Picture this; India is the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, with over 1,00,000 startups and 100 unicorns, and is expected to become the second-largest ecosystem in the world by 2030. Out of that, the deep tech ecosystem has particularly garnered interest from investors, attracting investments worth $ 6.23 billion over the last decade.
It is expected that India will have 10,000 deep-tech start-ups by 2030.
Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the philanthropic arm of Honeywell India, is fostering local innovation and empowering emerging businesses in the technology domain. The not-for-profit has partnered with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), the incubation arm of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and has extended research and financial support to 40 plus Indian start-ups and 9 entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIR).
In FY 23-24 HHSIF has supported a total of thirteen innovations, eight startups and five EIR programs. It has had an intensive focus on agri-tech, clean-tech, health-tech, and green-tech initiatives. Out of the ventures supported in this financial year, 50 per cent were in the field of MedTech and 20 per cent were in AgriTech.
Interestingly, three of the eight startups collaborated with were led by female founders. In FY24-25, HHSIF has committed support to 7 startups and 1 EIR in allied sectors.
In addition to financial assistance under its CSR initiatives, HHSIF has extended research support, technology, human capital, and a global network of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), angels, venture capitalists (VCs), and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to all its partner entities.
A few of the start-ups were showcased during a joint briefing by HHSIF and IISC representatives. Take for instance in the med-tech space Translead Medtech Private Limited is a start-up that addresses issues faced by elderly people.
This start-up is a deep-tech spin-off from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Its product Stand at Ease is a specially designed chair which assists elderly community members with critical joint problems to have a better stand-to-sit and sit-to-stand experience. Currently, the company is looking for scale as they are seeing a lot of inquiries.
“The price for each chair starts at Rs 25k. We are looking to scale up the manufacturing as we are confident that it will do very well in the market. We have also showcased the range of chairs in the international market as well,” remarked Manoj Kumar R., the company's founder.
On the other hand, another company in the med-tech space Open MedLabs has developed an affordable device targeted at people living with chronic conditions like diabetes.
The company's goal is to equip 25 per cent (6.5 million) insulin-dependent diabetics in LMICs of South East Asia with affordable devices within the next decade. It has developed an affordable insulin pump for Type 1 diabetes patients matching the specifications of a commercially available pump.
The startup has completed prototype development and successful animal trials. This company has also been granted multiple patents for their insulin pump. The company is now beginning manufacturing, followed by human trials, which are expected to be completed by Q2 of 2025.
Besides others, Green Collar Agritech Solutions also showcased its solutions. They have developed a product TARAM an instant quality assessment tool for turmeric. It uses Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Machine Learning to enable objective price discovery, helping farmers earn more.
The startup is currently focused on developing and marketing TARAM for chilli quality assessment, focusing on ASTA colour value, Scoville heat units, moisture, and non-volatile oil content for quality assessment.
This company is targeting over 3 million chilly farmers and agricultural labourers. The rollout of this solution is being planned for Jan 2025, prior to the chilli season in India. This start-up has also developed similar solutions for turmeric and pepper, all of which will be in full production starting Jan 2025.
In this first season, it expects to reach about 20,000 chilli farmers across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.