Gopalakrishnan - Deshpande Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

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Mr. Raghuttama Rao, CEO, GDC, during his presentation on "Building Entrepreneurial Universities" to AICTE-approved MBA/PGDM – IEV Institutions in Ahmedabad.

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Applications are now open for the DST-GDC I-NCUBATE Program Cohorts 4 & 5

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Moments from the 5th Annual GDC Symposium

To watch the full recording, visit:
https://gdciitm.org/the-5th-annual-gdc-symposium-at-iit-madras/

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Our CEO, Mr. Raghuttama Rao, at the official launch of the DST-GDC I-NCUBATE Program, which was unveiled by Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in New Delhi on September 6th.

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Capturing the Momentum: Glimpses from GDC's Transformative I-NITIATE Program at NIT Trichy

GDC builds capacity in researchers from STEM universities, incubators, research institutions, and corporates to maximize the impact of deep-tech research through scalable start-ups. By enabling faculty and researchers in STEM universities across India to commercialize their research ideas and innovations, we help them go from lab to market.

Our Programs

Boot camp for early-stage start-up teams from
university labs, to search for the elusive
problem-solution fit.

I-NDUCT

Helps participants understand the demands and rigors of entrepreneurship, while also assisting participant teams in exploring entrepreneurship more intensively or transitioning to alternative career paths.

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I-NSPIRE

The program is aimed at founders of science-based startups at the pre-revenue stage, where the startup lacks full visibility of customer or revenue potential, and the founders are uncertain if the early success of customer wins is repeatable and sustainable.

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I-GNITE

Aimed at founders of science-based, pre-revenue startups with limited visibility into customer or revenue potential, the 4–6-week boot camp focuses on scaling the startup and addressing concerns about the sustainability of early success.

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I-NITIATE

Addresses a critical gap in the university startup ecosystem by helping students and researchers evaluate their readiness to become founders and gain a deeper understanding of the market before launching a startup based on academic research or ideas.

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Founders' Speak

Begin your journey

Faculty

Create wider impact with your
research. Help your students
realise their dreams with a
startup built on your research
idea

Researchers

Transform your research idea
into a scalable start-up. Improve
your Entrepreneurial Quotient
and enhance your business
skills.

Experienced Professionals

Mentor an exciting start-up.
Or, reach out to help your
alma mater or another
STEM college or incubator
through mentorship

Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Explore your calling as an
entrepreneur. Connect with
a University professor for
technical guidance

Our Start-ups

Meraki

Team Meraki from IISc set out to address a widespread, troubling condition affecting almost a fifth of adult Indian women at some point in their lives. Urinary incontinence is a distressing medical condition wherein a person is unable to control the flow of urine. Clearly, such an ailment causes physical pain, social discomfiture, and a lot of psychological stress to the person concerned. When the Meraki team conceived of their innovation as a treatment solution to this problem, they were certain that all women affected would rush to avail of it.

Robo Rehab

Physiotherapy patients routinely perform a prescribed sequence of repetitive exercises as part of their rehabilitation plan. Recognizing the monotony that such patients experience, Team Robo-Rehab devised a robotic rehabilitation device that gamified physiotherapy exercises to make rehabilitation more fun. The team joined the I-NCUBATE program wanting to get clarity on how to develop their product better.

Tan90

Team Tan90 comprised a confident set of Masters/PhD students from IIT Madras. They had won a student’s innovation contest with a cold storage box they had built. The experience encouraged them to think about building a startup around their innovation. They refined their technology with the guidance of a professor and they also joined the first cohort of the I-NCUBATE program under his guidance.

Tattva Shodh

Drawing from personal experiences, Team Tattva Shodh from ICT - Mumbai designed a point-of-care device for monitoring conditions during pregnancy. The team comprising experienced researchers came into the I-NCUBATE program expecting to find customers and learn how to market their product.

Pico Distribute

Team Pico Distribute from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham were working on building a smart-city platform incorporating connected mobility, AI-based smart energy management and real time visualisation. The young and enthusiastic team joined the I-NCUBATE program, confident that they had a world-changing idea.

