Hyderabad: Telangana government’s start-up initiative T-hub has partnered with social media giant Facebook to launch an India Innovation Hub Accelerator programme to back up start-ups working in virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) space. The programme will span six months in which 10 start-ups working in the field of AR/VR will be shortlisted and mentored.
Satyajeet Singh, head of platform partnerships of Facebook India and South Asia, told this newspaper, “This is a first of its kind programme in India related to VR/AR and is built grounds-up in partnership with T-hub. We have been in touch with T-hub and have done some other programmes too. At the Facebook platform partnerships team, we develop programs that help start-ups grow their business faster by speaking to them and other ecosystem players about where we can add most value.
Emerging tools is one space we should be investing in and that is where we started off with this programme. It is small step towards building ecosystem for all emerging technologies.”
Start-ups can send in their applications till February28. Once shortlisted, the start-ups will undergo a three-month accelerator training program beginning in April under the mentorship of leaders from Facebook.
“Through this program, I expect to learn a lot from start-ups because this is a new space and we too are in a learning mode. I would want to know the kind of problems they are tackling and solutions they are building, and in process help them to take their product to next level and bridge the gap that they have right now. All this, through mentorship or though access to technology. We will provide the right mentors depending on the kind of problems the start-ups are trying to solve and the kind of help they need. We will either try to do a virtual or physical session, i.e. call mentors at Facebook in a virtual session. We will customise it based on the type of start-ups that are shortlisted to add maximum value,” said Mr Singh
The selected start-ups will be given an opportunity to develop Proof of Concept (PoC) on the prioritised solution and showcase their PoC to key executives of Facebook and T-Hub on the ‘Demo Day’ at T-Hub. Speaking on the occasion, T-Hub CEO Jay Krishnan said, “AR/VR today has started to gain traction in industries ranging from entertainment, gaming, communication and industry. The Indian AR/VR market yet nascent is expected to grow at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 76 per cent over the next five years, fuelled by demand from business and consumer sectors. Our intent, as an ecosystem enabler is to partner with pioneers like Facebook and explore new frontiers that are relevant for India like healthcare, education etc with AR/ VR and XR.”
Meanwhile, IT minister K. T. Rama Rao said in a tweet, “This is another prestigious partner and yet another fabulous program. VR&AR is an absolute game changer in the world of multimedia and entertainment. Proud of T-Hub and its journey thus far (sic)”
• The India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program kicked off on Tuesday and will be open for start-ups across the country.
• Promotional activities will be organised throughout the application phase, followed by short-listing of start-ups in Hyderabad.
• The finalists will be invited to participate in a three-month accelerator program at T-Hub where they will be mentored by subject experts and industry experts from Facebook to help shape the start-up ideas.
•In India, of the 100 AR start-ups, only 5 per cent have received capital investment of $1-1.5 million.
