Department of Science & Technology, SINE-IIT Bombay and Intel India announce the second edition of Plugin, a collaborative accelerator program
Mumbai: Continuing their commitment to foster entrepreneurship in the domain of emerging technologies, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE)-IIT Bombay and Intel India, have announced the second edition of Plugin (“Program”).
Through a unique program wherein the industry, academia and government come together to support hardware and systems-based startups in the country, Plugin will provide mentoring, training, and international visits with networking opportunities. The collaborative accelerator program will also facilitate infrastructure and technical support, prototyping, product development and manufacturing connect, business services and funding, etc.
The second edition of Plugin will include hardware and systems startups in the areas of Artificial Intelligence-Machine Learning (AI-ML), Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT), catering to the healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and transportation industries. It also includes collaborations with corporates such as TCS, ABB, Posiflex, Valeo, and BOSCH; several manufacturing and design trade associations, and prominent investors are also a part of the initiative. To participate in the Program, startups can nominate their entries till July 18, 2018. More details available here: https://plugin.org.in/.
Nivruti Rai, country head of Intel India and Vice President of the Data Center Group, Intel Corporation, said, “Intel India remains committed to accelerating hardware and systems based entrepreneurship through collaboration with the country’s technology ecosystem. The first edition of Plugin was truly enriching and led to a number of startups developing exciting products, with some of them already generating revenues. This year, Plugin will focus on data-centric startups catering to the retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation industries. The technology support that will be provided across AI, blockchain, and IoT are Intel’s core strengths, and we want to make that accessible to the Indian start-ups.”
H K Mittal, Advisor and Head, NSTEDB (National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board), DST, Government of India, said, “Department of Science & Technology (DST) has partnered with Intel and SINE to launch the second edition of Plugin, a collaborative accelerator program based on the positive outcomes in the first edition. DST has been working with both Intel and SINE in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship for over a decade. We believe this program will not only help startups to accelerate their product journey and scale their business, but also provide them with a platform to establish themselves through opportunities that arise from local and international connections.”
Poyni Bhatt, CEO, Society for innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) IIT Bombay, said, “We are delighted with the launch of the second edition. The first edition had a very positive outcome and this was possible because of the strong collaboration with DST and Intel. Intel’s contribution was pivotal, as it provided the vital competitive edge to fast-track growth of startups involved during the Program. The Program helps us to support startups pan-India, and contribute more to the ecosystem.”
Launched in August 2016, the first edition of Plugin supported 15 startups in developing products in the areas of transportation, smart home, industrial automation, healthcare, and entertainment across AI, Robotics, IoT, and Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR). Nine of the startups already have market-ready products; seven startups have reached early revenue stage. Cumulatively, these startups have raised about INR 2.5 crore funding till date.
About Plugin (https://plugin.org.in/)
• The Program strives to address gaps in the hardware and systems startup ecosystem that companies face with respect to product design, development, commercialization, and scaling up their business.
• DST, Intel India and SINE-IIT Bombay aim to support up to 15 startups under this program, and it’s now open for application submission. Last Date: 18th July, 2018.
• During the year-long Program, startups will be supported for nine months at SINE, IIT Bombay or Intel India, Bengaluru. Subsequently, the startups’ solutions will be showcased to investors and industry players at a demo day, followed by post Program funding support on a case-to-case basis.