IIT-H’s iTIC incubator invests around Rs 1.5 crore in DeepTech startups

Hyderabad: The iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad (IITH) recently chose eight deep tech businesses from across India for help through its pre-incubation and incubation programmes and has invested around Rs 1.5 crore in the startups.

iTIC is a Technology Business Incubator (TBI), under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. The incubator aims to help entrepreneurs leverage a premier quality research and startup ecosystem with the goal of building a comprehensive platform to practice innovation and entrepreneurship so that these entrepreneurial ideas can be turned into sustainable, scalable profit-making business ventures, a press note said.

The iTIC Incubator is investing up to INR 25 lakhs in each of the five prototype ready startups listed below: 

• Learn and Empower, which is developing a game-based learning platform for children with hearing lose
•  LiqSure Systems is developing a water purification system for greywater treatment based on the hydrodynamic cavitation principle 
• Milatronics is developing an automated feeding system for aqua farmers
• Pranahita Biotrinics is developing AI-powered low cost testing kits for COVID and other viruses
• Eaffocare is working on regenerative products for gums and periodontitis treatments.

The incubator is also investing up to INR 10 lakhs in three Proof of Concept stage startups: Humus Biosystems, which is developing water treatment using microbes and biomaterials, Raibo Systems, which is developing surgical assistive robots, and Sridevi Machinery, which is developing an automated power weeder.

Other than investments the startups will be supported with structured mentorship, co-working space, access to a maker lab, access to networking and events, investor connects, and access to IITH infrastructure.

Since its inception in 2015, iTIC has supported 100+ startups through Pre-incubation, Incubation, and Acceleration programs, and has sanctioned more than Rs 5 crores to startups directly while supporting the startups in raising more than INR 50 crores from external sources. So far, the iTIC startups have generated more than Rs 100 crores of revenues and created 800+ jobs, the press note informed.