Telangana AI Mission has announced the selection of as many as 42 start-ups for Revv Up, an accelerator programme that it has put together in association with Nasscom.
A 12-month programme, it is for start-ups offering solutions using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The selected start-ups -- the first cohort of the accelerator -- will be enabled and empowered through a series of structured interventions. They represent 11 sectors and are from 10 States.
Revv Up is another step towards making Telangana and Hyderabad a global destination for AI and other emerging technologies, said a release from IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao office on Thursday.
Nearly 50% of the selected start-ups are from outside Telangana and have expressed intent to open a local office either this or next year. Over 70% of the cohort is either bootstrapped or has early funding. More than 25% of the start-ups have at least one female founder, the Minister’s office said.
IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, “From addressing non-invasive healthcare solutions to climate modelling and new ways to support learning, the start-ups will greatly impact how our future will be shaped. I am extremely impressed with the credentials of this cohort and their ability to bring sustainable change at scale.”
The selected start-ups will receive mentorship from industry experts and technology and IP support. Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh said, “Nasscom’s close partnership with Telangana will provide significant impetus for start-ups and their aspirations to become the AI garage for the world.”
The zero equity or cost accelerator programme, designed for growth-stage AI start-ups, will begin its core operations this month. The next cohort will commence in February 2022 and the application process for the same is likely to be initiated towards this year-end.
