Hyderabad IIT to invest Rs 1 Cr in 6 startups working on Autonomous Navigation

IIT has chosen 6 startups working in the field of Autonomous Navigation for pre-incubation and incubation support.

`iTIC Incubator' is investing up to Rs 25 lakh each in prototype-ready startups. `UAVIO Labs' is working on building sentient drones, Alog Tech is building an autonomous indoor logistics ecosystem for warehousing, and Aviac is are working on Ecological Monitoring using drones.

iTIC is also investing up to Rs 10 lakh each in early-stage startups. Rovonize is building surveillance UAVs, Qotpars are making the finest drones for video and photo applications, and Adiabetic are working on the passive thermal cooling system for li-ion battery packs.

"Technology development and more importantly, its deployment has always been a focus of IIT Hyderabad. Through the incubation activities, we wish to provide the startups the right ecosystem for successful commercialization of these innovations," said Prof B S Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad & President of iTIC and TiHAN (Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems), while welcoming the startups and entrepreneurs.

Prof Rajalakshmi, Project Director TiHAN said IIT Hyderabad is focusing on building research capabilities in the domain of Autonomous Navigation, UAVs, and ROVs.

"In addition to the startups, these facilities will also be available for researchers, industry at large," he said.

Prof Suryakumar S, Faculty-in-charge, Incubation, Innovation, and Startup said with new additions, the Autonomous Navigation Entrepreneurial Community at iTIC has become much stronger and diverse.

"We are committed to support the creation of at least one unicorn in this domain in the next five years", he said.

Other than investments, the startups will be supported with structured mentorship, co-working space, access to maker lab, and access to IITH infrastructure. iTIC Incubator at IIT Hyderabad is going to support more startups working in the field of Autonomous Navigation in the coming months.