytics and insights. (www.legalmind.tech)

About Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas takes forward the values going back 103 years, of the erstwhile Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., whose pre-eminence, experience and reputation of almost a century has been unparalleled in the Indian legal fraternity. Tracing its professional lineage to 1917, the Firm of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is now the largest full-service law firm in India, with over 750 lawyers including over 130 partners, and offices in India’s key business centres at Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad. The Firm advises a large, and varied client base that includes domestic and foreign commercial enterprises, financial institutions, private equity funds, venture capital funds, startups and governmental and regulatory bodies.

The firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, was awarded recently awarded with “Law Firm of the Year” & “India Deal Firm of the Year” at ALB India Law Awards 2020, “India – Firm of the Year” at the AsiaLaw Regional Awards 2019 and “India Deal Firm of the Year” at the In-House Community Counsels of the Year Awards 2019. The firm was also named as the “Most Innovative National Law Firm of the Year – India for 2018” at the IFLR Asia Awards, having also been successful in winning the prestigious & coveted “National Law Firm of the Year, 2018 for India” at the Chambers Asia-Pacific Awards. The firm was also voted as the “Employer of Choice for 2020” from India, by the Asian Legal Business, building upon the several awards that the erstwhile Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. had won in the past.