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INR 2.5 Cr funding won by Social Startups from IIITH's social incubator AIC-IIITH

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INR 2.5 Cr funding won by Social Startups from IIITH's social incubator AIC-IIITH
  • Social Startups supported by AIC-IIITH, IIITH’s social incubator have won INR 2.5 Cr funding support from Government of India and showcased at various G20 startup meetings.
  • Two startups from green energy and animal husbandry space have been selected for INR 1 Cr each from AIM, NITI Aayog’s ANIC and accessibility tech startup for INR 50 lakhs of BIRAC’s BIG grant.
  • AIC-IIITH, which supports tech-based Social Startups has supported 41+ social startups and facilitated creation of 300+ jobs and INR 2+ Cr of funding.

We need to move toward achieving sustainable and inclusive growth to help India achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). As part of this Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) a flagship program of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, has selected AIC-IIITH’s Social Startups Jivoule Biofuels, a Hyderabad-based green energy company and Verdant Impact, a Jaipur-based animal husbandry platform for funding of INR 1Cr each. This amount will be disbursed after the startups successfully complete the due-diligence process.

A big part of achieving SDGs also included supporting People with Disabilities. Recognizing this, AIC-IIITH’s SunQulp Tech has been selected for a grant of INR 50 Lakh from Biotech Ignition Grant (BIG), the largest early-stage biotech funding programme in India. BIG is the flagship programme of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology.

AIC-IIITH’s vision is “Catalyzing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using technology to become a thought leader in the space of technology for social impact.” This aligns with ANIC’s aim “to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.” Similarly BIG which seeks ‘provides the right admixture of fuel and support to young startups and entrepreneurial individuals’ align with AIC-IIITH’s goals to “Validate prototypes and business models to help move India ahead in achieving the U.N. SDGs.” Thus, AIC-IIITH’s tech-based social startups are a perfect fit for these programmes.

Jivoule Biofuels founded by Chandrasekhar Nandigama is working to set up a compressed biogas plant in Hyderabad. They recently started operating a biogas-based power generation plant in Tirupur.

Verdant Impact run by Founder and CEO Manish K. Prahlad is a full-stack animal husbandry platform. The platform provides farmers with backward and forward linkages for purchase and sale of livestock and services like Animal ICU, a digital livestock healthcare ecosystem.

SunQulp started by the team of Amit Panwar (Founder) and Dushyant Kumar (Co-Founder) have created SmartVest, a low-cost, one of its kind, unique navigation solution for the visually impaired people to help them in their movement. It is a wearable vest that guides the wearer while walking by talking to them in human voice and gives them real-time information about their path and the obstacles to avoid, helping them go places with confidence.

Congratulating the Startups, Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, Director of AIC-IIITH said, “This financial investment by AIM and BIRAC in AIC-IIITH startups validates and reaffirms our approach of seeking to support the use of technology by social entrepreneurs to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges faced by India.”

Jivoule Biofuels was part of AIC-IIITH’S Raftaar – Covid Acceleration Program supported by EPAM Systems as part of its ESG commitment. Verdant Impact and SunQulp Tech are part of the 3rd cohort of Akash, AIC-IIITH’s Flagship Incubation Program.

AIC-IIITH’s Startups Jivoule Biofuels, Verdant Impact and Next Skills 360 were also part of various G20 startup meetings organized by the government across India.

AIC-IIITH Foundation, social tech incubator of IIITH, runs multiple cohorts of social startups under various programs like Akash, flagship incubation program and Dhanush Micro Incubation program. AIC-IIITH has also run programs funded by various corporate partners like EPAM, HDFC and Pernod Ricard India Foundation, providing grants to startups. Till date AIC-IIITH has supported 41+ startups, created 300+ jobs and facilitated INR 2+ Cr of funding in diverse social impact sectors like Medtech, Agritech, Greentech, Climate, Edtech etc. AIC-IIITH startups raised INR 75+ cr in funding till date.

About AIC-IIITH Foundation is an Atal Incubation Center set up exclusively for incubating and supporting tech-based social enterprises. It seeks to deploy entrepreneurial energy and technological innovation for social impact to help India achieve the SDGs. Supported by the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India, AIC-IIITH FOUNDATION also seeks to nurture the social enterprise ecosystem by acting as a platform for sharing ideas and insights. With over 10,000 sq. ft space consisting of co-working spaces, conference room, meeting space and other facilities, AIC-IIITH FOUNDATION aims to provide collaborative space to entrepreneurs. These benefits are further enhanced by the multiplying effect of agglomeration effects and network effects of being situated in the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), IIIT-Hyderabad, which is a cluster of incubation centers, research labs and resources.

