Next-gen fabric selected for 'Nexus' incubation

A next-generation fabric that clean itself from stains was among the three innovative ideas that were selected today for long-term incubation under the 'Nexus' programme hosted at the American Center here.

The fourth cohort of entrepreneurs (11 teams) chosen from 130-odd applications also graduated today after undergoing an intense 10-week training programme that featured workshops conducted by expert and industry leaders from the two countries.

'Nexus' is an entrepreneurial platform to encourage Indian start-ups and help them grow in the industry. It is funded primarily by the US State Department and executed by University of Texas at Austin's IC2 institute -- an interdisciplinary research unit of the university, with support from TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), FICCI, Indian School of Business, the department of science and technology, USAID among other partners.

The first batch of Nexus had graduated in July last year, which had 10 start-ups chosen from over 113 applications from all over India.

Among the 11 innovations which were shortlisted for the fourth edition of the programme, three were chosen for long-term incubation, said Nexus director Erik Azulay, who moved to Delhi from Austin to set up and run the centre.

"The three ideas/innovations we have selected for long-term incubation which would run for about eight months, include a smart fabric (Ubifab) that cleans itself from stains and a mobile app (Ringlerr) that lets a user send personalised message while calling,