NYSE-listed technology solutions provider Pitney Bowes Inc has invited startups in India to apply for the summer 2017 batch of the Pitney Bowes Accelerator Program, a company statement said.
The six-month programme focuses on startups that leverage software for customer information management, mobile, data analytics, location-based services, e-commerce management and machine learning.
Pitney Bowes will be accepting applications for the accelerator programme until 30 June 2017. Shortlisted startups will be notified by the first week of July and invited to present before a jury. Selected startups for the programme will be announced in August 2017.
As part of the programme, startups will have free but limited access to Pitney Bowes’ software application programming interfaces (APIs) and data. They can also avail of training and mentoring from engineers and industry experts from Pitney Bowes. The company, which has partnered with Microsoft, will provide selected startups with various services from the global tech firm, including credits worth $9,000 on the Microsoft Azure Cloud over 12 months.
Over the last three years, Pitney Bowes has incubated 18 startups in India. Its past programme participants include WedoSky, a drone-based startup with a mapping and analytics platform; Niki.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered chat interface; MediMojo, a digital health platform for simplifying healthcare; and Sponsifyme, a real-time geo-location-based marketing platform for offline businesses.
“Each year, we see applications from more diverse and innovative startups. They represent development work on next-generation technologies across location, commerce and data analytics,” said Manish Choudhary, managing director at Pitney Bowes Inida.
Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company’s solutions are delivered on open platforms to organise, analyse and apply public and proprietary data to two-way customer communications.
The first batch of the Pitney Bowes Accelerator Program was announced in April 2014. The programme is a part of IT industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies’ (NASSCOM’s) 10,000 Startups initiative.
A report by NASSCOM and Zinnov Consulting released earlier this month found that India has the third-highest number of startup incubators and accelerators in the world after China and the US.