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad: IIIT Hyderabad is the first IIIT to be set up in the country, in 1998. IIIT Hyderabad is a research university that ranks in the country for research in various areas of computer science. IIITH also strongly emphasises on translating research into products and startups. To enable this, the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) was set up in 2008, which has since grown to be the largest academic incubator in the country. The Centre has very active programs across the spectrum of a startup journey. Entrepreneurship courses and workshops for students, Product Labs to seed new products from research, a pre-incubation program to help entrepreneurs create new startups, incubation to nurture early-stage startups, mentoring programs to improve strategy and business development of the startups, investor pitch days, and several talks/workshops from experts and successful entrepreneurs. CIE-IIITH was supported by DST (TBI) and MeitY (TIDE) in the initial years. Today, there are very active programs focused on emerging technology startups, research-based startups, medical technologies, and social technology startups. In the past 14 years, CIE has housed over 450+ startups that have raised about 250 Cr funding and created over 2500 jobs.

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Yango showcases latest innovations to transform urban transport at Mobility Live ME

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Abu Dhabi, UAE, Yango, an international tech company, made a significant impact as the Silver Sponsor at Mobility Live ME, the region’s most crucial event focusing on disruptive technology in mobility. Being committed to leveraging the power of technology to improve its users’ lives, Yango showcased its latest products and innovations and presented insights tailored to the MENA region’s evolving demands.

Building on its reputation for unique service offerings, the company recently launched Yango Drive, a comprehensive car rental marketplace integrated within the Yango SuperApp that is gaining substantial traction in Dubai. It features a digital booking system that offers an array of 3,500 cars, providing a seamless, high-quality rental experience from booking to return. This service reflects Yango’s commitment to comfort, convenience, and sustainability, supporting the shift towards shared mobility and aligning with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 and Dubai Urban Plan 2040 initiatives.

Furthermore, in alignment with its dedication to enriching local communities, the ‘Prayer Mode’ for Muslim drivers was recently launched during the holy month of Ramadan. This feature facilitates drivers’ adherence to prayer schedules and includes innovative mapping and smart routing technologies to locate the nearest mosques. The app also mutes notifications during prayer times and provides directions to the Qibla, ensuring drivers can seamlessly balance their professional responsibilities with their religious practices.

Islam Abdul Karim, General Manager, Yango GCC, said: “We have seen great demand for our services since our entry into the market and are dedicated to developing a safe and comfortable urban transport system to keep up with this demand. With technology at the heart of our mission, we are not just responding to the current status but are actively shaping the future of mobility with innovative solutions and features. We will continue to set new standards in the industry, contributing to creating smart, sustainable cities.”

Islam spoke in a panel discussion at Mobility Live: “Movers and Shapers: Shining a Spotlight on the Game-Changers in Modern Transport Systems.” Shashi Shekhar Singh, Director of New Markets at Yango, delivered a keynote speech on the “Future of Mobility,” delving into how the company redefines urban mobility.

The company’s commitment to innovation is reflected in its diverse range of services, including Yango Maps, Yango ride-hailing service, Yango Play, Yango Tech, the advanced Arabic human-like AI voice assistant Yasmina, and many more, all of which are designed to enhance the everyday lives of local communities. As one of the leading apps in the region, the company is committed to supporting local transport providers, creating jobs, and fostering long-term partnerships with local communities and governments.

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Trident IoT Launches Taurus Z-Wave Series Silicon

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Chip series and SDK support next-generation Z-Wave capabilities for the global market.

Trident IoT, an RF technology and engineering company focused on decreasing time-to-market for connected device manufacturers, today announced the release of the new Taurus Z-Wave Series of silicon solutions.

The Trident IoT Taurus Z-Wave Series will encompass system-on-chip (SoC) solutions and modules that support the latest advancements in Z-Wave technology, including Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) for the U.S. and the implementation of the ZWLR European specification. The Taurus Z-Wave Series will ship with an SDK based on Open Z-Wave Specification Release 2024A.

“The Taurus Series gives global manufacturers access to cutting-edge Z-Wave capabilities,” said Trident IoT co-founder Bill Scheffler. “This silicon series and SDK will be the first to implement the ZWLR European specification, accelerating IoT product development worldwide.”

Taurus Series Silicon Specifications
The Taurus Series is based on an ultra-low power, high performance Z-Wave SoC. The Taurus SoC solution is designed to enable Z-Wave solutions with class-leading battery life, range, and memory.

