IIT Kanpur's SIIC and SBI Foundation Launch 'Startup Innovations for Social Good' Initiative
The program will support 30 startups—24 in the early stage and six in the growth stage—across three crucial sectors: agritech, healthcare, and cleantech.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur's Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), in collaboration with the SBI Foundation, has launched the 'Startup Innovations for Social Good' initiative under the SBIF Innovators for Bharat program.
The initiative, supported by SBI DFHI Limited and SBI Ventures, aims to nurture impact-driven startups that address some of India's most pressing societal challenges.
The program will support 30 startups—24 in the early stage and six in the growth stage—across three crucial sectors: agritech, healthcare, and cleantech. Over a span of 18 months, selected startups will receive structured incubation support, expert mentoring, and performance monitoring to ensure sustainable and scalable impact.
Prof Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, "SIIC/FIRST IIT Kanpur has always had a solution-oriented and future-ready approach to strengthen India's startup ecosystem. This program, supported by the SBI Foundation, is a uniquely-curated collaborative initiative that will help enhance the impact of the startups, empowering communities and ultimately contributing to economic growth and societal well-being."
The initiative also promises startups opportunities for networking and follow-on investments through curated workshops and roadshows, promoting indigenous innovation to meet critical unmet needs.
Prof Deepu Philip, Professor-in-charge of Innovation and Incubation, SIIC-FIRST, IIT Kanpur, added, "This collaboration focuses on developing transformative capabilities across AgriTech, Healthcare, and CleanTech to achieve a wider impact. FIRST IIT Kanpur has a proven record with over 400 incubated startups, and this joint initiative adds to our legacy of nurturing innovation."
SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of State Bank of India, is driving the program under its broader Innovators for Bharat initiative.
Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation, stated, "This initiative will be a cornerstone in identifying, funding, and nurturing startups that will lead the next wave of Agritech, Healthcare, and Cleantech innovations. Our partnership with SIIC, one of India's top incubators, reflects our commitment to social progress through innovation."
The initiative was officially launched at IIT Kanpur in the presence of several dignitaries including Prof Amey Karkare, Sanjay Prakash, Kapil Kaul, and others who reaffirmed their commitment to fostering innovation for social good.
This partnership sets a significant precedent in leveraging academic and corporate collaboration to fuel India's journey toward sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Entrepreneur
3 days ago
- Entrepreneur
IIT Kanpur's SIIC and SBI Foundation Launch 'Startup Innovations for Social Good' Initiative
The program will support 30 startups—24 in the early stage and six in the growth stage—across three crucial sectors: agritech, healthcare, and cleantech. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur's Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), in collaboration with the SBI Foundation, has launched the 'Startup Innovations for Social Good' initiative under the SBIF Innovators for Bharat program. The initiative, supported by SBI DFHI Limited and SBI Ventures, aims to nurture impact-driven startups that address some of India's most pressing societal challenges. The program will support 30 startups—24 in the early stage and six in the growth stage—across three crucial sectors: agritech, healthcare, and cleantech. Over a span of 18 months, selected startups will receive structured incubation support, expert mentoring, and performance monitoring to ensure sustainable and scalable impact. Prof Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, "SIIC/FIRST IIT Kanpur has always had a solution-oriented and future-ready approach to strengthen India's startup ecosystem. This program, supported by the SBI Foundation, is a uniquely-curated collaborative initiative that will help enhance the impact of the startups, empowering communities and ultimately contributing to economic growth and societal well-being." The initiative also promises startups opportunities for networking and follow-on investments through curated workshops and roadshows, promoting indigenous innovation to meet critical unmet needs. Prof Deepu Philip, Professor-in-charge of Innovation and Incubation, SIIC-FIRST, IIT Kanpur, added, "This collaboration focuses on developing transformative capabilities across AgriTech, Healthcare, and CleanTech to achieve a wider impact. FIRST IIT Kanpur has a proven record with over 400 incubated startups, and this joint initiative adds to our legacy of nurturing innovation." SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of State Bank of India, is driving the program under its broader Innovators for Bharat initiative. Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director, SBI Foundation, stated, "This initiative will be a cornerstone in identifying, funding, and nurturing startups that will lead the next wave of Agritech, Healthcare, and Cleantech innovations. Our partnership with SIIC, one of India's top incubators, reflects our commitment to social progress through innovation." The initiative was officially launched at IIT Kanpur in the presence of several dignitaries including Prof Amey Karkare, Sanjay Prakash, Kapil Kaul, and others who reaffirmed their commitment to fostering innovation for social good. This partnership sets a significant precedent in leveraging academic and corporate collaboration to fuel India's journey toward sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Entrepreneur
18-05-2025
- Entrepreneur
From IIT Kanpur to Global Unicorns: Naveen Tewari's Relentless Pursuit of Creation
"It was not until Harvard Business School that the idea of creation began to crystallise, "They weren't interested in conversations about industries or markets. They were just obsessed with creation," Naveen Tewari, Founder of InMobi and Glance You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. From the quiet academic lanes of IIT Kanpur to the pulsating global corridors of big tech, Naveen Tewari's entrepreneurial journey is anything but conventional. Building not one, but two global tech unicorns—InMobi and Glance—Tewari's path has been driven less by a predefined plan and more by a deep, persistent curiosity and resolve to create. A young boy grew up surrounded not by entrepreneurs, but by equations. "My grandmother was a professor. My father, my uncle, my aunt — everyone at home spoke the language of research and learning." There was never talk of startups. The dining table wasn't cluttered with market forecasts or unicorn valuations — it was filled with conversations about the transformative power of education. And yet, something began to stir. "Are we not evolving as a country or a society?" he would wonder silently. "Is this really all there is — a repetition of the same lives lived by those before me?" The mid-90s India was restless, shifting. Liberalisation was in motion, and so were the minds of its youth. Instead of following the familiar path of PhDs and fellowships, he stepped into McKinsey. It was there — in the mahogany offices and PowerPoint decks of corporate India — that he got his first glimpse of scale. But it was not until Harvard Business School that the idea of creation began to crystallise. "They weren't interested in conversations about industries or markets. They were just obsessed with creation." At HBS, surrounded by investment bankers, consultants, and a small, unbothered tribe of entrepreneurs — quirky, detached, but deeply committed — he saw it for the first time: building wasn't about pedigree, capital, or even clarity. It was about will. "They weren't smarter than me. They had the same fears, the same doubts. But they acted anyway." That insight didn't make the leap easier. It just made it inevitable. He came back. He jumped. And the fall was long. "The first two years — every day I thought of quitting. Every day I thought I made the wrong choice." While his peers were buying their first cars and planning getaways, he was buried in debt, tangled in failures, and choking on self-doubt. The early ventures didn't work. Co-founders came and went. Ideas collapsed under their own weight. But he stayed. The Company That Refused To Die Then came InMobi — not born out of certainty, but out of persistence. "You stay long enough in the game, and things start breaking your way." And break, they did. Slowly. The pieces came together — a market, a team, a model. He wasn't chasing exits. He was chasing endurance. "We went global when it wasn't fashionable." InMobi became one of India's first unicorns. But the hunger didn't fade. If anything, success only made the questions louder. "Can we go bigger? Can we touch the consumer directly? Can we build something that feels like the future?" That question gave birth to Glance — a company built not on safe bets but on a fresh, sweeping vision: that the internet could live on your lock screen, that AI could shape commerce before you even knew what you wanted. Vogue Becomes You It wasn't just about building a second company. It was about building differently. Where InMobi worked behind the scenes, Glance stood front and centre — where the user lived. "We wanted a platform where the internet came to you — AI-first, visual-first, and experience-first." The fashion agent inside Glance wasn't a gimmick. It was a glimpse of what was possible: real-time image generation, recommendations powered by Gemini, a shopping experience as personal as flipping through a Vogue magazine — except you were the cover model. "This phone is creating looks for me, trained on 20 years of fashion." And if you liked it? You could click, and it would search any platform in the world to deliver it. But if product was his passion, people were his power. "We don't have a performance management system. No leave policy. No timesheets. Just trust." Some call it