LVL Zero Unveils First Cohort of 10 Gaming Startups

• Cohort spans PC, console, and mobile titles across genres, highlighting rising indie ambition, narrative storytelling, and global-first product thinking

LVL Zero, India’s first-of-its-kind gaming incubator backed by MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and ChimeraVC, announced the selection of 10 startups for its inaugural cohort. Chosen from over 240 applications, the cohort represents a new generation of Indian game developers building for global audiences across PC, console, and mobile platforms.

Selected Startups

• Arckon Arts
• Impulse Mechanics
• Kalp Studio
• Kyrel Games
• Prescription Studios
• Rudrac Games
• Trojan Productions
• Wrought Studio
• Xigma Games
• YK Game Studio

Collectively, these startups reflect the evolving shape of India’s gaming ecosystem, with teams ranging from solo developers to studios of up to 5 team members, and projects across strategy, narrative, puzzle, simulation, and horror genres.

A New Generation of Indian Game Developers

LVL Zero's First Cohort Winners

The cohort highlights a clear shift in Indian game development from mobile-first, services-led work to original IP creation with global ambition. Eight out of the ten selected startups are building for PC and console platforms, signalling a growing push toward premium, high-production-value experiences.

Examples include Metal Haven by Xigma Games, a mid-core 4X strategy title, and Raahi by Kalp Studio, a culturally rooted slice-of-life experience set in a 1990s Goa-inspired town.

Narrative-driven titles such as PHi: The Broken Strings by Kyrel Games and Last Day Lockdown by Wrought Studio reflect a rising focus on emotionally resonant storytelling, while experimental concepts like Chiklet’s Human Products by YK Game Studio highlight unconventional survival mechanics.

(L-R) - Tomoharu Urabe, Managing Director of Investments at MIXI Global Investments, Inc., Deepak MV, Head of Strategy, Nazara 

Diverse Stages, Unified Ambition

• One live product already in the market
• Two titles in beta or soft-launch
• Five in alpha with playable builds or demos
• Early-stage and prototype products under active development

This diversity underscores LVL Zero’s focus on supporting startups across stages while addressing a critical industry gap, helping teams transition from early prototypes to market-ready products.

India’s Cultural Identity Meets Global Design

Several startups in the cohort are incorporating Indian themes, cultural elements, and storytelling into their games, not as a niche, but as a global differentiator. Titles like Raahi and Twin Flames draw from Indian settings, mythology, and philosophy to create experiences designed for international audiences.

Inside the 100-Day Incubation Program

Each selected startup will receive an equity-free grant of USD 10,000, along with access to LVL Zero’s structured 100-day incubation program.

• Ignition (Days 1–15): Define milestones, align with mentors, set execution goals
• Core Build (Days 16–70): Sprint-based development cycles focused on iteration, testing, validation
• Market Readiness (Days 71–100): Go-to-market planning, publisher outreach, investor readiness

Beyond Capital: Building for Scale

In addition to funding, LVL Zero provides:

• Dedicated mentorship from 28+ global industry experts
• Publisher access across PC, console, and mobile ecosystems
• QA and Global Playtesting support
• Investor readiness and fundraising guidance
• Ecosystem access across Nazara Technologies, MIXI Global Investments, and ChimeraVC networks

Industry Voices

Krish Anurag, Managing Partner at Chimera VC: “LVL Zero was built to address a structural gap in the ecosystem where access to capital, distribution, knowledge, and talent existed, but lacked integration. What we’re seeing with this inaugural cohort is a strong validation of that thesis.”

Deepak MV, Head of Strategy, Nazara Technologies: “What’s exciting about this cohort is the clear shift toward original IP and global product thinking. Indian developers are increasingly moving beyond building for just the domestic market.”

Tomoharu Urabe, Managing Director of Investments at MIXI Global Investments: “This cohort represents a new generation of Indian founders who are ready to think and build beyond geographical boundaries. The diversity of ideas and emphasis on design and storytelling is encouraging.”

Strengthening India’s Position in Global Game Development

With its inaugural cohort, LVL Zero aims to play a catalytic role in shaping India’s next generation of game studios, building original IP and competing in global markets from day one.

About LVL Zero

LVL Zero is a first-of-its-kind gaming incubator created by ChimeraVC in partnership with MIXI Global Investments and Nazara Technologies. Headquartered in Bangalore, LVL Zero supports early-stage gaming startups through equity-free grants, mentorship, and access to publishing, distribution, and investor networks.

About MIXI Global Investments, Inc.

MIXI Global Investments (MGI) is the corporate venture capital arm of MIXI, Inc., based in Tokyo and known for its popular mobile game IPs and community-focused live operations.

About Nazara Technologies

Nazara Technologies is India’s only publicly listed gaming company, with businesses across Blue Tile, Curve Games, Kiddopia, Animal Jam, Fusebox Games, World Cricket Championship, Sportskeeda, and more. Website: www.nazara.com

About Chimera VC

ChimeraVC is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on India’s gaming and interactive entertainment ecosystem, backing founders in gaming, tools, and infrastructure.

India’s First Gaming Incubator LVL Zero Receives 240+ Startup Applications

LVL Zero, India’s first-of-its-kind gaming incubator backed by MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC, today announced that it has received more than 240 applications for its inaugural cohort, offering a unique snapshot of India’s emerging early-stage gaming startup ecosystem.

The applications span a diverse range of game studios and gaming ecosystem startups, reflecting a new wave of micro-studio formation, growing platform ambition, and a shift toward globally competitive product thinking among Indian founders. The cohort, which opened applications on January 26, attracted teams building across mobile, PC, console, and gaming infrastructure products.

A significant trend emerging from the applicant pool is the formation of small, early-stage studios, with nearly 46.9% of applicants founded in 2025 and 66.8% established in 2024 or later, highlighting a recent surge of new teams entering the industry. The majority of applicants are micro-teams with a median team size of three to four members, signalling a new generation of founders leveraging modern development tools, engines, and AI to build products with smaller teams.

From a development stage perspective, nearly half of the applicants (46.9%) are currently at the prototype stage, while 19.5% are in alpha, 11.2% in beta, and 11.6% already have live products in the market. This reflects a strong early-stage pipeline where founders are experimenting with ideas and beginning to translate prototypes into scalable products.

PC and Console Ambition on the Rise

The application data also highlights a clear trend toward premium platform ambitions among Indian studios. Around 58.5% of applicants are building for PC, while 36.1% are targeting console platforms, indicating a growing push toward higher-production-value titles alongside mobile gaming.

However, the data also reveals a practical reality: mobile-first studios continue to demonstrate higher shipping velocity, with approximately 25% of mobile-only teams already having live products, compared to significantly lower live rates among PC and console-focused teams. This reflects the faster iteration cycles and monetisation pathways available on mobile platforms.

Live-Service and Data-Driven Design Becoming Core

Even among early-stage teams, the applications show that founders are increasingly designing games with retention, analytics, and live-operations frameworks in mind. Over 30% of applicants referenced live-ops systems, retention metrics, or user acquisition strategies, signalling a shift in how Indian founders approach product architecture from the earliest stages.

