Mumbai, 21st November 2024: Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE) the Technology Business Incubator of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), is celebrating its 20th year by hosting a two-day event titled, “Innovation Nation: Leveraging India’s Talent and Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Era of Disruptive Technologies”. The event to be held on 28th and 29th November will feature influential speakers, insightful panel discussions, and interactive sessions chaired by entrepreneurs, senior bureaucrats and corporate chieftains that highlight how India can drive global innovation through its unique talent and entrepreneurial mindset.
“Our incubator’s focus has been to bridge the gap between academia and market by fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among students, researchers, faculty members, alumni and others. We focus on supporting early-stage tech start-ups, particularly in the product hardware space, where market is still evolving and challenges are significant” says Professor Milind Atrey, Deputy Director (Academics, Research and Translation), IIT Bombay.
Since its inception, SINE has achieved a start-up survival rate of over 80%—a remarkable feat considering the low survivability rate (20%) among startups in the early-stages of growth. “SINE has incubated startups that have generated over 300 intellectual properties across critical sectors like ICT, Healthcare, Cleantech and Industrials. Several of these startups have grown into industry-leading companies”, says Professor Santosh J. Gharpure, Professor-in-Charge, SINE.
SINE holds the distinction of being the first academia-backed incubator to produce a Unicorn – Gupshup, an AI-powered messaging platform provider – and a company that went public on the BSE and NSE – IdeaForge, India’s leading drone manufacturer. Other notable success stories include, Atomberg (energy-efficient BLDC tech-based fans), Sedemac (control products for two-wheelers), ImmunoACT (genetically modified cancer immunotherapy), SAFE Security (cyber risk management) and Zeus Numerix (India’s first smart and autonomous guided munitions producer)
“Our early-stage funding support have been crucial in helping startups navigate through ‘the valley of death’ and secure external capital. For every Re. 1 invested, our startups have raised Rs 190 of risk capital from external sources. Today, our portfolio companies have a combined valuation exceeding $3.56 billion,” says Shaji Varghese, CEO, SINE.
In addition to their economic impact, SINE startups have also made deep social impact, focusing on high innovation, technology-driven areas of national significance, viz. Medtech & Biotech, Clean Energy, Sustainability, Agritech and Mobility. “At the time of incubation, we select startups on the basis of either economic, social or national strategic standpoint,” says Varghese.
SINE is a preferred partner for 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 programs. Additionally, as the Programme Management Unit for the central government DST’s NIDHI PRAYAS, SINE has handheld 50+ incubators nationwide. It also works with corporates across sectors such as IT, aerospace & defence, auto, industrial, EPC, and BFSI amongst others to drive innovation and fuel industry-academia connects.
“When SINE was founded, India’s startup ecosystem was in its infancy. As the ecosystem grew and gained momentum over the years, we evolved alongside it, providing vital early-stage support to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs in their initial phases of their journeys,” adds Professor Gharpure.
SINE offers resources such as shared workspaces, prototype labs, access to high-end IIT Bombay labs, technical expertise, mentoring, and access to funding.
With 20 years of experience as one of India’s earliest incubators, SINE has built a strong network of industry connections, government partnerships, and investment partners. The incubator leverages these relationships to open doors for its startups, providing them with crucial early-stage resources and guidance. “SINE focuses on supporting complex, IP-based startups that find difficulty in raising funds from an ecosystem, which is inclined to supporting service-based, easily scalable ventures,” says Varghese.
SINE’s current incubated companies include Haystack Analytics (genomics for clinical decisions), SustLabs (sustainable energy tech), Babblebots.ai (Voice AI for interviews), Inspecity (space technology), Lifespark Technologies (mobility solutions for Parkinson’s patients) among many others in diverse domains.
“IIT Bombay has invested Rs 500 crore to create a world-class research facility, which will support R&D activities in emerging areas such as semiconductors, space, quantum computing, and electric mobility among others. This will create a strong pipeline for SINE in form of research ideas that have potential to become bankable ventures,” adds Professor Atrey.
SINE’s future focus areas underscore IIT Bombay’s commitment to supporting large number of transformative, high-impact technology innovations that can drive India’s progress and self-reliance and contribute to India as ‘Innovation Nation’.