THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Curtains came down on the second edition of ‘Huddle Kerala’, one of Asia’s largest congregations on startup ecosystem, with Kerala startups and industry majors reaching agreements for collaboration, at Kovalam here on Saturday.
Of the 50 startups that pitched their ideas at the event, five were picked by industry majors on the basis of offering solutions for the 12 problems put forward by the major companies.
Footwear manufacturer VKC Group reached an agreement with startup RIOD Logic Private Limited for providing solutions. Rent-a-car service provider Indus Go tied up with startups TERGA and DScribe.Ali while Perfit and Codevector Labs found their collaboration with retail and fashion sector conglomerate Future Group.
RIOD Logic is an Industrial IoT (IIoT) electronic product manufacturer, which focuses on smart factory automation, condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. Perfit is a retail solutions provider.
DScribe.Ai is mainly focused on machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). TERGA is offering cutting edge solutions using AI, machine learning and blockchain. It also provides products like blockchain-based Know Your Customer (KYC), payment platform, and related enterprise solutions.
Codevector Labs is an AI software company that builds deep-tech products. The event also saw microblogging and social networking service provider Twitter making an announcement to invest in Kochi-based startup Sieve, a startup mentored by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), while social media major Facebook divulged its plans to make substantial investments in India’s technology startups.
The two-day event was organised by KSUM in association with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) .Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the conclave on September 27. Apart from a range of tech talks by experts from across continents, KSUM signed Memoranda of Understanding(MoUs) with giants such as Oppo, Future Group, and Wadhwani Foundation.
Another striking feature of the conclave was a demand for women entrepreneurs to provide adequate encouragement to girls at grassroots level to foster their potential for pursuing technology and thereby burgeon the number of female entrepreneurs in the country. “The representation of women in technology sector is miniscule now,” they observed while participating in a panel discussion on ‘She is the Boss, She Loves Tech’.
The event offered a unique platform for startups to showcase their products before technology and industry leaders from around the world.More than 30 speakers, investors and industry challengers took part in it. The conclave was the focal point for tech startups and the entire spectrum of stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the government, investors, mentors, and industry.
The conference was packed with several side events like Leadership Talks, Tech Talks, Fireside Chat, Beach Side Huddle, Speed Dating with Investors on Boat, Startup Demo, seminars and many more fun-filled activities. The meet also focused on the emerging and future technology sectors like Blockchain, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, Big Data, Digital Entertainment, AR/VR, Drone Tech, UI/UX, and e-Gov/m-Gov.
The first edition of ‘Huddle Kerala’, held here in April last year, had around 2,000 startups, more than 30 speakers, 15 investors, Beach Side Huddle with industry leaders, and Hackathon. The event was attended by more than 1,500 delegates.