Rather than building a game first and optimising later, many startups are embedding monetisation, engagement loops, and player analytics into the product design process itself.

AI Integration Becoming Standard Practice

The applicant pool also demonstrates early and widespread adoption of AI technologies within game development pipelines. Approximately 22.8% of applicants referenced AI, machine learning, or generative systems within their products or infrastructure stacks.

Among gaming infrastructure startups specifically, roughly half referenced AI-driven solutions, focusing on areas such as player analytics, personalisation, growth automation, and retention modelling. This suggests that many early-stage Indian founders view AI as a competitive advantage in building scalable gaming products.

Cultural IP Emerging as a Global Opportunity

Another notable trend is the rise of games inspired by Indian mythology, folklore, and cultural narratives. About 36% of applications referenced Indian themes or cultural storytelling, with the majority of these projects targeting PC and console platforms rather than mobile.

This indicates a growing ambition among developers to create premium narrative-driven experiences rooted in Indian culture, aimed at global audiences rather than purely local markets.

Emerging Gaming Startup Hubs Across India

The applications also highlight the geographic spread of India’s gaming startup ecosystem. The top applicant cities include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Delhi NCR, together accounting for nearly half of the applicant pool.

Among live products, the highest concentration of teams comes from Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, reflecting the presence of established gaming talent pools and industry infrastructure in these regions.

Commenting on the application trends, Sagar Nair, Head of Incubation at LVL Zero, said: “What the applicant pool shows clearly is that India’s gaming ecosystem is entering a new formation phase. We are seeing a surge of small, ambitious studios building across multiple platforms, experimenting with new technologies, and thinking about global audiences from day one. The challenge now is not creativity or ambition, it is execution. The next generation of Indian studios will be defined by how effectively they convert strong prototypes into scalable products, and that is exactly the gap LVL Zero is designed to address.”

LVL Zero’s inaugural cohort will select 10 startups, each receiving an equity-free grant of USD 10,000, along with access to a 100-day execution-first sprint designed to accelerate product development, validation, and market readiness. Through structured milestones, mentorship, and ecosystem support, the program aims to help founders move from early-stage prototypes to playable, market-ready products while preparing them for publisher partnerships, global distribution, and investor engagement.

Over the next five years, LVL Zero aims to support more than 100 gaming and interactive startups, strengthening India’s position as one of the most promising emerging hubs for global game development.

About LVL Zero:

LVL Zero is a first-of-its-kind gaming incubator created by ChimeraVC in partnership with MIXI Global Investments and Nazara Technologies. Announced in 2025 and headquartered in Bangalore, LVL Zero supports early-stage gaming startups across games, platforms, and game tech through an equity-free grant pool of USD 100,000, hands-on mentorship, and access to publishing, distribution, and investor networks. Each cohort selects 10 startups, each receiving USD 10,000 to accelerate product development over a 100-day execution-first sprint. Focused exclusively on the gaming ecosystem, LVL Zero aims to empower over 100 startups in the next five years and build a pipeline of Indian gaming founders ready to launch globally competitive products.

About MIXI Global Investments, Inc.:

MIXI Global Investments (MGI) is the corporate venture capital arm of MIXI, Inc., based in Tokyo and known for its popular mobile game IPs and community-focused live operations. It brings global expertise and networks to help Indian startups engage with international markets and partners.

About Nazara Technologies:

Nazara Technologies is India’s only publicly listed gaming company. Its key businesses include Blue Tile, Curve Games, Kiddopia, Animal Jam, Fusebox Games (Love Island, Big Brother, Bigg Boss), World Cricket Championship and Sportskeeda, along with offline gaming businesses such as Funky Monkeys and Smaaash Entertainment. Nazara also operates Datawrkz, a digital ad tech business. With presence in India, North America, Europe and other global markets, Nazara is building a global gaming platform with strong IP, publishing, and operating capabilities. Website: https://www.nazara.com/

About Chimera VC:

ChimeraVC is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on India’s gaming and interactive entertainment ecosystem. As a first-check investor, Chimera backs founders building in gaming, tools, and infrastructure, while providing strategic support through its deep industry network and ecosystem-led initiatives.

JITO JIIF Launches JITO Incubation Centre (JIC) in New Delhi

In a major boost to India’s thriving startup ecosystem, the JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JITO JIIF) proudly announces the launch of its JITO Incubation Centre (JIC) in the heart of New Delhi. Known for empowering early-stage ventures with the tools, mentorship, and networks they need to scale, JIC’s arrival in the capital is set to redefine the journey of aspiring entrepreneurs.

Located at Anuvrat Bhawan, Mandi House, this new hub brings JIC’s nationally-acclaimed incubation model to one of India’s most dynamic business cities. Since its inception, the JITO Incubation Centre has become a launchpad for transformative ideas across the country—supporting founders not just with funding, but with a full spectrum of strategic guidance, expert mentorship, and meaningful connections.

The Delhi centre promises to continue this legacy by providing startups with access to seasoned industry leaders, global business networks, research facilities, legal and technical assistance, and even ecosystem credits worth over $120,000—all designed to accelerate growth from idea to execution.

But JIC is more than just infrastructure—it’s a thriving community. With the support of over 80 angel funds and incubation partners, and backed by a business network of more than 15,000+ JITO members worldwide, the platform has already helped hundreds of founders turn vision into viable enterprise. The Delhi centre now opens that door for the next generation of entrepreneurs in North India.

“With Delhi rapidly emerging as a hotbed for innovation, this is the perfect time to bring JIC’s proven model to the capital,” said Jeenendra Bhandari , Chairman, JIIF “We are not just incubating businesses—we are building futures. JIC stands as a catalyst for smart, ethical, and sustainable entrepreneurship.”

Aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers are encouraged to apply and become part of a powerful movement where ideas are nurtured and dreams take flight.

About JIIF

JIIF one of India’s fastest growing incubators and angel networks, dedicated to supporting startups with mentorship, resources and funding. With a portfolio of over 150 startups, JIIF is committed to fostering innovation and empowering entrepreneurs across a wide range of sectors.

Supporting 108 startups with ₹260 crore in seven years, JIIF has incubated more than 60 startups and impacted more than 500 startups, with many securing seed funding. Looking ahead, it plans to back 50+ more innovative startups

JIIF Deploys ₹60 Cr in FY 24-25 25 Startups in

JIIF Powers India’s Startup Ecosystem with 108 Startups, Over INR 260 Crores Investment in 7 Years.

Strategically Invests in High-Growth Startups, Incubates 25 Startups Across 3 Cohorts, and Earns National Recognition IN FY 24-25

JIIF, an early-stage business incubator and angel network, continues to strengthen India’s startup ecosystem by strategically investing in high-growth ventures across fintech, health & wellness, logistics, mobility, and artificial intelligence. In FY 24-25 alone, JIIF invested over ₹60+ Crores in more than 20 promising startups like Plan B, Zintlr, Flo lMobility, Store my goods and Almonds AI—reinforcing its commitment to fueling India's next wave of entrepreneurial success.

Within just seven years of operations, JIIF has backed 108 startups with investments exceeding INR 260 Crores, with 20 startups successfully raising their next rounds this year alone. The network has attracted over 750 investors across 30+ cities and 5+ countries, driving more than 108 investments through 7000+ deals.

