Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE), a technology business incubator of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), is planning to set up a Rs 100 crore (nearly $12 million) fund to support deeptech startups and those in areas of national importance.
The department will approach IIT Bombay alumni to raise the capital for the proposed fund after its finalisation and receiving regulatory approvals.
“The fund will be a game-changer, building on SINE’s 20-year track record of supporting 245 startups that have collectively raised $942 million and are valued at $3.56 billion,” SINE said in a release.
The fund will focus on science, biotech, space, defense, and other national priority sectors to drive innovation.
“To have a scale impact, India needs to go from 100 startups per million population to 1,000. By leading the way, SINE hopes to emerge as an innovation and entrepreneurship powerhouse focussed on democratising entrepreneurship and providing quality access to coaching, capital and connects to customers and the ecosystem,” said Shaji Varghese, chief executive officer, SINE.
SINE has partnerships with multiple central government ministries, including the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of Defence, for implementation of startup support programmes.
Additionally, it is the Programme Management Unit for the central government DST’s Nidhi Prayas. Under this programme, it has operated more than 50 incubators nationwide.
It also works with corporates across sectors such as IT, aerospace and defence, auto, industrial, EPC, and BFSI amongst others. It primarily offers resources such as shared workspaces, prototype labs, access to IIT Bombay labs, technical expertise, mentoring and access to funding.
Its current incubated companies include Haystack Analytics (genomics for clinical decisions), SustLabs (sustainable energy tech), Babblebots.ai (Voice AI for interviews), Inspecity (space technology), and Lifespark Technologies (mobility solutions for Parkinson’s patients), among others.