crazy. He calls it culture. "Why punish the 99% for the 1% who game the system?" It's worked. Over 75% of his top 50 leaders have been with him for 8+ years. They've built together, bled together, and perhaps more than anything — believed together. "We don't just want to win. We want to win like a family." The Five That Mattered Looking back, Naveen doesn't boast. He reflects. When asked what he thinks he got right, his list is humble, but powerful: I persevered. I stayed in the game. I thought bold, even when I was terrified inside. I found great people and treated them right. I went global when it was hard. I made sure we kept winning. Over and over. "You don't need clarity to build. You need conviction." The Indian Dream, Rewritten Today, Glance and InMobi aren't just Indian companies — they are global platforms, with users across Brazil, Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Japan. The partnership with Google and Gemini? Just the next step in a journey that feels like it's still in its early chapters. "India might not lead in AI infrastructure. But in AI applications? We'll surprise the world." From IIT Kanpur to an AI fashion agent that reimagines commerce, Naveen's story isn't about a perfect roadmap. It's about following your unrest. Holding on when everything says let go. And choosing to build — even when it breaks you. Because sometimes, the only real plan is this: "Stay in the game. Stay crazy. Dream irrationally. Trust deeply. Build relentlessly." AI, Startups, And The New Normal Tewari's thoughts on the future of AI are sharp and pragmatic. "India won't lead in AI infrastructure — it's too capital-intensive. But we will excel in AI applications. That's our game." He envisions a future where even a one-person AI startup can become a unicorn. "The cost of building a startup has dropped drastically. You no longer need 500 people; 5 to 10 are enough. The playing field between startups and corporations has never been more level." However, he cautions against romanticising tech. "The barrier to technology has dropped. The challenge now is distribution. Ten companies will build similar tech. The one that cracks user acquisition will win."
Entrepreneur
15-05-2025
- Entrepreneur
VU Dynamics Partners with PATH Group to Boost Indigenous Defence Manufacturing
Bringing together VU Dynamics' deep-tech innovation with PATH Group's infrastructure execution expertise, the partnership is poised to deliver scalable, high-performance unmanned aerial systems for both defence and civilian use. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In a landmark step towards bolstering India's indigenous defence capabilities, IIT Kanpur-incubated aerospace startup VU Dynamics has entered into a strategic partnership with Prakash Asphaltings and Toll Highways (India) Limited (PATH Group). The collaboration aims to co-develop next-generation aerial platforms tailored for defence and strategic applications, aligning with the national vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. VU Dynamics, incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, is led by Prof Subrahmanyam Saderla and Dr Sravanthi Saderla. The startup specialises in developing long-endurance, cost-efficient, and operationally simple aerial systems embedded with proprietary technologies developed entirely in India. Bringing together VU Dynamics' deep-tech innovation with PATH Group's infrastructure execution expertise, the partnership is poised to deliver scalable, high-performance unmanned aerial systems for both defence and civilian use. Prof Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, stated, "It is a matter of great pride that a startup incubated on campus by a young faculty member Dr. Saderla, has attracted significant investment due to its innovative solutions in UAV space. I am sure that this partnership will achieve great success contributing towards our goal of creating impactful technological solutions." "Our collaboration with PATH marks a pivotal step in scaling our aerial technologies for real-world impact. PATH's operational depth and commitment to nation-building make them an ideal partner as we work toward strengthening India's indigenous aerospace capabilities," added Co-founder Prof Subrahmanyam Saderla. Nitin Agarwal, Managing Director of PATH Group, echoed the sentiment: "We've always admired the innovation emerging from institutions like IIT Kanpur. Taking these innovations to production scale is a major achievement. We are proud to support VU Dynamics and contribute to the national goal of technological self-reliance in defence." Anurag Singh, CEO of SIIC, highlighted, "This collaboration exemplifies the transformative potential of partnerships between startups and industry leaders. It is a powerful demonstration of how deep-tech innovation can be channelled into strategic national assets." With backing from one of the premier tech incubators and operational leadership from PATH's seasoned infrastructure team, the partnership is set to accelerate the indigenisation of critical defence technologies and build a robust, innovation-driven aerospace future for India.