JIIF has incubated 25 startups through 3 dedicated cohorts, out of which more than 30% have already raised their seed round. Additionally, 30 seed-stage startups incubated by JIIF till date have demonstrated aggressive month-on-month growth, securing next-round funding at 3x-5x higher valuations.

With a strong presence in more than 12 sectors like logistics, fintech, GIS, social networking, and biotechnology, JIIF provides both growth capital and strategic mentorship to next-generation enterprises. “We are committed to identifying and supporting early-stage startups that are redefining industries with disruptive technologies and innovative business models. Our INR 60 Crore investment in 2024-2025 is a testament to our mission of driving India’s next wave of entrepreneurial success,” said Jeenendra Bhandari, Chairman, JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation.

These investments are empowering startups to scale operations and enhance technological advancements. Flo Mobility is advancing autonomous vehicle technology, while Plan B and Zintlr are optimizing supply chains and customer acquisition. Elixia is optimising cold chain operations using best-in-class AI-driven technology amalgamated with deep-seated industry expertise while Ohi is making digital chatrooms at spaces like cafes, airport lounges, and hotels for building communities of humans in the real world. Almonds AI is leading the way in AI-driven enterprise solutions, with funding fueling infrastructure expansion, technology upgrades, and go-to-market strategies.

Further solidifying its position, JIIF has earned recognition from both central and state governments and was recently named the Best Incubation Centre by Entrepreneur India. Looking ahead, JIIF aims to invest in 50+ new startups across emerging technology domains, continuing to foster innovation and scale India’s startup ecosystem.

About JIIF

JIIF one of India’s fastest growing incubators and angel networks, dedicated to supporting startups with mentorship, resources and funding. With a portfolio of over 150 startups, JIIF is committed to fostering innovation and empowering entrepreneurs across a wide range of sectors. Visit www.jitojiif.com

DPIIT, along with Villgro, Announce 25 Selected Incubators for the National Incubator Capacity Development Program

• Villgro will commence their 3-month-long National Incubator Capacity Development Program with 25 incubators.
• Leading experts and industry stalwarts will provide intensive mentorship and advisory support to the incubators.
• The program adopts a cohort-based hybrid approach which includes expert-led virtual and physical sessions, exposure to national and international best practices, and donor networking
• The program aims to build sustainable incubators and create an enabling ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive.

The National Incubator Capacity Development Program, by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has announced the selection of the Top-25 incubators that will go through an intensive 3-month mentorship, advisory, and capacity-building program. The initiative, in association with Villgro, is part of the Start-up India campaign. It is dedicated to nurturing social startups and entrepreneurs and propelling the rapid expansion of India's thriving startup ecosystem.

The program, over a period of 12 weeks, adopts a cohort-based hybrid approach to enhance the skills and abilities of the incubators. It includes a comprehensive set of self-learning modules, virtual and physical boot camps, exposure visits, and customized learning for incubator heads and sessions dedicated to efficiently managing the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). These sessions will be provided by a distinguished group of incubator business advisors, including PR Ganapathy, Chand Das, Rama Kannan, Sandeep Jain, etc.

Additionally, participants will gain access to VITALS (Villgro Information Tracking and Learning System), a technology-based information system designed to track enterprise incubation progress.

Speaking about the program, Srinivas Ramanujam, CEO of Villgro, said, "Incubators play a pivotal role in nurturing social enterprises and transforming India's vibrant startup ecosystem. Over the last 22 years, we have observed this first-hand and have been perfecting our incubation model. We aim to strengthen the capacity of the incubators by sharing our expertise and wide networks through intensive mentorship and advisory support. We hope to catalyze their growth and create a thriving ecosystem for social innovation.”

“The National Incubator Capacity Building Program is launched to help build quality incubators across the country with an emphasis towards Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and encourage cross-learning from larger cities and lighthouse incubators to address the needs of startups building for Bharat. The training program with industry veterans and experts will provide valuable insights and expertise that will be instrumental in shaping the dynamic cohort of 25 incubators, empowering them with the necessary support and mentorship to create an enabling ecosystem for entrepreneurs to flourish,” said Prashanth Prakash, Member of the National Startup Advisory Council and Partner at Accel.

Given the presence of over 99,000+ DPIIT-recognized startups nationwide, coupled with hundreds of incubators across the country, the imperative to establish and bolster new incubators has become paramount. However, there remains a limited level of training, sensitization, and knowledge building for new incubator managers and their teams, especially in emerging cities and beyond India's metros. The National Incubator Capacity Development Program seeks to bridge this gap by providing hands-on training and growth hacks for incubators to ensure their sustainability.

The Startup India Platform hosted a call for applications, inviting incubators from all over India to participate, that attracted 83 applications. After initial screening, the jury panel, comprising experts from various industries, conducted a rigorous evaluation of Top-35 applications. Out of these, 25 exceptional incubators were selected to be part of the program. The final incubator cohort support startups from diverse sectors, including Women Entrepreneurship, Education, Mobility, Agriculture, Rural Innnovations, and Climate Action among many others. The 25 incubators participating in the Incubating Incubator program are —

1. Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society,
2. AIC ADT Baramati Foundation,
3. AIC - SKU Confederation,
4. AIC BV Foundation,
5. AIC Raise Foundation,
6. BSC BioNEST Bio-Incubator,
7. RCB Faridabad,
8. Agri Business Incubation Foundation,
9. IIT Kharagpur,
10. IIMV Foundation for Incubation Entrepreneurial Learning and Development,
11. AIC-JKLU (Atal Incubation Center-JK Lakshmipat University),
12. Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council,
13. MOTION CoE, AIC-RNTU Foundation,
14. EdVenture Incubation Foundation,
15. AIC BAMU Foundation,
16. IIT Bhubaneswar Research And Entrepreneurship Park,
17. AIC Banasthali Vidyapith Foundation,
18. AICNIFTTEA Incubation Centre,
19. PDEU Innovation and Incubation Centre,
20. ANGRAU R Agri Business Incubator,
21. FOUNDATION FOR CfHE,
22. K L Technology Incubators Foundation,
23. Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration, 
24. BioNEST-BHU InnoResTech Foundation,
25. IIM Kashipur Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Development, STEP (Shakti-The Empathy Project).

The National Incubator Capacity Development Program represents a significant milestone in the development of India's startup ecosystem. NICDP will empower and equip a pathway to the incubators' sustainability. By empowering incubators with the necessary knowledge and resources, the program also aims to foster an environment conducive to innovation, job creation, and social impact. 

Deloitte Launches Global Generative-AI Incubator in India

Deloitte, on Tuesday, announced the launch of its Global Generative AI Market Incubator in India.

The Global Generative AI Market Incubator launched in India serves as a global centre of excellence for innovation in the field of Generative AI to serve businesses in India and across the globe.

The Incubator will work with Deloitte’s member firms globally to solve client problems with Generative AI, ensuring rapid and repeatable delivery of Gen AI capabilities via POCs (Proof of Concepts).

