The Real Shark Tank: Startups present business ideas to CASE; i-elektrik wins challenge

The Challenge was a part of the ongoing Hyderabad E-Mobility Week. Hyderabad E-Mobility Week aims to accelerate innovation in areas of Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) in India.

Founders of seven startups, including two each from Telangana and Karnataka, and one each from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, presented their innovations and business ideas and made strong pitches to the jury at the finals of the challenge.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, and Industries & Commerce Telangana said, “The CASE Mobility Grand Challenge is an important part of the Hyderabad E-Mobility Week and addresses important aspects of innovation in new-age mobility. Innovation will help fuel the movement to sustainable mobility and I wish all the participants a great journey ahead.”

i-elektrik, which creates smart charging solutions for emerging EV markets won the Challenge. NeoMotion, an IIT Madras startup that creates transformative electric products for wheelchair users (elderly, physically challenged) to enable them to be an inclusive part of society was adjudged the runner-up. They both will avail a grant of INR 15 lakh for their projects.

The Challenge saw participation from other startups like Hala Mobility which provides a multimodal EV shared mobility platform with two offerings, EV as a service and platform as a service for micro fleet operators; Adiabatic, a social enterprise that provides scalable intelligent Battery Management System technology (BMS) to calculate and predict accurate battery data, reducing temperatures of the battery; Comuti Energy Vayu, a sustainable mobility venture with patented technology of storage of fuel for fuel cell technology, Aatral that develops innovative cathode for Sodium-Ion batteries as an alternate of lithium batteries, and AutoNXt which builds driverless electric tractors and high voltage electric powertrains.

Saurabh Bakliwal, MD & Partner, BCG, one of the juries for the event, said, "The solutions built by the startups in the CASE challenge were truly very bold, taking on leading global companies with deep tech solutions. It was energizing to witness the impressive quality of their submissions and be a part of the jury, evaluating and celebrating the brilliance of these entrepreneurs."

Sascha Ricanek, VP, ZF RaceEngineering, Vikram Garga, Group Head, Marketing, Apollo Tyres, Sanjeev P, Head, Micro Mobility, TVS Motor; Mamatha Chamarthi, Head of Software & Business Product Management, Stellantis; and Prof. Rajalashmi, Director TiHan, IIT Hyderabad were other jury members for the event.

Amidst the challenges in adapting green mobility future, Telangana is one of the first states to launch the EV&ESS policy in 2020. Currently, the state is growing to be the biggest hub for technology and innovation by being home to several of the largest global IT players and auto industries.

The CASE Mobility Grand Start-up Challenge provided startups an opportunity to share innovative, feasible, and scalable solutions for tangible problems prevalent in urban mobility in India with new-age entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors.

The Challenge was organized by the Government of Telangana in association with T-Hub, the world’s largest innovation center, in association with Telangana Mobility Valley (TMV), India’s first cluster focusing on new and sustainable mobility, and TiHan.