Theevanam

Team Theevanam was an ideal team – almost tailored for the I-NCUBATE program. They had two faculty leads, an industry mentor, and an enthusiastic entrepreneurial team that was technically knowledgeable. Through research in Biotechnology, Theevanam had developed a food additive that boosted the immunity characteristics of animal and human health products. The team thought that their innovation had wide application in aquaculture, poultry and human health products.

Thermelgy

Team Thermelgy was an “experienced” team, in the sense that the professor (Faculty Lead) had already been through the I-NCUBATE program twice earlier with other startups. Besides three enthusiastic Entrepreneur Lead, Thermelgy already had an anchor investor, who was a successful entrepreneur in Thermelgy’s line of business, namely, energy efficiency.

Aakash

About half of the current internet downtimes are preventable, say current reports. Yet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are largely focused on reactive maintenance rather than proactive monitoring. This is what inspired Team Aakash from Vellore Institute of Technology to work on their idea to strengthen the internet backbone, one monitoring solution at a time.

Photoniphy

Team Photoniphy from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru, aspires to take the idea of a wireless world to the next level with their concept of wireless power transmission. With the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming ubiquitous in home appliances, medical devices, and industrial equipment, Team Photoniphy decided to begin its journey by eliminating the need for batteries in such devices. Convinced by the concept, BMS college decided to fund the building of a prototype.

Pragati Tech

Arijit Majumdar and Ankita Paul were studying their fourth year of engineering when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. They focussed their final year project on finding a solution to the problems of healthcare sector workers in tackling the pandemic. They designed an SNH Robot that could clean, sanitize, and assist hospital staff by eliminating the need for human intervention in high-risk areas. That was the inception of Team Pragati Tech.

Gravity

Team Gravity from Shankaracharya Technical Campus was building an AI-powered microscope when they came into the I-NCUBATE program. Optical microscopes, the team felt, have several limitations – from causing stress to the user’s eyes and neck to consequential errors in readings. Team Gravity spent three months working on their innovation before coming to GDC.

Nexus Mobility

Team Gravity from Shankaracharya Technical Campus was building an AI-powered microscope when they came into the I-NCUBATE program. Optical microscopes, the team felt, have several limitations – from causing stress to the user’s eyes and neck to consequential errors in readings. Team Gravity spent three months working on their innovation before coming to GDC.

Team DesIn GDC

Team DesIN from IIT, Hyderabad aims to make toys. The scenario of the Indian toy industry is as follows: minuscule global presence, rising exports, government initiatives to support the industry. The Indian market is set to become the global toy hub by 2030 and the market is hugely unorganized. The team thought they would make use of this scenario to make innovative educational toys with 3M glass bubbles mixed with ABS. The team wanted to set this idea into motion and joined GDC. That’s when they realized that they were progressing at a very slow phase making shallow assumptions. Four weeks into the I-NCUBATE program, all of their initial assumptions and value propositions got invalidated.

Team Feel Joy

Feel Joy is a mentor health start-up. The CEO, Parav, struggled with dyslexia at school and he was almost about to drop out, but he was fortunate enough to have found a few mentors who helped me learn differently. He discovered that these mentors had emotional intelligence. This motivated the CEO to study about emotional intelligence for nearly 10 years, which gave him the idea to start FeelJoy.

Team Raydius

Team Raydius aims at building a two way digital platform where content consumers get instant access to happenings in their neighborhood and Producers post about themselves to reach people in their vicinity. Their initial assumptions were that content consumers want to know about neighborhood activities and they cannot find them in one place. They also assumed that the content producers weren’t tech savvy and hugely relied on banners, leaflets etc.

Team Aurava

Team Aurava’s idea is to print a metal based electronic circuit with its polymer housing, called a smart electronic structure. As a PhD in UTSAAH Lab, CPDM, we are doing research to design and develop a 3D metal printer using a novel technique to print electronic structures in 3D. They joined the I-NCUBATE program to find the validity for their product in the market. They met around 15 entrepreneurs at the Elevate Karnataka Finale and got to know that the entrepreneurs make only one or two prototypes, either outsource the PCB or get the prototype done by the prototype manufacturers.

