Deeptech startups take centre stage at IIT Bombay

The fourth national workshop on Technology Innovation in Cyber-Physical Systems (TIPS 4.0), a bi-annual event, was conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the aegis of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) at IIT Bombay.

The event witnessed the participation of 48 deeptech startups and a promising investment commitment towards 44 innovative startups. Prof Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, addressed the gathering.

Dr Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), said, “This is the first time that TIPS featured deeptech startups taking centre stage to present their work to potential investors, while their supporting Technology Innovation Hubs showcased their developments and progress in the workshops. This milestone demonstrates significant progress towards our mission, as we continue to foster lab-to-market opportunities to support deeptech innovators in our nation.”

A total of 25 hubs and 48 deeptech startups from across the country participated in the expo and the startup pitchfest along with 35 senior venture capitalists and angel investors from leading firms.

The event witnessed the use of innovative technology such as a motion sensor-based diya for the inaugural session replacing the traditional one. This diya was a unique innovation developed by the TIH-IoT team, which can be activated using motion detection.

Numerous deeptech startups – innovating in domains such as agriculture, healthcare, defense, security, infrastructure, environment, education, mobility, IT and SaaS – found a platform to showcase their innovations to the VCs. Among these was Borse Automotive Pvt. Ltd., an innovative agritech startup. Its advanced autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are transforming India’s agriculture landscape by boosting efficiency, productivity, and sustainability for farmers.

Another promising startup that participated was 4CLIMATE, an R&D manufacturing company. It develops specialty control and monitoring solutions for industrial and agricultural spaces using intelligent automation solutions. These solutions can be licensed, white-labelled, and branded to reduce carbon footprint and drive climate management in a positive way.

TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE (TIH-IoT) has been set up as a Section-8 company (not-for-profit) by IIT Bombay under the NM-ICPS, which is being implemented by the DST, Government of India.