India- T-Hub, which leads entrepreneurs’ success with defined results through effective global collaborations has announced the results of its program with Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI), a global technical and development centre for the Open Innovation Challenge. RNTBCI networked with some of the most innovative automotive start-ups scouted by T-Hub for the Open Innovation Challenge. As a result, four start-ups, namely Imaginate, mSense, MayaMD, and RACEnergy, were awarded INR four million for their winning solutions to develop their Proof of Concepts (PoCs). In addition, the winning start-ups also received an opportunity to pitch to RNTBCI leadership and gain access to their global mentorship network.
T-Hub and RNTBCI earlier this year partnered for the Open Innovation Challenge that offered start-ups an opportunity to participate under themes like Mobility as a Service, First and Last Mile Connectivity, Circular Economy, and Digitization. The program received over 150 applications from start-ups nationwide with various solutions. After an extensive screening by T-Hub and RNTBCI, 80+ start-ups were shortlisted based on the program’s themes. A cohort of 20 start-ups participated in a pre-pitch session, and a further 10 were chosen to work on specific use cases.
MSR, CEO, T-Hub, said, “The program offered a great opportunity for these exciting young companies to experience the world-class support and capabilities of RNTBCI while accelerating their products and solutions to market. In addition, collaboration with the start-ups enabled RNTBCI to expand its innovation scope, connecting it to disruptive technologies that support its mission.”
The program focused on the automotive industry, covering topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA), electrification, big data, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), application development, cloud-based, materials, alternative fuels, and others. Start-ups in the growth stage with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in the areas of electric vehicles (EV), automated vehicles (AV), assistive technologies (AT), bio-based materials, the internet of waste, re-use, and upcycling were chosen to participate in the program.
Debashis Neogi, Managing Director, RNTBCI, said,“I would like to congratulate the winners of the Renault Nissan Open Innovation Challenge organised by Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India (RNTBCI). I’m delighted that we organised this initiative, which has given them a platform to exhibit their ideas.
In the automotive industry, innovation is one of the key elements, and we would like to use opportunities to ensure to be the front runner in implementing innovative technologies in our cars.”
The program provided the shortlisted start-ups with several benefits, including exclusive access to leaders in the automotive industry for mentorship and an opportunity to work from the T-Hub facility, the World’s largest innovation campus, with access to state-of-art design and product development resources. They also had the chance to discover a new use case for their current solutions and co-create a paid Proof of Concept (POC).
T-Hub ran the program in a hybrid mode and assisted the chosen start-ups by enhancing their pitch decks and displaying demonstrations. T-Hub also brought in top-tier industry experts, mentors, and business scaling opportunities for start-ups that made the shortlist.
Through its various initiatives, T-Hub will keep enhancing the interaction between large corporations and start-ups. To strengthen the relationships between corporations and start-ups, T-Hub will host the biggest platform in India, the ‘Corporate Innovation Conclave,’ on 20th October 2022.
So far, T-Hub’s corporate innovation programs have achieved 50+ scaling interventions, 150+ corporate interactions with start-ups, 60+ corporate innovation programs and curated innovative start-ups in 50+ countries. It has over 600 international & national corporates and 2000 mentor connections who have supported the scaling of over 2000 start-ups.