Currently, Deloitte has active global engagements in areas of drug discovery, customer experience, content generation, and personal avatars, with over 100 corporations demonstrating the growing relevance of Generative AI in democratising artificial intelligence. This is also a significant step towards nurturing tech innovation and talent in India, ultimately enabling enterprises to achieve their business objectives.

The AI Incubator will use deep industry sector and AI/ML expertise to create multi-disciplinary models built on design thinking for speed, faster time-to-market, and immediate value generation in critical projects.

Earlier in June, Deloitte India collaborated with the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) to launch Startup Governance Playbook. 

The launch of the Global Generative AI Market Incubator by Deloitte also aligns with the Indian government’s overall agenda of nurturing tech talent and AI-driven opportunities.

Commemorating the launch, Nitin Mittal, Deloitte Global Consulting Emerging Markets Leader, said, "Our focus is to harness generative AI's disruptive potential in partnership with our key alliances by leveraging our targeted industry solutions that help clients realise sustainable business outcomes and achieve real transformations."

He added, “To catalyse the market, we are collaborating with premier academic institutions and industry bodies and rapidly scaling trained generative AI talent pool across skills. This will nurture local tech talent and provide them more opportunities to serve global clients from India on these fast-evolving technologies.”

Sathish Gopalaiah, President, Consulting at Deloitte India, said, "As pioneers, we are creating industry-leading capabilities while helping customers navigate emerging challenges and disruptions.

Through this initiative, we aim to resolve unique industry cases by providing the right strategy and drawing on the strengths of our collaboration with alliance partners.

We officially launched the Gen AI practice in June this year. This launch shall further accelerate Gen AI deployments and bring global best practices.”

The Global Generative AI Market Incubator initiative propels Deloitte India onto the global stage, ushering in new growth opportunities and cross-functional learning for professionals. It reinforces the organisation’s focus and commitment towards investment in India to shape the future of technology.

T-Hub Emerges as the Winner of National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator

T-Hub's outstanding contribution to techno-entrepreneurship is recognised with a National Technology Award.

National Technology Awards acknowledge pioneering innovations and technological advancements in India.

T-Hub, India's leading innovation hub and ecosystem enabler has been declared the recipient of the esteemed National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator. The award, presented as part of the National Technology Week 2023, recognises T-Hub's exceptional contribution to the promotion of techno-entrepreneurship development and the establishment of innovative, technology-driven startup enterprises in various technological domains.

The National Technology Awards, organised by the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, aims to acknowledge and reward Indian companies that have successfully commercialised indigenous innovative technologies. These awards, presented under five distinct categories—Main, MSME, Startup, Translational Research and Technology Business Incubator—provide a platform for the recognition of Indian industries and their technology providers who contribute to the vision of "Aatma Nirbhar Bharat" by fostering innovation and bringing new ideas to the market.

Mahankali Srinivas Rao (MSR), CEO, T-Hub said, "We are honoured to receive the National Technology Award for Best Technology Business Incubator.The recognition validates our unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and empowering startups to thrive. We are profoundly grateful to the Telangana government for their invaluable support, which has been instrumental in our journey. T-Hub's success is a testament to the collective efforts of our team and the invaluable partnerships we have forged with global and national corporate entities. We extend our gratitude to the Department of Science and Technology for this prestigious accolade."

T-Hub's win in the Technology Business Incubator category highlights its outstanding dedication to nurturing the growth of startups through its robust ecosystem. The incubator has played a pivotal role in the development of India's startup landscape, enabling startups to raise an impressive USD 1.9 billion in funding. T-Hub's extensive market connects, totalling over 3000, have helped startups gain a strong foothold in their respective industries, resulting in the creation of over 12,000 jobs. T-Hub has impacted more than 2500 startups, providing them with mentorship and support to scale their businesses through its comprehensive programs and initiatives.

ABOUT T-HUB

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

ITLH Shines Bright as a Tech Incubator With 160% Growth; Primed to Set Up a 2-Day Product Design Bootcamp Celebrating National Technology Day

• One of the leading incubators for tech employability and UI/UX design courses, ITLH is ready to celebrate National Technology Day with a live 2-day product design bootcamp
• The tier-2 and tier-3 cities have shown massive participation in the ITLH courses showing an increase in numbers by 16%
• Female participation in the courses has also touched stupendous numbers

Information Technology Learning Hub (ITLH), a fast-growing incubator that helps students gain proficiency in coding skills and knowledge through real-life practical experience, has recorded an immense increase in demand for their UI/UX courses. The company has disclosed that it has seen a 160% growth in the number of students enrolled. The cherry on top of such a stupendous rise is that ITLH has also been a leader in alleviating the gender gap in the tech industry by having 57% female students in comparison to 43% male students. Creating an overarching platform for every candidate from all around the country, ITLH has also seen an increase in enrollment from students from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, who stand dominant at 58% compared to tier 1’s 42%.

Some of the prominent cities that top the ITLH course engagement list are Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Navi Mumbai, and Nagpur. Further, ITLH, which prides itself on creating proficient professionals for the tech industry through its experiential learning approach that adheres to industry practices and projects, is gearing up to celebrate National Technology Day. There would be a live 2-day (20th and 21st May 2023) product design bootcamp to celebrate the day and remind us all of the importance of technology and the awareness of practical education in tech-based courses. The boot camp will be online to help participants understand product design principles, techniques, and tools.

Mr. Goncalo Marques, a reputed UI/UX designer, will be the prime mentor during the bootcamp. As a mentor, he will share intricate industry knowledge with all the participants. Mr. Marques has worked in areas such as design, competitive analysis, heuristic evaluations, and user research as a UI/UX and product designer. Despite coming from a music and B2B IT sales background, he has always been passionate about design. Over the last decade, he has taken a greater interest in web and product design. In addition to developing as an artist and a UI/UX designer, he also became a consultant and a researcher through the projects he worked on.

Speaking about the development, Alex George,Chairman & Managing Director of ITLH, said, “It is a moment of elation for us at ITLH that we are growing at such marvelous speed. The enrollments don’t just show the importance of tech-employability in our modern world; rather, they also signify a very overarching engagement, with many of our students being female and many coming from smaller cities. Here’s hoping that the product design bootcamp will see massive participation.”

Founded in 2015, ITLH aims to provide students and professionals with best-in-class practical skills that enhance employability and career development. The platform offers well-curated courses in UI/UX, Machine Learning, Full Stack Web Development, UI Development, and Mean Stack Development. Promoting continuous learning across India, ITLH has also begun to gain traction in countries such as the UAE, Africa, and Canada.

Govt Approves Rs 611 Crores for 165 Incubators Under Seed Fund Scheme of Startup India

The government has allocated Rs 611 crore to the incubator under the scheme of seed fund that is to provide initial capital, which was started for the encouragement of startup in the country, out of this 611 crore fund Rs 61 crore, till date, have been given to start-ups.

A senior official reported on Tuesday that new startups found eligible through Incubator (an institution that initially supports new startups) are being given economic support through this fund.

Manmeet Nanda, Joint Secretary in the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade ( DPIIT), told reporters here that within two years of the commencement of the scheme, it proved helpful in promoting innovation.

