TIPS 4.0 Sparks Deeptech Innovation: 40+ Startups Steal the Show

The 4th National Workshop on Technology Innovation in Cyber-Physical Systems (TIPS 4.0), a bi-annual event, was conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the aegis of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).

The event, held on 13–14 May 2024, was hosted by the Technology Innovation Hub for IoT & IoE (TIH-IoT) at IIT Bombay. It witnessed the participation of 48 deeptech startups and a promising investment commitment towards 44 innovative startups. Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director – IIT Bombay, addressed the gathering, followed by Shri Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST. The inaugural session concluded with the remarks of Smt. Dr. Ekta Kapoor, Mission Director – NM-ICPS and Head of FFT Division, DST.

Commenting on the occasion, Shri Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), stated, “This is the first time that TIPS featured deeptech startups taking centre stage to present their work to potential investors, while their supporting Technology Innovation Hubs showcased their developments and progress in the workshops. This milestone demonstrates significant progress towards our mission, as we continue to foster lab-to-market opportunities to support deeptech innovators in our nation.”

Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, Indian Angel Network, shared, “The NM-ICPS programme is one of a kind in India. It moves research to commercialisation and creation of startups and value. It is focused on sectors that are imperatives for the new India. It will take India to a $5 trillion economy by 2047, the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This is a programme that has been launched, and TIHs have been set up around the country, so a national mission with a national footprint is building the national imperatives of India.”

A total of 25 hubs and 48 deeptech startups from across the country participated in the expo and the startup pitchfest along with 35 senior venture capitalists and angel investors from leading firms. These included Shreya Hasurkar, Corporate Venture Capital, 100X.VC, Neha Aggarwal, Vice President, Mumbai Angels (360One Fund); Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Senior Partner Emeritus, McKinsey & Company; Hitesh Oberoi, Co-promoter, MD, and CEO, Info Edge India Limited; and Ajay Bhatia, an angel investor. Other firms that participated include 360 ONE, Equanimity Investments, Beyond Next Ventures, and GEF Capital Partners.

Sanjay Sehgal, Founder, Managing Partner, and CEO, East West Capital Partners, one of the participating investors, said, “I have been investing in India for a couple of decades and am amazed by the level of creativity here. TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE has pulled together an excellent programme where they have brought together investors and other stakeholders of the ecosystem and showcased a lot of companies across various sectors. It was a marvellous display of entrepreneurial innovation, and we look forward to keeping in touch.”

The event witnessed the use of innovative technology such as a motion sensor-based diya for the inaugural session replacing the traditional one. This diya is a unique innovation developed by the TIH-IoT team, which can be activated using motion detection.

Numerous deeptech startups – innovating in domains such as agriculture, healthcare, defense, security, infrastructure, environment, education, mobility, IT and SaaS – found a platform to showcase their innovations to the VCs. Among these was Borse Automotive Pvt. Ltd., an innovative agritech startup. Its advanced autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are transforming India’s agriculture landscape by boosting efficiency, productivity, and sustainability for farmers.

Another promising startup that participated is 4CLIMATE, an R&D manufacturing company. It develops specialty control and monitoring solutions for industrial and agricultural spaces using intelligent automation solutions. These solutions can be licensed, white-labelled, and branded to reduce carbon footprint and drive climate management in a positive way.

The NM-ICPS is a comprehensive mission that brings together academia, industry, government, and international organisations. It has created an ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship, develops next-generation skilled manpower, catalyses translational research, and promotes the commercialisation of cyber-physical system (CPS) technologies.

Under the NM-ICPS, 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) have been established in reputed institutes across the country in various areas of advanced technologies. These areas include artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics, cybersecurity, data analytics and predictive technologies, intelligent collaboration systems, technologies for agriculture and water, technologies for mining, advanced communication systems, and quantum technologies.