Vedanta to Engage with 100+ Startups in Sustainable and Transformative Technologies

Launches Spark 3.0 initiative with opportunities up to USD 5 million for startups

Tied up with industry leaders such as MeitY and Nasscom's CoE, CII, Forge and Austmine

Vedanta announced the launch of the third edition of Vedanta Spark, their global corporate innovation, accelerator & ventures program aimed at providing over 100 projects opportunities worth up to $5 million to startups in sustainable and transformative technologies.

With the resounding success of the previous two editions, engaging over 80 startups for more than 120 opportunities of around $3.5 million, Spark 3.0 is set to contribute significantly to Vedanta’s transformation and the growth of engaged startups.

Ms. Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Limited & Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited, said, “Vedanta Spark 3.0 is a testament to our commitment towards fostering innovation and collaboration. Through this initiative, we also aim to inculcate a start-up culture by enabling the businesses to collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the nation as well as usher in the next generation of industry leaders. This year we hope to increase focus on ESG transformation through innovative solutions and are also looking to engage with & support more women-led startups.”

Vedanta Spark's approach to fostering start-ups involves inviting solutions for real business challenges. Selected start-ups are provided opportunity to execute projects with Vedanta Group of companies and access to world-class infrastructure, resources, and insights from Vedanta's seasoned in-house experts. This empowers start-ups to refine their products, scale their operations, and achieve sustainable growth.

Mr. Arun Misra, CEO – Zinc Sector, ED - Vedanta Limited, Digital & Spark Anchor highlighted, “The Spark initiative aligns with the Group’s vision of supporting start-ups that leverage ground-breaking technologies to solve real business problems and shape the future of the industry.”

Vedanta has partnered with MeitY and Nasscom's Center of Excellence (CoE) for IoT & AI, CII’s CoE for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Start-ups and leading industry players like Forge Innovation & Ventures and to accelerate engagements involving emerging technologies. The program has also collaborated with global partner Austmine for advancing technology within the natural resources sector.

Mr. Amitesh Sinha, Head - Vedanta Spark, said “Spark 3.0 intends to bring forth more than 100 initiatives with opportunities upto $ 5 mn this year by partnering with innovative startups and utilizing their cutting-edge technologies. This collaboration serves as a powerful catalyst for Vedanta's mission of creating large-scale impact by harnessing open innovation and technologies”.

The initiative focuses on three key areas to drive innovation: enhancing business efficiency, digital transformations and achieving Net Zero sustainability goals. The startups will work across the Vedanta group of companies and provide them with an avenue to showcase their innovative ideas.

With the launch of Vedanta Spark 3.0, Vedanta Group reiterates its commitment to foster innovation and inspire startups to drive positive change, disrupt industries, and create a lasting impact on the global stage.

About Vedanta Limited

Vedanta Limited (“Vedanta”), a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading natural resources companies spanning across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia, UAE, Korea, Taiwan and Japan with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, Nickel, Aluminium, Power & Glass Substrate and foraying into semiconductors and display glass. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector, is committed to reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner and aims to spend $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate this transition. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities.

Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on various social impact programs and its flagship project, Nand Ghar is setting up model anganwadis across India. Vedanta Ltd. has been listed in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index 2022, conferred Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2023. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com

Vedanta Launches Global Corporate Innovation & Ventures program - “Vedanta Spark”

A strategic innovation and investment initiative to accelerate tech start-ups

• Most comprehensive corporate open innovation program in India
• Global program covers 16 opportunity themes and over 75 innovation challenges 
• Focus on Sustainability and ESG, Business Excellence, Exploration and Mining Practices 
• Programme partner: Forge (Incubator for Managed Corporate Innovation & Start-up Accelerator Services that has worked with Ministry of Defence, NITI Aayog) 

The Vedanta Group has announced the launch of "Vedanta Spark", an initiative wherein the company is looking to partner with early-stage, growth stage and venture stage Digital Tech start-ups in order to tap into massive innovation and growth opportunities. The launch event of the global start-up accelerator program will take place on 30 October, 4:00 PM IST.

Through Vedanta Spark, the company seeks young & innovative start-up companies and specialists to come forward and join hands with Vedanta thus unlocking value and growth potential at an accelerated pace.

Vedanta Spark is looking at start-ups from across the globe as part of the program, working in areas such as 360 Degree Sustainability & Excellence in HSE, Operational Excellence – Volume, Recovery & Efficiency Improvement, Asset Optimization and Predictive Maintenance, Exploration, Mining & Blasting, so and so forth.

"We are focused on nurturing Innovation at Vedanta and making it a way of working across all our operations and functions to energize and encourage our passionate leaders to think and act differently. It is our firm belief that by including innovation in everything we do will transform the entire organization and will bring a fresh energy and speed." said Sharad Gargiya, Senior VP, Group Commercial, Vedanta Limited

Speaking on the launch, Anand Laxshmivarahan R, Chief Digital Officer, Vedanta, said "To foster innovative thinking for disruptive ideas, it is essential to engage with people inside as well as outside the organization who can challenge the status-quo and offer a different perspective."

The initiative will offer various advantages for the start-ups - Partnerships & Collaborations, leverage massive capacity & resources of Vedanta group, tech & business expertise and most importantly strategic investments opportunities for the start-ups that offer significant value to Vedanta Limited.

"Easily the most comprehensive corporate open innovation program in India thus far, spanning 16 opportunity themes and over 75 innovation challenges, cutting across several core industrial functions in a globally diversified conglomerate as Vedanta Resources Limited. Envisioned to catalyse the seeding, building and scaling up of a permanent corporate innovation function to exploit start-ups as innovation and growth partners, Vedanta Spark is an amazing opportunity for Forge to execute a global corporate start-up accelerator program." said Mr. Vish Sahasranamam, Co-Founder & CEO, Forge.

The project will start with a discovery phase for start-ups to register on the website www.vedantaspark.com, choose the challenge area according to their expertise and then fill an application form and submit a pitch explaining their technology and benefits for Vedanta.

From an expected 1000+ registrations across the globe, Top 20 start-ups will get a chance to work with the different entities of Vedanta following a thorough evaluation process by expert panels consisting of Vedanta's professionals, domain experts and external mentors from reputed govt. ministries and industrial.

The program partner for Vedanta Spark is Forge (incubator for Managed Corporate Innovation & Start-up Accelerator Services that has worked with Ministry of Defence, NITI Aayog etc.)

About Vedanta Limited

Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world's leading Oil & Gas and Metals Company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing to India's growth story. The company is among the top private sector contributors to the exchequer with the contribution of c. INR 32,400 crore in FY 2020.

Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta Cares is the CSR platform which focuses on enhancing the lives of local communities. The flagship social impact program Nand Ghars are modernized anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. The company has been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, conferred CII-ITC Sustainability Award, the FICCI CSR Award, Dun & Bradstreet Awards in Metals & Mining, and certified as a Great Place to Work. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.