The government launched the ‘ Startup India Seed Fund Scheme ’ in April 2021 with an allocation of Rs 945 crore. This fund amount is to be allocated till FY 2024-2025.

Nanda said that so far 165 incubators have been selected under this scheme and the government has approved Rs 611 crore for them. He said, "so far more than 1,000 startups have benefited from the scheme."

He said that the department will be able to use the sum of Rs 945 crore under the scheme and a separate amount will also be demanded if needed.

12 Food Tech Startups from Around the World Join the ProVeg Incubator

The 10th cohort focuses on high-impact technologies, regions, and solutions

Twelve pioneering, impact-driven startups, hailing from Thailand, Singapore, China, Israel, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK and the US, have joined the ProVeg Incubator for the 10th edition of its world-renowned accelerator programme for plant-based, fermentation and cultured food startups.

The team were looking for the most impactful food tech and biotech as well as ingredients solutions to speed up the transformation of our unsustainable food system. Here’s who they found.

The 12 startups joining Cohort 10:

Be Better My Friend (Netherlands, 2021): Founders Marikevan Beurden and Joost Lindeman have developed plant-based butter and cream alternatives for professional pastry chefs. Find out more at bebettermyfriend.com

FoodSquared (UK, 2021): Founders Frankie Fox, Wesley Yland, and Abi Aspen Glencross are using a ‘patent pending’ process and proprietary ingredient formulations to create next-generation plant-based shellfish, starting with plant-based shrimp. Find out more at foodsquared.earth

Ergo Bioscience (Argentina/US, 2020): Founders Alejandro Barbarini, Maria Laura Garcia, and Eduardo Peña develop complex animal proteins by plant cell precision fermentation. Find out more at ergofoods.com

Plant Origin (Thailand, 2022): Founders Pasakorn Niratbhand, Patarachet Soodsaguan, Panu Srisawasdi, and Akkasit Jongjareonrak are developing plant-based protein alternatives using hydrolyzed rice bran protein, which is extracted from byproducts of rice production. Find out more at plantorigin.co

Fattastic Technologies (Singapore, 2022): Founder Satnam Singh is developing a plant-based fat alternative that improves the sensory properties of alternative protein products with its innovative ‘oil structuring technology’. Find out more at fattastic.tech

Propel Foods (Mexico, 2022): Founders Joel González Gómez and Jayat Elena González Palomeras are using artificial intelligence to produce frozen, ready-to-eat, plant-based meals including tacos, burgers and chorizos with a strong emphasis on health and nutrition. Find out more at propelfoods.com

Algrow Biosciences (Singapore, 2022): Founders Sudhir Kumar Pasupuleti and Sukhi Wei create sustainable and nutritious protein using microalgae. Their clean-label process for removing chlorophyll results in a taste- and colour-neutral protein-rich biomass with a complete amino acid profile, packed with omega-3, iron, and potassium, that can be produced at a cost that is 85% compared to its competitors. Find out more at algrowbiosciences.co

MycoSure (South Africa, 2021): Founders Charles Reed, Greg Brown and James McLaren are developing mycelium-based fermentation technology to provide nutraceutical ingredients in a scalable and cost-effective way. Their B2B platform strategy is to supply branded ingredients to the food and beverage sector. Find out more at mycosure.co.za

StarPlants (China/Israel, 2021): Founders Eran Dubovi and Udi Baran run a plant-based food company specialising in chick pea milk and snacks. The company, which is based in China and led by owners based in Israel, develops, manufactures, and sells the products. Find out more at starplants.com.cn

SomaTech (Ireland, 2023): Founders Dr Tony Martin Callaghan and Dr Alejandra Omarini have developed a scalable solid state fermentation platform that uses fungal mycelium to upcycle locally produced side streams, creating affordable, functional protein-rich food ingredients. (No website currently).

Sticta Biologicals (Chile, 2021): Founders Eduardo Agosin and Andres Ariztia have developed a proprietary microbial platform that uses precision fermentation to produce proteins and natural biochemicals for the food, agriculture and wellbeing sectors. The company’s SmartSerumTM, all-in–one, customised serum-free culture media includes proteins and ingredients for the mass production of cultivated meats. Find out more at sticta.com

Bygg Foods (US, 2022): Founder Smári Ásmundsson is developing a product line including plant-based milk and vegan protein powder, created from upcycled ingredients. Bygg aims to cater to millennials and Gen Z consumers who prioritise health and environmental consciousness. The company aims to expand to a range of plant-based food and beverage categories. Find out more at byggfoods.com

Cohort 10 in Numbers

• 12 startups under 3 years old
• 4 startups from the Asia-Pacific region
• 4 startups from North and Latin America
• 3 startups from Europe
• 1 startup from Africa
• 7 are ingredients companies
• 5 are consumer products companies
• 5 are precision and biomass fermentation companies

Applicants came from 42 countries around the world. Startups in Asia and Europe led the charge, with 29% based in Asia, 29% in Europe, 21% in North America (including Mexico), 12% in South America, 4% in Africa, and 3% in the Australian continent.

Trends we’re seeing:

Next-gen nutrition. The ultra-processed argument against many plant-based products is a hot topic. By applying AI, upcycling side streams of the food industry and leveraging new ingredients, the startups in our cohort aim to provide clean label, nutritious, healthy and less-processed solutions, as this is top of the list for consumers, food producers, retail and food service.

The rise of Asia Pacific. We’re increasingly speaking to startups in this region, echoing the recent findings by the Good Food Institute APAC that investments into alternative protein companies in Asia Pacific rose by 43% from 2021 to 2022 in all three pillars of alternative proteins: plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated.

Precision and biomass fermentation (mycelium). The trend to leverage different fermentation approaches continues to be strong. We’re seeing more startups developing products and enabling tech in these areas. The offerings are promising in terms of impact, potential scale-up and sustainability.

Precision fermentation platforms as enablers. This is an exciting area and we’re seeing more startups exploring it for creating cultivated meat mediums, and plant cell cultivation as a new way to express complex animal proteins like caseins and myoglobin.

Innovative plant-based solutions to replace conventional ingredients. We’re seeing new and promising alternatives coming through, combined with B2B models, including butter, egg, milk and seafood, both for food producers and food service.

Tough investment landscape. Startups are finding it harder to find lead investors and close rounds, while rounds and due diligence are taking longer. Many investors are less active and are focusing on portfolio support.

About the ProVeg Incubator

The ProVeg Incubator is designed to support mission-driven startups working on plant-based, fermentation, and cultured-food products and technologies. Startups must have the potential to remove animals from the global food system, either by providing alternatives or with supporting technology.

The ProVeg Incubator, which is based in Berlin, Germany, is particularly interested in startups developing egg, seafood, and chicken alternatives, as well as other meat and dairy alternatives, ingredients and technologies that can help substitute animal-derived staple products on a mass scale. Focus areas include functional ingredients, precision fermentation and biomass fermentation, cell-cultivation and molecular farming, along with the enabling tech, processes, and platforms.

What does the programme include?

Startups that join the ProVeg Incubator are supported with a tailor-made accelerator programme, one-on-one expert mentoring, access to the Incubator’s extensive networks of industry contacts, and up to €300,000 in funding and in-kind services.

