India Deep Tech Alliance selects 20 startups for inaugural cohort

The India Deep Tech Accelerator programme, led by the UChicago Polsky Center, will help IIT-linked startups scale research-driven products for global markets

The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center has selected 20 Indian startups for the inaugural cohort of the India Deep Tech Alliance’s (IDTA) India Deep Tech Accelerator.

 

The accelerator programme, led by the Polsky Center, aims to help these Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-affiliated companies develop their research into scalable, market-ready products and firms.

 

Under the programme, startups such as Adaapt, which has developed a unified artificial intelligence middleware platform that routes queries across models with built-in cost optimisation, security, and action layers, and Albatross, which has developed an energy-efficient liquid-desiccant cooling system that cuts industrial air-conditioning costs and humidity by up to 50 per cent, have been selected.

 

Apart from Adaapt and Albatross, other startups such as Augle.AI and BioSky Space Innovations, Ceratattva Innotech, among others, have also been selected in the first cohort.

 

The accelerator was developed by the IDTA and other leading IIT innovation networks.

 

The startups selected in the inaugural cohort will take part in a 10-week programme that started in April and will run till June. Under the programme, these selected startups will take part in various workshops and get introduced to global customers, partners, and investors.

 

"The companies in this cohort reflect the depth of innovation emerging from India's top technical institutions. Through this accelerator, we are helping founders strengthen their commercial strategy, connect with global markets, and build the momentum needed to scale," said Shyama Majumdar, senior director of Science Accelerators and Investments at the UChicago Polsky Center.

 

The IDTA, a $2.5 billion coalition of investors along with global deep-tech firms in the semiconductor, defence, and space sectors, was formed in June last year.