Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti, Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched ‘Investor Information and Analytics Platform’ developed by IIT Madras today. This platform will act as a one-stop shop for startups to seamlessly access Venture Capitalists (VCs) and investors networks, Govt schemes and several other components of the startup landscape for all stakeholders.
By integrating information at different levels, the platform is also a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to search for information on government agencies, incubators, investors, VCs and banks that invest in startups.
This platform has been developed by the Researchers at the Centre for Research on Start-ups and Risk Financing (CREST) of IIT Madras. It will significantly help startup founders, entrepreneurs and Young Indians who intend to build their own devices, services and platforms for India and for the world.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Congratulations on launching this platform. I believe you are certainly addressing a gap in our visibility of the innovation ecosystem—how vast, deep, and diversified our startup innovation ecosystem is. I view this as a valuable resource for researchers who will study and utilize it to comprehend the growth within the ecosystem. This understanding can also help public policymakers in crafting responses and initiatives aligned with these dynamics. This holistic approach is crucial for comprehensively researching the innovation ecosystem, particularly to understand that we have created a thriving startup innovation ecosystem in the past 2-3 years. There is much more to come, with the next wave of innovation emerging from areas such as semiconductors, microelectronics, AI, HPC, among others.”
An important feature of this unique platform is “StartupGPT” which is an AI-based conversational platform whose function is to help ease information access for those who are navigating exhaustive data. A user will be able to ask queries in simple language to access information they seek in real time. For sustainability of the platform, full access will be provided at a very nominal cost so that maximum entrepreneurs can benefit from this resource.
The platform has information on more than 200,000 start-ups, close to 11,000 angel investors and 5,000 VCs, about 1000 incubators, more than 100 Govt agencies that fund start-ups, and about 550 banks that have supported the start-ups.
IIT Madras has partnered with YNOS Venture Engine, an incubatee start-up of IIT Madras in developing the platform. This technical partnership takes advantage of the strengths of private sector enterprise and ensures that the platform is up-to-date and is available 24*7 for the benefit of users. The platform can be accessed using the following link: HYPERLINK http://www.ynos.in/www.ynos.in.
Highlighting the role of this platform in driving innovation and start-ups in India, Prof. Thillai Rajan A, Head, CREST, IIT Madras, said, “The translation of innovation to commercial products and services requires the confluence of innovators, mentors, start-up founders, investors, and funding agencies. As India progresses towards a Viksit Bharat on the back of a strong innovation driven economy, platforms such as these would play an important role in democratising access to information and capital that can accelerate the commercialization of innovation. The biggest beneficiaries would be the hundreds and thousands of young entrepreneurs who would be able to easily identify the experts, investors and mentors most appropriate for their ventures.”
Prof Thillai Rajan A, also a faculty in Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, added, “The platform is a fine example of India’s top ranked academic institution using their research expertise in developing a product that contributes to a national cause. Indian entrepreneurs are known for their frugal innovation. Developing a world class platform such as this purely through private enterprise would have made this beyond the reach of early stage entrepreneurs, who have limited resources. I am grateful to the support of IIT Madras and the Government of India for conceptualising and supporting the Institute of Eminence Scheme because of which the platform has become a reality.”