Since its launch in late 2018, the ProVeg Incubator has supported more than 80 startups from around the world, including Remilk, Better Nature, Vly Foods, Bosque Foods, Haofood, Omni, Kern Tec, Greenwise, Mushlabs, Formo, Hooked, the Live Green Company, and the Nu Company.

Collectively, the ProVeg Incubator’s alumni have raised more than €250 million, with products stocked in over 15,000 stores worldwide.

Startups that join have access to a global network including mentors such as Lisa Feria (Stray Dog Capital), Mark Post (Mosa Meat), Ryan Bethencourt (Wild Earth), David Benzaquen (Mission: Plant LLC), David Brandes (Peace of Meat), Frank Cordesmeyer (Good Seed Ventures), among many others.

ProVeg Incubator facts and figures

• Number 1: ProVeg Incubator was the first incubator for plant-based and cultured food startups when it began in 2018 and continues to lead the charge
• Mission-driven: ProVeg Incubator is part of the not-for-profit food awareness organisation ProVeg International https://proveg.com/
• Not-for-profit: All funds are reinvested in ProVeg’s overarching mission to reduce global animal consumption by 50% by the year 2040.
• Unique: ProVeg Incubator is the only accelerator programme with a mission to take animals out of the value chain, with all potential gains reinvested in charitable work
• Focused on startups: The team has screened more than 1,000 startups and worked with more than 80 alumni companies from all over the world through its programmes

More than the sum of its parts: ProVeg Incubator is not just an accelerator, or an investor, but a global organisation with partners across industries, spanning both commercial and Not-for-profit. 

TECHIN Inaugurates Technology Incubation Space for Incubatees to Set up Office

Offers state of the art technology and cutting-edge tools to its teams

Six Incubatees present their technology-based products

The incubation space of the Technology Innovation Foundation of IIT Palakkad (TECHIN) was inaugurated by Prof. Ramesh Venkateswaran, Chairman, IIT Palakkad along with Prof. Ligy Philip, Civil Engineering Department, IIT Madras on the 29th of July 2022 in the presence of Prof. Sunil Kumar P B, Director, IIT Palakkad, Dr. Santhakumar Mohan, Dean ICSR, IIT Palakkad and Director, TECHIN, Ms. Anuradha Shankar, CEO, TECHIN, Dr. Anoop Akkoorath and Dr. Dinesh Jagadeesan, Executive Committee Members, TECHIN, faculty and staff of IIT Palakkad and TECHIN.

 

Inauguration of TECHIN Incubation space

The TECHIN incubation space is spread over 4500 square feet and is located at the V Square building, NH 544 Kanjikode, Palakkad. This space is ideally meant for incubatees to have their offices and workplace. Out of the companies/teams who are in the incubation stage, a few are working out of the incubation space and the other three from their respective cities. Every incubator uses the space when they come for testing or prototyping. At the time of the inauguration, the six teams of TECHIN presented their products focusing on technology-based initiatives.

Prof. Ramesh Venkateswaran, Chairman, IIT Palakkad while congratulating the TECHIN team said, "The incubation journey is like travelling on a highway is filled with challenges; one has to adapt and overcome to attain success."

Prof. Sunil Kumar, Director, IIT Palakkad opined that, "TECHIN worked with the current incubatees even during the worst of COVID-19 conditions and now we hope they will grow by leaps and bounds."

"TECHIN is a collaborative entity. We bring key stakeholders from the industry, including manufacturing companies to support these incubatees. Furthermore, Govt agencies and NGOs in the specific domains provide real testing sites and facilitate data collection. We also encourage and induce cross pollination between domains and bring various experts and professionals with relevant expertise to support and mentor the teams. To cite an example, we rope in sanitation domain experts and workers for the Sanitation domain platform and medical professionals and medical college personnel to the MedTech domain. This enables deeper focus on the solution to iron out the issues from a 360-degree perspective," said Ms. Anuradha, CEO, TECHIN.

Facilities & Benefits at TECHIN

The facilities that are offered at the space is Rapid prototyping fabrication facilities ranging from CNC routers, laser cutters, plasma cutters, milling machines, welding, electronics stations, 3D printing in polymers, chemical Analysis equipment, testing equipment and many tools are available in the innovation lab. Even the facilities of IIT Palakkad are accessible to the teams including 3D printing in Metal alloys, lathe, PCB development, etc.

Apart from world-class cutting-edge technologies that IIT Palakkad and TECHIN offers, other benefits that companies can utilize here are: technical support from prototyping to scale manufacturing, business mentoring be it B2B or B2C or any market scenario, access to Angel and Venture capital networks specific to the domain, connections to Govt and NGO entities for field trials, support for certification and testing, Product Showcase, deployment support, training of maintenance and service personnel for the Sanitation domain projects, access to medical college and engineering personnel and professionals for the MedTech domain projects, support for regulatory compliance and facilitate hiring of interns for the early stages.

For more information and to understand us better, please visit: techin-iitpkd.org.

About TECHIN

Technology Innovation Foundation of IIT Palakkad (TECHIN) a startup incubator provides world class business and technical mentoring, access to rapid prototyping facilities and fund, connection to market.

  

Introducing 'mach33.aero' an Accelerator and Incubation Platform for Entrepreneurs in Aerospace and Allied Industries

First of its kind accelerator and incubation platform mach33.aero is launched in a unique public-private partnership to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the aerospace and allied industries

Social Alpha, an initiative supported by Tata Trusts, along with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC, an enterprise under Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of S&T, Govt. of India) and CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial research (CSIR), today announced the launch of mach33.aero.

mach33.aero is set to be the first Public-Private Partnership in India focused on accelerating innovations in Aerospace. mach33.aero will develop a support eco-system for nurturing start-ups in aerospace and allied engineering housed at a dedicated state-of-the-art centre in the CSIR-NAL campus in Bangalore, with a vision to expand its reach to new geographies in the future.

Speaking on the launch, Ratan N Tata, Chairman -Tata Trusts, said --

I am pleased to note that CSIR-NAL and Social Alpha have joined hands to promote innovations in aerospace engineering with wide ranging applications across Aviation, Defence, Agriculture, and Climate technologies. I hope a number of high impact and scalable solutions emerge from this initiative, creating a new wave of technology entrepreneurship in the country.

mach33.aero’s focus will lie in the fields of Aviation, Defence, Space Exploration and Climate Action among others. Its “lab-to-market” model will act as a catalyst to accelerate innovations and entrepreneurship while promoting start-ups and SME’s in sectors of national strategic importance. mach33.aero will leverage innovations to build solutions for some of our toughest challenges with the help of advanced systems and frontier technologies like Robotics, AI/ML/Data Science, Nanotech, Material Science, Advanced Manufacturing, Cryogenics etc.

Commodore (Retd.) Amit Rastogi, Chairman and MD, NRDC said, “As a JV partner of mach33.aero, NRDC has forged strong links with the scientific and industrial community in India and abroad and developed a wide network of research institutions, academia and industry and made formal arrangements with them for the commercialization of know-how developed. NRDC has concluded more than 5000 technology license agreements to large number of small and medium scale industries paving the way for the success of indigenous technologies and creation of wealth. With its expertise in establishing and successfully running the start-ups, NRDC will support incubatees of mach33.aero with professional services like IPRs search, analysis, filing, market survey, feasibility report, technical consultancy, expert advice etc., and/or any other kind of technical services."