Team Curium life

Curium is an unlikely combination of aggressive surgeons and deep learning nerds. These surgeons often do hernia surgery. Some of these Hernias are small, some are big and some can be recurring. Hernias recur as the doctors don’t have enough information in the CT scan before they operate. They also have limited information during and after the surgery. It could be tedious determining whether the hernia could recur or not.

Team ImLab

Team ImLab aims to improve proctology diagnosis devices Ergonomics Design, Enhanced Visual and Physical Accessibility and Economy in cost. They joined the GDC I-NCUBATE program to gain better understanding of the market and also to get feedback from Doctors regarding their vision.

Team Bion

Bion is a team of researchers from IITM and Anna University. They prototyped a smart wearable device to monitor the electrolyte imbalance level during Dialysis. To commercialize it, they enrolled in the GDC I-NCUBATE program.

Team Air Quality Patrol

Air quality is a ragging problem in the metropolitan cities of India over the last few decades . Team Air Quality Patrol aims to solve this particular issue by establishing a low-cost sensor-based network for air quality monitoring and development of self calibration protocols in urban centers in pursuit of cleaner air.

Team AIDesign

Team AIDesign from IIT Madras, found out the hard way that the business world is far different from the technical world. The team found out that these worlds completely run on different motivations and perspectives when they entered the I-NCUBATE program. AIDesign specializes in building physics-less models using Artificial intelligence based algorithms instead of physics based conventional numerical solvers to solve complex engineering simulation problems at a billionfold faster rate with simple computational resources.

MachIntell

MachIntell, a pioneering research team from IIT Madras, is dedicated to enhancing the reliability and performance of machine tools. Their innovative approach involves developing a factory-level cyber-physical system tailored for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). This comprehensive hardware and software ecosystem aims to elevate equipment reliability, streamline data collection, and automate critical reliability processes.

Team SpiceC

SpiceC, a pioneering startup from IIT Madras, initially set out with a visionary concept to transform cancer treatment using an Indian spice-based nano-scale emulsion. Their core assumptions were grounded in the belief that the rising demand for alternative cancer therapies, driven by the side effects and high costs of traditional treatments, presented a significant market opportunity for their innovative solution. They envisioned that their approach would offer a safer, more effective alternative with minimal side effects, addressing the gaps in current cancer treatments.

Team Folium Sensing

Founded with a commitment to advancing fiber optics-based sensing, Folium Sensing, startup from IIT Madras, offers groundbreaking solutions that measure critical parameters across extensive distances and numerous points. From perimeter sensing and gas pipeline leakage monitoring to temperature regulation in high-stakes environments like steel plants, MRI scanners, and nuclear power facilities, their technology promises precision and reliability where it’s needed most

Team SHAKTI

SHAKTI, an innovative startup in energy management, began with a vision to address inefficiencies in power consumption through a smart decentralized system. Founded by five friends, their goal was to create a reliable, cost-effective, and clean electricity solution by integrating renewable energy sources. Their initial focus was on developing a cutting-edge technology for energy management and storage, aimed at revolutionizing energy usage.

Rail Labs

Meet Raillabs, the startup that's rewriting the rules of railway track inspection with their technology, Arista. Born from a shared vision among tech enthusiasts, Arista is a game-changer in railway safety, designed to automate and enhance track inspections with unprecedented precision and range.

H2Next

H2Next, a startup in the green technology sector, embarked on an ambitious quest to revolutionize the hydrogen production industry with their innovation: cutting-edge indigenous AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane) electrolysers and electrolyser membranes. These devices are designed to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water efficiently and cost-effectively. What began as a straightforward idea of creating affordable, local solutions for hydrogen production evolved into a complex and fascinating journey, significantly shaped by their participation in the GDC’s I-NCUBATE Program.

bioLOCKEY Healthworks

Cervical cancer poses a significant health challenge in India, ranking as the second most prevalent cancer and a leading cause of death among women. Despite its preventability, the lack of effective early detection remains a major issue, particularly in resource-limited settings where screening infrastructure is often inadequate.

EON Space Labs

EON Space Labs, founded by three accomplished engineers and entrepreneurs, is at the forefront of making satellite data more accessible and affordable. The startup's journey began with their extensive experience as consultants for a defence company, where they managed complex product development projects.

