US Department Of State Organises Two-Day Deeptech Startup Workshop In Bengaluru
ACIR, in association with the Nexus Startup Hub, selects 26 deep-tech startups for a business workshop.
Bengaluru, NFAPost: The Alliance for Commercialisation and Innovation Research (ACIR), in association with the US Embassy-funded incubator Nexus Startup Hub, organised a two-day workshop for innovative and disruptive deep tech startups last Friday and Saturday in Bengaluru.
Speaking to TheNFAPost on the sidelines of ‘Innovation for Deep Tech Startups: A Workshop for Entrepreneurs’, ACIR Executive Director Erik Azulay said the event is organized at a time when Indo-US relations are at a matured state and India is set to become the third largest economy in the world, where innovations are the order of the day.
“Our Nexus Startup Hub organised this two-day event to provide startups with valuable insights, practical skills, and connections that can help them succeed in the deep technology industry,” said ACIR Executive Director Erik Azulay.
He also said that the programme gave the selected 26 startups access to leading US companies, and VC funds, as well as to international and local experts.
“India has emerged as one of the top startup ecosystems in the world and we are looking to support startups who need global access to grow further. Through this workshop, ACIR and the Nexus Startup Hub offered founders working in deep technology the opportunity to gain valuable insights into emerging trends and best practices in the industry,” said ACIR Executive Director Erik Azulay.
NVIDIA South Asia Head Startup and VC Ecosystem Nidhiya V Raj highlighted the fact that technology will de-risk companies in their journey of innovation for client satisfaction.
“Deep tech investment will always be rewarding. It is interesting to note that in India we have academic institutions playing an important role in this journey,” said NVIDIA South Asia Head Startup and VC Ecosystem Nidhiya V Raj.
Thiruvananthapuram-based startup MistEO Cofounder and CEO Samuel John said the event gave him access to many top global technology companies which are resolving some interesting problems in the world.
“MistEO is building a next-generation, hyper-local weather forecasting system for applications in agriculture, livestock and the renewable industry. This two-day event gave us new hope in our global game plan and also resolved hardware issues by talking to NVIDIA leadership,” said MistEO Cofounder and CEO Samuel John.
MiniMines Cleantech Solutions CEO Amit Chatterjee said he is attending the event to expand the company’s business through partnerships with ACIR and the Nexus Startup Hub.
“We started our journey in 2019 and are on an innovation drive to find solutions to collect critical materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. As a clean tech company, we work for the circular economy by reducing the environmental impact of those critical resources,” said MiniMines Cleantech Solutions CEO Amit Chatterjee.
During his session interacting with the startup founders, YourNest Venture Capital Executive Director and Fund Manager Girish Shivani said it is a reality that there is competition for capital across the globe as there is a funding winter.
“Here founders will have to go through their business and revenue model validation so that the right fit solutions for the market will emerge. As they grow, the founders will have to renew their approach and fine-tune their strategies,” said YourNest Venture Capital Executive Director and Fund Manager Girish Shivani.
On day two, Aumirah Founder Rahul Bagga interacted with deep tech startup founders on intellectual property highlighting its overweening influence in the business landscape.
“Whether you are working in India or in a global market, startup founders should understand the need for right steps to protect their all kind of intellectual property. Deep tech startups invest ample time and money in research and development before their product sees light of the day and hence all the more critical to have strong IP right foundation for your startup,” said On day two, Aumirah Founder Rahul Bagga.
Founders will keep on tweaking or pivoting their product offering and accordingly, the company logo – thus initial IP rights should be filed in such a manner that you do not have to worry about filing fresh IPs on each pivot or logo change.
“Contacts, tailor-made as per product/business of deep tech startups, too play a critical role in assuring ownership of IP assets of a startup,” said On day two, Aumirah Founder Rahul Bagga.
He also explained the process of other IP rights such as design and copyright and their importance for deep-tech startups.
Sharing his perspective during a panel discussion on “Emerging trends and best business models: How industry leaders engage with deep tech startups”, Intel Industrial IOT Segment Leader & Strategic Business Development Head Amit Chatterjee said the company is ready to work with startups on their prototyping.
“We are here to support deept tech startup who are coming up with cutting edge solution. Hope India can produce more such startups and garner global attention,” said Intel Industrial IOT Segment Leader & Strategic Business Development Head Amit Chatterjee.
ACIR Executive Director Erik Azulay spoke in detail on the topic of “Pitching to investors” and highlighted the importance of the first impression as the best impression.
“Founders should prepare their pitch deck with limited pages and should crisply explain the business model and revenue strategy. Besides a thorough knowledge of the competition, startup founders should build the team to execute their vision,” said ACIR Executive Director Erik Azulay.
Speaking at a panel discussion with deep tech industries on “Emerging trends and best business models: How industry leaders engage with deep tech startups”, Renkube Cofounder Dr Lakshmi Santhanam said solar glass in the panel could be designed with geometric patterns to harness more renewable power and be a game changer in the solar industry.
“AI-based smart glass design can be applied on photovoltaic panels that will yield Higher Energy and thereby enable Motion Free Optical Tracking. MFOT-based glass is just like a sunflower but without motion, that can track the sun throughout the day and capture more sunlight,” said Renkube Cofounder Dr Lakshmi Santhanam.
(With inputs from TheNFAPost Senior Correspondents Subramanya Joshi and Kiran Kumar)