With access to multi-stage funding, regional, national and global market linkages, mach33.aero will offer start-ups strategic connections with government, academia and industry resources and accelerate pathways for technology commercialisation and also encourage scientists and engineers to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities . This unique model will also allow access to physical and virtual infrastructure, certification and testing facilities to carry out pilots for product deployment and validation.

Mr. Jitandra J Jadhav, Director, NAL thanked Social Alpha and NRDC for coming forward to set-up mach33.aero at CSIR-NAL campus, which aspires to be the foremost platform that accelerates growth of intellectual property and indigenous manufacturing in Aerospace and Defense with multidisciplinary applications, including selected dual use technologies. He stated that, “In recent years, start-ups have been receiving increased attention in many parts of the world especially in the aerospace sector. With the emergence of start-ups backed by leading industries the aerospace technology is propelling us into the future of transportation, be it autonomous vehicles and UAV, Hybrid & electric regional aircrafts, Electric VTOL aircraft, Air Taxi’s, High Altitude Platform, New Space (communication, research space exploration), Aircraft connectivity & entertainment, Traffic control management etc., CSIR-NAL has developed many aerospace technologies which will be of interest to start-ups, to name a few like UAV-multi-copter for agricultural and medical applications, Wankel engine for UAVs, autoclaves for composite fabrication, multi-zone hot bonder composite repair, eco-friendly process for aircraft aluminium alloys etc., With its expertise, knowledgebase in the aerospace sector supported with several advanced test facilities, CSIR-NAL is embarked to provide start-ups with aerospace technologies, technical assistance/expert advice, test facilities and skill development programmes in aerospace design, development & manufacturing areas”. He called upon young and budding entrepreneurs to make use of the opportunity and contribute to the sustainable economic growth of the country.

Dr. Shekhar C Mande, Secretary DSIR & DG, CSIR while virtually inaugurating the mach33.aero congratulated team Social Alpha, NRDC and CSIR-NAL for setting up a first of its kind incubation Centre in the country to create and support eco-system for nurturing start-ups in aerospace and allied engineering. This will catalyse, incubate and accelerate start-ups and SMEs towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in these sectors of national strategic importance. He added that, “mach33.aero would lead a deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship promotion in areas of wide-ranging applications across diverse sectors like SpaceTech, Defence, Air Mobility, Agriculture, Climate Change, Natural Resources Management, Insurance and Weather Forecasting.”

Transitioning deep science and technology start-ups from "lab-to-market" is extremely complex and requires a multi-stage innovation curation and de-risking model. Innovators may need support and guidance for establishing product-market fit, pilots and validations, capital access, regulatory pathways and accelerated market entry. Social Alpha’s architecture integrates the innovation, incubation and investment ecosystems to support mission-driven founders throughout their “lab-to-market” journey.

Talking about the unique partnership Manoj Kumar, Founder and CEO of Social Alpha and Chairperson – mach33.aero said –

mach33.aero combines the Aerospace Research and Engineering leadership of National Aerospace Laboratories, technology commercialisation prowess of NRDC and the venture development model of Social Alpha. This is a unique partnership that will further strengthen the science and technology start-up ecosystem in the country.

This new joint venture promises to offer a platform for industry, academia and government to promote innovation, indigenous manufacturing and a means to promote dual use tech in Agriculture, healthcare, climate change and natural resource management among others.

Incubation Centre for Startups in Ayurveda Sector Launching on Friday

India's Ayush Minister, Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal, will inaugurate the Incubation Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIIA- iCAINE) at All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), on Friday (29th Oct 2021) at a program organized in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

To promote entrepreneurship leveraging the academic knowledge, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), has set up an Incubation and Innovation Centre in its campus to nucleate a cluster of new age ventures. 

AIIA has been recognized as Host Institute (HI) under Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India which would provide opportunities to the innovators in developing and nurturing their ideas.

The incubation centre will be set up under the mandate of Ministry of Ayush given to AIIA to nucleate a cluster of new age ventures and to promote entrepreneurship leveraging the academic knowledge. "Startups are new types of wealth creators in our country", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech on 15 August, 2021, underscoring the need of the government to relentlessly work towards making India’s Startups and the Startup Ecosystem, the best in the world. Government of India is implementing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) through States/UTs for development and promotion of AYUSH system of medicine.

A national seminar on "Start-ups in Ayush Sector- Scope and Opportunities (AYUR-UDYAMAH)” is also being organized on 30th October as a part of the program. 

The event will witness representatives from Ayurveda Sector across the country, and about 400 AYUSH institutes and MoU partners working in collaboration with AIIA.

In August, it was announced that World's first Bio-Bank of Ayurveda will be established at AIIA. 

On 30th Oct 2021, during National seminar at AIIA campus, Eminent Speakers from Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), IIT, NCISM, NIFTEM, Food Technologists, Entrepreneurs will be sharing their expertise. An Ayurveda Food Expo will also be organized during the event to exhibit strength of Ayurveda in Food Sector.

The event will also include Launch of Qualification Packs for AYUSH Sub Sector Skill Council under Health Sector Skill Council (HSCC). AIIA is acting as a nodal organization under the directions of Ministry of AYUSH in the execution of skill development programs in AYUSH sector since 2018 and the Ministry has designated AIIA as the centre of excellence in skill development under HSSC.

iTIC Incubator, IIT Hyderabad to Invest More Than INR 1 Cr into 6 Deep Tech Startups Working on Autonomous Navigation

TiHAN iTIC signing

• A joint program by iTIC Incubator and TiHAN.
• Area of interest include Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems (UAVs, ROVs, etc)
• Selected 6 startups at the idea and prototype stages for this year.
• Startups to get total support of more than INR 1 Cr

Hyderabad: October 11, 2021: As part of the iTIC-TiHAN IITH incubation program, iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad recently selected 6 startups from across India, working in the field of Autonomous Navigation to support them via pre-incubation and incubation support. An onboarding ceremony was organized to facilitate and give a boost to top-notch startups working in this area.

iTIC Incubator is investing up to INR 25 Lakhs each in prototype-ready startups namely UAVIO Labs which is working on building sentient drones, Alog Tech building an autonomous indoor logistics ecosystem for warehousing, and Aviac who are working on Ecological Monitoring using drones. iTIC is also investing up to INR 10 Lakhs each in early-stage startups namely Rovonize who is building surveillance UAVs, Qotpars who are making the finest drones for video and photo applications, and Adiabetic who are working on the passive thermal cooling system for li-ion battery packs.

Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad & President of iTIC and TiHAN, while welcoming the startups and entrepreneurs said, “Technology Development and more importantly, its deployment has always been a focus of IIT Hyderabad. Through the incubation activities, we wish to provide the startups the right ecosystem for successful commercialization of these innovations”.

Speaking on the TiHAN program, Prof Rajalakshmi, Project Director TiHAN said, “Through the TiHAN program, IIT Hyderabad focusing on building research capabilities in the domain of Autonomous Navigation, UAVs and ROVs. In addition to the startups, these facilities will also be available for researchers, industry at large”.

