- Graduating startups have witnessed significant growth, acquired high profile clients and received investments during the intensive four-month program
- GenNext Innovation Hub has opened applications for the second batch to commence June 2015
Mumbai, 13 Mar, 2015: The GenNext Innovation Hub, Mumbai based startup accelerator today announced the graduation of 11 technology startups from its accelerator program. The GenNext Innovation Hub is a joint initiative of two leading companies, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Microsoft Ventures to develop the startup community across India. The event held in Mumbai, saw the startups showcase their businesses to more than 200 venture capitalists, influencers, corporate customers, mentors and leaders.
The GenNext Innovation Hub enables entrepreneurs to build their companies through an immersive, four-month-long program. Those selected gain access to business mentors, technical and design experts, and plug-and-play office space. They are also exposed to resources that help them apply their skills to working jointly with businesses and innovative technologies, in turn gaining valuable insights to build and modify their business models for Indian and global markets.
The success of the program can be measured by the success of the startups, who have all witnessed significant amounts of traction during the course of the program – winning deals from noted global brands and raising money from leading investors and VCs.
“I am very impressed with the depth of innovative problem-solving capability of the solutions developed by the startups, which addresses not just the India-specific needs but also, problems globally. ‘Innovate in India’ would power the ‘Make in India’ endeavour, and help generate thousands of jobs,” said, GenNext Chairman and RIL Board Member Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar.
Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India , added, “We firmly believe that a thriving startup ecosystem in India can contribute immensely to the country. In line with our commitment to India’s accelerated growth, we are committed to supporting the development of this ecosystem through Microsoft Ventures and its partners. We are delighted to see the strides made by this batch of startups, and with GenNext, we hope to continue to replicate the success in the future.”
The startups that graduated from GenNext Innovation Hub’s first batch today are:
1. Health Vectors, a predictive healthcare analytics company
2. AxleRate, a passenger safety and engagement platform
3. LogiNext, a last mile logistics solution provider
4. Tootle, an event discovery and engagement social media platform
5. Flexiguru, a personalised education content curation platform
6. Oztern, an adaptive entrance test preparation platform
7. Fropcorn, a proprietary location content distribution company
8. CarIQ, a connected car platform
9. Coitor, a virtual trial room platform
10. Interview Mocha, a pre testing skill assessment company
11. Light, the world’s first answering engine, that was launched today
During the four-month program, the startups were mentored on business models, customer acquisition strategy, technology comprising Ui/UX and cloud, analytics, and financing models. They also had regular interactions with industry leaders from retail, media, transportation, education, finance, legal and intellectual property.
“The best thing about this acceleration hub was that they took me back to my basics and got me to question every assumption of passenger engagement. In fact, it was at the hub that we were able to conceptualize and implement an intuitive voice-based passenger security system,” said Varad Kumaravelu, founder of AxelRate, a Singapore-based startup.
“This four-month stint at the GenNext Innovation Hub gave my team the confidence to create a product that is disruptive and relevant not just for India, but also in global markets. The team at GenNext made us push the boundaries to build a robust and scalable business,” said Dr. Subhasish Sircar, founder of Health Vectors and a Wharton Alumini.
GenNext innovation Hub is now accepting applications for second batch, which will start in June 2015. Visit www.gennexthub.com for more details.
