IIIT-B Innovation centre hosts milestone Demo Day

IIIT-B Innovation Centre and Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC)) hosted a milestone Demo Day focused on Smart Manufacturing & Industry 4.0 at Holiday Inn, Bangalore. The event marked the culmination of the Industry 4.0 Acceleration Program, which brought together innovative startups and industry leaders. The program demonstrated remarkable success in bridging the gap between start-ups and industry leaders.

With support from approximately 20 corporate partners and 25 corporate mentors from TVS, Bosch, and many others, the startups received guidance in areas such as strategy, business models, and technical implementation. The program also facilitated multiple industrial visits to corporates like Maini and Continental, allowing startups to interact directly with plant heads and experts to understand real-world applications of their technologies. The event began with Dr. S. Devarajan, Senior Vice President of TVS Motor Co. Ltd., setting the context by emphasizing the critical need for manufacturing innovation in India.

He highlighted, "The program consists of three key components: expert mentorship, corporate connections, and industry visits with POCs. While ideas may be good, implementation often faces challenges, which is why these experiences are crucial." Dr. Debabrata Das, Director of IIIT-Bangalore, in his closing remarks said, "This is just the beginning of a larger movement to shape the future of smart manufacturing in India." The event concluded with an award ceremony recognizing outstanding start-ups and their solutions.

Dr. Lakshmi Jagannathan, CEO, IIIT-B Innovation Centre concluded with, "The Innovation Centre is always open to facilitate any conversations— whether between investors and start-ups, investors and corporates, or corporates and startups." Notable participating start-ups included SwitchOn, EmbedSense, Flextron, and several others, each bringing unique solutions to address manufacturing challenges.