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Five very early-stage Indian startups, dabbling in cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and chip design, have got seed funding and incubation in Hyderabad. They have been chosen for incubation at a deep tech accelerator program at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, which has funding support from Hyderabad-based 50k Ventures. The startups will receive INR 1 million (US$15,000) in seed funding in exchange for 2 percent equity, in addition to six months of mentorship.
Niche.ai
This startup is building a visual studio with artificial intelligence. Its engine automatically identifies and tags images. These could be shopping objects like shoes, or dangerous objects like guns; it could also be used to distinguish a pet from an intruder. Two young graduates of NIT Rourkela, Soham Acharya and Saurabh Arora, along with an IIT-Madras grad Venkatesh Mondi, are behind it.
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DreamVu
This startup is innovating with optical technology to make VR headsets more compact and easier to use. It has a coffee-shaped filter in its camera to capture a wide range of light rays. This aims to do away with the need to capture multiple views and stitch them together with extensive algorithms. Rajat Aggarwal, an MS in computer science working as a teaching assistant at IIIT Hyderabad, founded the startup. His co-founder is a fellow IIIT-H grad, Rohan Bhatial, who hails from Jammu in the foothills of the Himalayas.
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Docturnal
This startup is developing non-invasive apps for detection and diagnosis of diseases like tuberculosis and diabetes. One of its products uses spectral analysis (analysis in terms of a spectrum of frequencies or related quantities (PDF )to detect signs of TB from the sounds of users’ coughs. Another one leverages APIs (application programming interfaces) from wearable devices to monitor blood glucose levels. Its founder, Rahul Pathri, is a biology grad with an MBA from IIM Calcutta, who worked in the US on Oracle products before turning entrepreneur. His co-founder, Arpita Singh, brings marketing expertise from working at Gartner and Oracle.
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Authbase
This is a cyber security startup initially incubated at the T-Hub in Hyderabad. It started by helping startups with securing their apps. Its founder, Umesh Thota, soon realized that most startups were obsessed with product and UI, paying little attention to the security vulnerabilities in their tech stack. He’s now building a product and services company to enable startups to monitor and eliminate security threats from bots, hacks, crawlers, and scrubbers.
See: 45 hot software product startups from India and their cool ideas
Blue Semiconductors
This startup is the brainchild of Sunil Kumar Maddikatla, a research scholar at IIIT Hyderabad. He aims to build chips suitable for use in IoT, wearables, and biomedical devices. Sensors and batteries hold the keys to the efficacy of these devices. The startup’s first product is a low-cost, low-power compact temperature sensor.
See: 25 failed startups in India this year and what you can learn from them
Converted from Indian rupees. Rate: US$1 = INR 67.89.
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