“With these new additions, the Autonomous Navigation Entrepreneurial Community at iTIC becomes much more stronger and diverse. We are committed to support the creation of at least one unicorn in this domain in the next five years”, added Prof Suryakumar S, Faculty-in-charge, Incubation, Innovation, and Startup.

Other than investments the startups will be supported with structured mentorship, co-working space, access to maker lab, and access to IITH infrastructure. iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad supports deep tech startups and is going to support more and more startups from the domain of Autonomous Navigation in the coming months.

Soon A Technology Business Incubator in IET Lucknow, Two New Courses in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

The Technology Business Incubator will be set up at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), a constituent institution of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU). The Executive Council of the University gave in-principle consent on this on Tuesday. Now the proposal related to this will be sent to the Department of Science and Technology for approval. Vice Chancellor Prof. In the meeting chaired by Vinay Kumar Pathak, it was also agreed to start two new courses in IET.

After getting the grant from Department of Science and Technology (DST), government of India, in the Technology Business Incubator, work will be done on Electric Vehicle and Industrial Automation. The institute will train the people associated with it and also conduct research in this area.

Electric vehicle is a big need of today, in view of which the institute has started work on it. In the meeting, two new courses will be started in IET from the new session, which include MTech (Artificial Intelligence and Data Science) and BTech Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence).

Pro. Pathak informed that in compliance with the new education policy in the meeting, BTech Computer Science in Hindi will also be conducted in the affiliated institutions of the university. Work on this has started after getting the green signal from the Academic Council in the past.

In the meeting, it was also approved for compassionate appointment to the dependents of one teacher and two employees who were serving and recently died in the university. The minutes of the Building Committee, Academic Council and Finance Committee were also approved in the meeting. In the meeting, Padmashree Prof. Manindra Agrawal Deputy Director, IITA Kanpur, Special Secretary, Technical Education Department, Kripa Shankar Singh, Vice Chancellor Prof. Vineet Kansal, Registrar Nandlal Singh, Finance Officer GP Singh etc. were present.

Hyderabad's FICCI Ladies Organization Inks MoU with Nutrihub to Create Startup Incubator

FLO Hyderabad enters MoU with IIMR – to create a FLO Incubator at Nutrihub. Both FLO and IIMR to work towards creating an appropriate platform for women entrepreneurs to participate in the Millets industry.

Millets, once known as poor man's food have now become a rich man's diet: Dr. Vilas A Tonapi, Director of Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR)

Nutrihub Incubation centre is a huge success which has led to engaging 400 startups, creating 500 plus products, and generated Rs 500 crore of business: Dr.DayakarRao, CEO, NutriHub.

Hyderabad, December 12, 2020....FLO's virtual Biz Talk, the first in the series on Business Opportunities in Millets for women entrepreneurs was held here in the city today. It was organised by FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) pan India for the benefit of their members.

Dr. Vilas A Tonapi, Director of Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and Dr. B Dayakar Rao, Principal Scientist & CEO - Nutrihub of Indian Institute of Millets Research addressed the session.

Welcoming the gathering Millet, Usharani Manne, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad said Millets score highly over grains like wheat and rice in nutritional value earning them the status as “Nutri-cereals”. Millets offer so many benefits. With so many things going in its favour, the Millet Industry is the best bet for India to meet the rising demand for nutritious food.

Recognizing which, FLO Hyderabad has entered into an MoU with IIMR – Indian Institute of Millet Research, to create a FLO Incubator at Nutrihub, IIMR whereby the two organisations will be working towards creating an appropriate platform for women entrepreneurs to garner the power to produce wealth by participating in the Millets industry, Usharani announced.

The mission, the FLO Chairperson said, is to provide opportunities to transform ideas into businesses, facilitate a nurturing, instructive, and supportive environment for entrepreneurs during the startup stage, and support them with an array of targeted resources and services. The incubator will also provide Technology consultancy, Business facilitation, Financial advisory,

Infrastructure support and facilitate interactions with experts, mentors, advisors and investors. As an organisation that aims at assisting women in achieving financial freedom, FLO Hyderabad has been exploring several options that can be availed of by our members, she said.

For many years, India was the world's major producer of millet. However, we changed our priorities somewhere along the journey. IIMR in its 60 years journey just focused on Sorghum for 53 years and in the last several years we are focusing on other millets such as Jowar, Bajra and Ragi etc. Millets are good for health. They are nutrition-rich. We much encourage us to grow more and eat more. This food can be medicine for all especially we all are fighting lifestyle diseases. I am not asking you to bid goodbye to existing food but bring fusion into food plate. Take forward millets to every house. Adjust your food plate. This change can be the answer to all your lifestyle diseases, he said.

We have Nutrihub to support entrepreneurs who want to enter into Millets Business. NutriHub is the Central government's Department of Science & Technology (DST) supported Technology Business Incubator hosted by the Indian Institute of Millet Research, ICAR – IIMR, Hyderabad. ... It has been helping many startups in technical and product development support, technology transfer and cross-learning for women entrepreneurs, Dr. Vilas A. Tonapi said. We look forward to partner to aid women entrepreneurs in agribusiness, he said.

Dr. DayakarRao also presented a walkthrough about 'Millets Value Chain'. Millets are also known as smart foods. They are good for the Planet as they grow in harsh climatic conditions, need less water and drought resistant. They are also good for farmers as they are short-duration crops and can fetch good income. 

Technologies for puffing, flaking, baking, cold extrusion etc are developed for millet-based products to commercialize and package these products. Millet Pasta, Vermicelli, millet Upma, millet sambar mix, such ready to cook products are developed. IIMR developed over 85 millet based recipes that come under different categories like breakfast, lunch, sweets, savories to include in our daily diet. We have built Eatrite, a brand laboriously built and marketed, solely for popularizing millets as a healthy food option, he shared. Now we have created 400 plus brands in just four years, he said.

He listed out Farm Gate Aggregation and Procurement; Machinery Fabrication, Value-added products (such as ready to eat, ready to cook, beverages, plant-based, fortified and nutraceuticals) etc.

Nutrihub incubation provides Technology Consultancy, Identification of suitable products, Mentoring, Nurturing Innovation, Feasibility studies, infrastructure and other facilities. All these effots lead to more than Rs 500crore in business with more than 400 startups engaged. We have been successful in creating demand for sorghum through diversification in sorghum/millet food processing technologies and their commercialization, informed DayakarRao.

'Nutrihub’ is the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India supported Technology Business Incubator hosted by the Indian Institute of Millet Research, ICAR – IIMR, Hyderabad. It is a unique and first of its kind to cater start-ups needs in the Nutricereals sector in the country, Dr Rao informed. It's vision Rao said is to Commercialize innovations and startups in Nutricereals Industry with best in the class support system for entrepreneurs.”

It incubated 15 startups, commercialized 44 technologies, 68 technologies were transferred to entrepreneurs and industries. It has 60 millets product technologies available for commercialization.

Saritha Chilakapati, EC Member, Incubation Committee facilitated the talk.

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.

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.