Taurus Series chips feature an ARM® Cortex®-M33 microprocessor, 1MB of flash program memory, and 288KB of SRAM data memory for exceptional processing and response time. The powerful sub-GHz radios transmit at +20dBm and +14 dBm, enabling communication over distances up to 1+ miles.

Taurus chips support Z-Wave Plus, Z-Wave Plus v2 and ZWLR, enabling the development of highly secure, reliable, scalable, and backwards-compatible solutions for smart home, hospitality, multi-dwelling units and more. Using the ZWLR 12-bit addressing space, the Taurus Series supports networks of up to 4000 nodes; Taurus chips also leverage ZWLR dynamic power control, enabling end point battery life of up to ten years from a single coin-cell battery.

“ZWLR is a revolutionary technology, with the power to expand the reach, scale and utility of IoT applications while preserving full backward compatibility with currently deployed Z-Wave devices,” said Avi Rosenthal, Z-Wave Alliance Chairman of the Board. “This new Z-Wave silicon offering, paired with the Trident IoT SDK and design services, will enable more Z-Wave Alliance members to take advantage of ZWLR capabilities, bringing exciting new products to market faster around the globe.”

End-to-End Product Development Support
In line with the company’s mission to decrease time-to-market for IoT devices, Trident IoT will offer end-to-end engineering consultation for new products integrating Taurus Series silicon. In addition to the Taurus Series SDK, Trident IoT customers will also have access to an exclusive library of both Z-Wave and ZWLR device and sensor reference designs, created to accelerate the development of innovative new edge-of-property applications.

Trident IoT also offers in-depth consulting from some of the industry’s foremost experts on wireless connectivity, including Z-Wave technology. “Trident IoT was launched in response to a gap in the availability of IoT product design services,” says Mariusz Malkowski, Trident IoT CTO and founder. “The demand for consultation has been extraordinary: in just six months we’ve had to double our engineering resources.”

To support the development of market-ready products, the Trident IoT lab is fully equipped and available for Z-Wave, Z-Wave Plus v2, and ZWLR end product compliance and testing.

By providing silicon, design services, and in-house compliance testing, Trident IoT can help device manufacturers decrease time-to-market for new Z-Wave products by more than 60%. According to Kevin Kraus, VP of Technology Alliances and IoT Business Development, Yale – Fortune Brands Innovation, “In-depth consulting services from the Trident IoT team will be an invaluable accelerator for Fortune Brands, helping us to bring new Z-Wave-certified products to market in the near future. With the launch of this new single-die silicon solution, we look forward to collaborating on new devices with next-generation capabilities, including long-range and potentially even multi-protocol devices.”

Taurus Series Previews for Product Developers
Taurus Series silicon will begin shipping at scale in Q4 2024. In the meantime, Trident IoT will issue Taurus Series samples to select partners for initial testing and product development.

About Trident IoT:
Trident IoT is a technology and engineering company focused on simplifying RF development, increasing product success rates, and decreasing time-to-market for connected device manufacturers. Founded by a team of IoT veterans with over a century of industry knowledge, Trident IoT is aimed at making connected devices work as intended. With an initial focus on companies manufacturing Z-Wave devices, Trident IoT seeks to expand and build new relationships through a human connection at every level, including certification and market knowledge. 

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Generative AI Surge Triggers Nationwide Rush for New Data Center Infrastructure

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Demand for new AI Data Centers which are powering the rise of such popular AI platforms as OpenAI’s ChatGPT is being grossly underestimated according to analysts at this year’s Bloomberg Intelligence summit. The ongoing generative AI boom is kicking off a rush for new data centers, and the providers of the infrastructure behind them. With this boom comes many challenges including power supplies and the price of necessary hardware. For 9 of the top 10 US electric utilities, data centers have been the main source of customer growth, according to analysis made by Reuters. The booming Global Data Center Market is expected to hit US$792.3 billion by 2032, according to Astute Analytica, while analysts at Christian & Timbers have identified what they believe will be a 27% increase in AI data center talent demand in 2024 over 2023. Behind the scenes are several developers advancing the data center surge, who over the last week updated the market with recent developments, including: Avant Technologies Inc. (OTC: AVAI), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NEO: GOOG), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) (NEO: META), Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD).

The article continued: Some experts are raising concerns that the AI revolution itself could crash the existing supply of data centers, and create a serious capacity shortage worldwide. All the while, Fortune is declaring private equity firms as the early winners in the race to feed AI’s infrastructure demands.

