EU-India Innocenter Hosts European Tech Startups at T-Hub Hyderabad

EU-India Innocenter, an initiative funded by the European Union’s research and innovation framework programme Horizon 2020, is back in India for the second time in six months to promote innovation, sustainability, and growth in key sectors like sustainability, health-tech, logistics, mobility, and deep tech. The EU-India Innocenter's week-long in-country programme in Hyderabad and Bengaluru from 17- 22nd April, has 8 high-impact European tech startups ready to explore and scale in the Indian market. The programme provides a strategic network of ecosystem facilitators like VCs, potential partners and corporations from India and many European countries, including government representatives from both sides. With India being one of the largest growing markets in the world and the EU being one of India's largest trading partners and foreign investors, this initiative aims at further deepening the EU-Indian Partnership through the innovation corridor.

Eight startups have been selected based on their stage of development, annual recurring revenue, growth rate, and distinctive IPs in India. The cohort includes Cast AI, AgeVolt, AEInnova, Spotlite, BOSAQ, Resistomap, Foliomax, and Newborn Solutions. Two of these startups, Cast AI and AgeVolt have already explored the Indian market peripheries during the last trip and are now ready to ‘enter and scale’ in the market. The remaining six startups are under the ‘explore and validate’ phase and will be testing their waters for the first time in India. These selected startups participated in the programme's flagship demo day called the Blue Carpet Night- Showcasing European Innovation, on 18th April at T-Hub Hyderabad, where they pitched to potential customers, business partners, mentors, investors, ecosystem leaders, and government representatives. The event, taking place post G20 Startup20 meet in Hyderabad, aims at deepening collaboration among the EU India startup ecosystem. The flagship demo-day witnessed ecosystem players from TCS Limited, Wells Fargo, Hexagon, CIE-IIIT Hyderabad, Heifer International, RICH, etc.

H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador to the EU Delegation in India, welcomed the startups introduced by the EU-India Innocenter and said, "The EU-India Innocenter brings together high-impact European and Indian start-ups, driving growth, investment, and collaboration in key sectors. Tech-transfer, innovation equity and entrepreneurship can create a conducive environment to accelerate the green and digital transition.”

Director for Global and International Cooperation in Research and Innovation in the European Commission, Cristina Russo, stated, “We encourage European startups to scale globally as this is necessary to address societal challenges. We congratulate the EU-India Innovation Center on preparing the ground for India, which is fully in line with the EU strategy on international cooperation in a changing world, the ‘Global Approach’.

Srinivas Rao Mahankali, CEO of T-Hub, said, “We are delighted to have EU-India Innocenter’s innovative startups showcase their technologies. The programme's mission closely aligns with T-Hub’s mission of building a catalytic innovation ecosystem. Hyderabad has been instrumental in scaling many successful startups in India, and we are excited to see how these European startups can add value to our market."

According to Juliane Frommter, Programme Head at EU-India Innocenter, "We are excited to be back in India with our selected startups to showcase their cutting-edge solutions and build strategic partnerships. Our goal is to create sustainable, mutually beneficial collaborations between Europe and India. Since 2021, we have matched 40+ European Scaleups with 280+ Indian companies and India-based MNCs, and are grateful to our ecosystem partners for their consistent support to the programme.”

The startups will participate in tailored activities relevant to their needs and industry sectors. It includes stakeholder matchmaking, deeper insights on regulatory approvals and clinical validation in collaboration with CIE IIIT Hyderabad, a field trip to C-Camp Bengaluru, and coalescing sustainability enthusiasts in partnership with “Sustainability Mafia”, an initiative aimed at multiplying the impact of sustainability leaders through goal-oriented collaborations.

Since EU-India Innocenter’s inception, the programme has had over 4,000 innovative European startups in its pipeline. To date, 473 companies have been screened, with over 90 graduating the preparation training and 50 startups in the process of market validation.

There are more opportunities for EU-India cooperation on research and innovation under Horizon Europe. Check out the Horizon Europe Funding and Tenders Portal.