India- T-Hub, which leads India’s innovation ecosystem, has launched the ninth cohort of Lab32, one of India’s longest running seed accelerator programs. The program has evolved its curriculum under the new leadership to make it more outcome-oriented and focused on a founders-first approach. The new cohort will build on the success of the previous cohorts which has facilitated 240 startups from across the country and raised USD 18 million in funding in the last year.
The ninth cohort of Lab32 will focus on startups working on cutting-edge solutions for industries, like Deep Tech, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Augmented Reality(AR)/Virtual Reality(VR), Blockchain, Metaverse, Web 3.0, FinTech, AgriTech and HealthTech. The new curriculum will be based on objective-oriented guidance led by consultants, mentors, and seasoned entrepreneurs to promote collaboration and peer-to-peer engagement within startups. This cohort includes customized workshops, mentorship, peer review, product evaluations and other essential interventions. The program uses an advanced algorithm-based metric tracking mechanism and gamification techniques to promote participation from the startups.
MSR, CEO, T-Hub, said, “T-Hub’s flagship seed accelerator program, Lab32 has been focused on supporting technology entrepreneurs and innovators for more than five years. Our program is equipped with invaluable resources, mentors and tools that emphasise on developing founders into leaders who can rapidly execute plans and navigate obstacles that derail the venture’s growth. The program’s new cohort will be focused on providing mentorship across components like growth, product, fundraising, design, talent, market-fit, PR and more. By giving the founders access to the knowledge and networking opportunities we can help accelerate their growth to move their venture to the next level.”
The seed accelerator program will commence on 6th September 2022 in a hybrid modality and will offer participating startups constant support for three months. It will enable more entrepreneurs across India to participate in the program without the need for a physical presence in Hyderabad. Lab32’s modules will help the startups build better versions of products, discover and tap into market opportunities. Each module will have one theoretical session by an academic trainer, one best practice sharing session by a unicorn or soonicorn founder and one practical workshop by the T-Hub internal team, along with a deliverable. The top 20 per cent of the performing startups will receive exclusive access to Markets, Mentors, Media, Methodologies and entry into T-Hub’s Angel investment program on graduation day.
Startups will also gain access to knowledge resource partners, such as Google, Hubspot, Unicorn Founders and outreach partners such as NASSCOM, CIE, ISB and IIIT Hyderabad, to create a high business impact and drive an innovation culture. Twenty-five startups will be shortlisted after a focused and extensive screening process. Interested startups can apply on this link or email [email protected]. Applications close on 1 September 2022.
Startups will be selected based on the following criteria:
- Startups from DeepTech, FinTech, AgriTech and HealthTech.
- The startup has a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or market-ready stage.
- The startup must be from the Indian sub-continent.
- The startup should have had some initial traction in terms of pilots/users/paying customers.
- The startup should have a working product and a clear product roadmap.
- Startups should have a team of two full-time founders with complementary skill sets, a clear vision of their business and knowledge of the sector.
Lab32 has hosted eight cohorts since its launch in 2018 and helped 240 startups to scale their businesses quickly and strategically. It has emerged as one of the premier startup programs for rapid growth. The startups from the previous cohorts have witnessed a 402 per cent overall revenue growth rate and created more than 135 percent employment generation in four months. The program made over USD 2,70,000 credits available from partners, including AWS, Google, Azure, Github, Hubspot, Freshworks, Zoho and Notion and up to 40 per cent discount from other partners for the startups.