Avant Technologies to Implement AI-Empowered, Zero Trust Architecture in Its Data Centers

Avant Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: AVAI) (“Avant” or the “Company”), an artificial intelligence technology (AI) company specializing in the development of advanced AI and data center infrastructure solutions, announced today its plans to implement a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) framework powered by AI within its data center operations. Avant asserts that this strategic move is aimed at providing the highest level of security for its customers’ critical data.

“By integrating AI with Zero Trust Architecture, we are creating a robust and future-proof security framework for our data centers,” stated William Hisey, Chief Executive Officer at Avant. “This combined approach ensures the highest level of security for our customers’ data while optimizing data center operations for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Avant is committed to providing innovative technology to help businesses optimize data center operations, improve resource utilization, and enhance security.”

ZTA is a security model that eliminates the concept of inherent trust within a network. It assumes that all users, devices, and workloads – regardless of location – must be continuously verified before granting access to resources. Implementing AI-controlled ZTA allows Avant to achieve continuous authentication and authorization, enhanced threat detection and response, dynamic access controls, and adaptive security policies.

Avant’s ZTA implementation aligns seamlessly with its existing AI-powered data center management focus. The company’s AI technology already provides predictive analytics and optimization, automated incident response, and enhanced cooling efficiency.

In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NEO: GOOG), best known as the parent company of Google and YouTube, recently broke ground on Google’s fourth data center in the Netherlands, as confirmed by Senior Operations Manager in a LinkedIn post. Valued at ~US$643 million, Google says the new data center will create 125 new jobs and has pledged to prioritize sustainability. The announcement is in line with the company’s commitment to invest billions of dollars in 2024 both inside the USA and abroad, where they’ve also announced plans to build a $1 billion data center campus in Kansas City, Missouri, and another $576-million data center project in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“Organizations and governments in the Netherlands are increasingly moving to the cloud,” said Google in a statement. “Cloud computing usage has almost doubled in the Netherlands in the last five years. The rise in demand is why Google is investing in digital infrastructure, which helps expand everybody’s access to information.”

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) (NEO: META), best known as the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, announced plans to “accelerate infrastructure investments” for AI, including plans to spend billions of dollars more on servers and data centers. However, the initial response to the Facebook parent company’s plans was not positive. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta plans to increase spending ahead of generating much revenue from their new products, reassuring his investors-call audience that Meta has a strong track record of monetizing new AI services once they reach scale.

“We anticipate our full-year 2024 capital expenditures will be in the range of $35-40 billion, increased from our prior range of $30-37 billion as we continue to accelerate our infrastructure investments to support our artificial intelligence (AI) roadmap,” said Susan Li, CFO for Meta Platforms in the quarterly financial report. “While we are not providing guidance for years beyond 2024, we expect capital expenditures will continue to increase next year as we invest aggressively to support our ambitious AI research and product development efforts.”

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the leading enterprise AI decisioning and workflow automation platform provider, recently announced its Q1 2024 financial results, highlighting’s the company’s outstanding cash flow and margin expansion in the quarter.

“The strong cash generation in Q1 demonstrates the power of a SaaS business,” said Ken Stillwell, COO and CFO of Pegasystems. “Given our financial strength and differentiated GenAI capabilities, we are in a great position to accelerate profitable growth.”

The financial results came just over a week from the company introduced its Pega Gena™ Coach, a generative AI-powered mentor for Pega solutions that proactively advises users to help them achieve optimal outcomes. Coach analyzes existing opportunity, lead, contact, and interaction data within Pega Sales Automation™ and offers suggestions to help overcome barriers in moving deals forward.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), a global semiconductor company, has credited its decision seven years ago to discontinue making monolithic datacenter chips in favor of a chiplet architecture with helping cut global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by tens of thousands of metric tons per year.

“Chiplets not only avoid waste and conserve resources in manufacturing, but also in the data centers powering the digital services and experiences we use daily,” said Justin Murrill, Director of Corporate Responsibility for AMD. “Each chiplet houses multiple processor cores, and different chiplets can be added and even stacked in a package to create higher-performance and more energy efficient processors.”

AMD’s EPYC processors are at the forefront in powering the most energy-efficient x86 servers available today. Employing these leading servers significantly reduces the number of physical servers required to fulfill computing needs. This reduction has a broad environmental benefit, including decreased use of raw materials, less manufacturing and shipping, reduced energy consumption, and minimized data center space requirements. Such advantages are vital for businesses aiming to upgrade their data center infrastructure and enhance computational capacity while actively striving to meet sustainability objectives.

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