Swayatt Drishtigochar

Swayatt Drishtigochar, a startup founded by three ambitious professionals who transitioned from their careers to embrace entrepreneurship, began their journey with a notable victory at a hackathon in 2021. This initial success fueled their drive to revolutionize maintenance practices through cutting-edge, data-driven technology. The startup’s mission is to transform how manufacturing plants manage machine upkeep by offering an integrated solution that combines hardware and software for real-time monitoring of industrial machinery. Their technology aims to predict potential breakdowns, enhance safety, and optimize operational efficiency, addressing a critical industry challenge—mitigating the $1.5 trillion annual losses caused by unforeseen machine stoppages.

Sakar Robotics

Sakar Robotics, a starup from IIT Palakkad, embarked on a mission to transform the labor-intensive processes of sewer and construction maintenance. Initially, their focus was on tackling the problem of manual scavenging in sewer cleaning—a significant issue despite existing robotic technologies. To address this, they conducted extensive site observations and interviews with municipal authorities, outsourced contractors, and manual scavengers across cities like Pune, Bangalore, and Indore. They reviewed research papers, government reports, and existing products, only to discover that while advanced machinery was available, its use was sporadic, and manual labor remained prevalent due to entrenched practices and complex decision-making processes.

Cellverse

Cellverse, a startup co-founded by an IIT Jodhpur faculty member, is set on revolutionizing preclinical drug testing. Identifying inefficiencies in current drug testing methods, Cellverse aims to fill the void with reliable disease models essential for drug discovery and personalized medicine. Their primary focus is developing 3D bio-printed disease models for high-throughput screening, starting with a model for oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), a precancerous condition.

Glympsify

Glympsify, a trailblazing startup from BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, launched with a bold vision: transforming summarized text into interactive videos to help professionals manage the vast amounts of data they encounter daily. The startup set out to revolutionize data presentation across various sectors, including businesses, educational institutions, and content creators, with the goal of making complex information more accessible and engaging.

Chargers

Chargers, a startup spearheaded by a faculty from Kongu Engineering College and his team of Ph.D. researchers specializing in supercapacitors, embarked on an ambitious journey to revolutionize battery technology. Initially, they set out with bold hypotheses about meeting the high demands for fast-charging and long-lasting batteries in smartphones and electric vehicles (EVs). They envisioned solutions for UPS manufacturers, medical drone producers, smartphone makers, and EV manufacturers, believing these sectors represented significant market opportunities.

Sukoon

When the sweltering Chennai heat bore down on the students of IIT Madras, it wasn't just an inconvenience; it sparked a transformative idea for the team behind Sukoon. As the sun blazed relentlessly, they were inspired to create a wearable cooling technology designed to provide much-needed relief in high temperature environments. Their innovative solution utilized semiconductor technology and microchannel heat exchangers to offer a sensation of comfort that could revolutionize how people cope with extreme heat.

Smart Diaper

In 2020, amid the global pandemic, Prof. Pandiyarasan Veluswamy from IIITDM Kancheepuram experienced a significant personal milestone: the birth of his son. This joyful event, however, was tinged with the challenges faced in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where his newborn was being cared for. The NICU environment, characterized by stringent protocols, restricted parental access and left nurses solely responsible for routine diaper changes. The limitations of the NICU’s diaper management system became increasingly evident. The absence of an efficient method to detect wetness meant that nurses had to manually check diapers during scheduled rounds. This process often led to prolonged periods of discomfort for the infants, as diapers could remain wet longer than necessary.

SWASAM

In 2020, amid the global pandemic, Prof. Pandiyarasan Veluswamy from IIITDM Kancheepuram experienced a significant personal milestone: the birth of his son. This joyful event, however, was tinged with the challenges faced in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where his newborn was being cared for. The NICU environment, characterized by stringent protocols, restricted parental access and left nurses solely responsible for routine diaper changes. The limitations of the NICU’s diaper management system became increasingly evident. The absence of an efficient method to detect wetness meant that nurses had to manually check diapers during scheduled rounds. This process often led to prolonged periods of discomfort for the infants, as diapers could remain wet longer than necessary.

