Angel investor Asha Motwani launches institute in US for research in IT, bio-tech

Angel investor Asha Jadeja Motwani has launched Motwani Institute of Thought Leadership in Innovation (MITLI) in San Francisco (US) for research in IT and bio-technology.

"This institute will create new frontiers of research in Indian academia by means of exchange between scholars of Stanford University and India," Motwani told PTI in an interaction on the sidelines of TIE Global Entrepreneurship Summit.

She said the institute will facilitate exchanges in key academic fields such as computer science, education, health-tech, policy design and political science to support aspirations of emerging entrepreneurs.

"My vision is to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship in India at the grassroots level. Student exchanges between Stanford and South Asia will fuel key new vectors in our own research and teaching agenda," she said.

She is the wife of late Standford Professor and computer scientist Rajeev Motwani.

"A total of USD 30 million have been invested as endowment to set the institute in place," she said.

Motwani said her expansion plans include setting up an ecosystem for startups in the backward parts of India, which are full of new ideas.

The venture capitalist dubbed the Indian startups as rocketships, which have immense potential but noted that the problem with these startups is that we do not invest in right places.

"The government needs to structure the startup plan differently, seek advise from right people like angel investors who are aware of the way startups work and channelise resources in the right direction," she said.