Pratyahara

Team Pratyahara from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, embarked on an ambitious mission to tackle urinary incontinence with a promising concept. Initially, their focus was on women experiencing urge continence, driven by the assumption that a predictive tool for managing sudden urges would greatly benefit this demographic. This assumption was based on the notion that these women would benefit significantly from a predictive tool to help plan their bathroom visits.

Energy Flow

Team Energy Flow from IIITDM Kancheepuram dedicated over 30 months to developing a long-duration energy storage solution before joining GDC's I-NCUBATE program. Their mission was to use renewable energy to meet extensive electricity needs. However, despite their efforts, their original concept required significant refinement to effectively meet real market needs. To improve its approach and gain strategic insights, Energy Flow turned to GDC's I-NCUBATE program. This decision proved pivotal in transforming their solution, as the program provided the critical support and expertise necessary to align their innovative concept with the real needs of the market.

AI SQUASH

Imagine a world where the tension of waiting for crucial brain tumor pathology reports during surgery is a thing of the past. That’s exactly what AI SQUASH, a pioneering startup founded by a group of doctors from NIMHANS, is working towards. Their journey began with a significant challenge: during neurosurgical procedures, the need for rapid, accurate tumor analysis often leads to delays of up to an hour. These delays not only waste valuable operating room time but also prolong patient anesthesia and can impact surgical outcomes.

Aerial Cluster

Aerial Cluster (now AeroDome Technologies), founded by three IIT Madras alumni who were previously integral members of Team Avishkar Hyperloop, embarked on an ambitious journey to transform aerial displays. The team set out with a grand vision: to create breathtaking sky shows using LED-equipped drones, aiming to illuminate the sky for a wide range of events, including weddings, corporate functions, government ceremonies, and advertisements. Despite their innovative concept and enthusiasm, they encountered significant challenges navigating the competitive and cluttered market.

Clowak

Clowak, an ambitious startup from VIT, Vellore, started with its innovative approach to tackle the challenges faced by government and dental colleges in providing treatment in remote areas. Traditional methods like dental ambulances, while useful, have significant limitations—they often cater to only one patient at a time and come with high costs. Clowak's Portable Dental Clinic (PDC) is set to revolutionize this model by offering a more efficient, scalable solution that can enhance both patient care and the hands-on learning experience for students.

InsituMicron

At the intersection of innovation and practicality, InsituMicron, from IIT Madras, embarked on a transformative journey with GDC's I-NCUBATE Program. Specializing in miniaturized multifunctional mechanical testing, the team set out with a bold vision: to make advanced testing tools more accessible and affordable across a range of industries.

AI Saga

AI Saga, a team from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, embarked on a transformative journey through GDC’s I-NCUBATE Program with the ambitious vision of revolutionizing data annotation. They identified a significant market gap: existing tools were both fragmented and costly, while manual annotation processes were time-consuming and expensive. To address these issues, AI Saga developed a semi-automated annotation platform designed to streamline data handling using AI-powered automation. This innovative platform offered a cost-effective solution with faster annotation capabilities, pre-built model deployment features, and a comprehensive approach to managing data.

GalaxEye

At GDC, we believe in the power of innovation to tackle real-world challenges, and GalaxEye's journey exemplifies how our I-NCUBATE Program empowers startups to turn visionary ideas into viable solutions. In the midst of the severe drought in Chennai, the GalaxEye team recognized the potential of satellite imaging to predict and address environmental issues. This sparked their mission: to develop high-quality satellite data solutions for various sectors, including agriculture and disaster mitigation.

Modulus Housing

Modulus Housing, a company founded in 2018 by IIT Madras alumni, has made significant strides in revolutionizing the construction and healthcare sectors through innovative, modular solutions. Initially focused on providing foldable cabins and rapid-deployment health facilities, the company quickly realized the potential for its technology to address critical infrastructure needs in various sectors, including healthcare, disaster relief, and housing. However, Modulus faced early challenges in market identification and aligning their product with the right customer needs. Their technology, originally developed for disaster relief, struggled to find widespread adoption, as markets often prioritized immediate needs over long-term solutions.