KSUM Inks Pact with CDAC to Set up Accelerator to Support digital Startups in Growth Stage

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala Startup Mission(KSUM) today signed an agreement with the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) to set up an Accelerator for Electronic Technologies (ACE) to support the digital technology startups that have moved to the scaling up stage.

The pact was signed here in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, by KSUM CEO Dr Saji Gopinath and CDAC Executive Director B.Ramani. M Sivasankar , IT Secretary, Government of Kerala and Sasi PM, Senior Director CDAC, were also present..
CDAC is a premier Research and Development institution of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, and KSUM is the nodal agency of Government of Kerala to implement Kerala Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy and serve as springboard for budding entrepreneurs to create technology-based business ventures at international standards.

Under the pact, KSUM will be setting up an ‘Accelerator in Electronics Technologies’ (ACE) jointly with CDAC at the latter’s campus at Technopark to support the startups in their scaling up stage to develop themselves into sustainable enterprises. The startups will be provided access to the physical and intellectual infrastructure being set up in the facility and will also be mentored by CDAC for a specific period.

This accelerator will work complementary to the KSUM supported incubator in electronics technologies established in Kochi with the assistance of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. The prime objective of the partnership is to develop a leading accelerator in electronic hub in the country which will provide a nurturing environment for development of high tech startups in electronics and allied disciplines.

Hailing the project, Sivasankar said “this is the right help at the right time for the startup ecosystem in the state to grow. “ “CDAC is providing this building at Technopark for the exclusive use of the startup ecosystem. Around 50,000 sq ft of additional space is now available to startups in Kerala, he said.

“They (startups) have been growing, they have been asking for more space. They can move into Technopark as small and medium enterprises and become proud Technopark occupants. So there is a need to move them to an appropriate facility which will enable them to grow further, scale up further, then get into Technopark in the next stage,” Sivasankar said.

“So, the facility of CDAC which is available right in Technopark, is perhaps an ideal place for Startup Mission to leverage, develop and house the startups which are now growing and aspiring to get into Technopark to reach that level of maturity, ” he added.

According to Dr Saji Gopinath, “the Electronic Technology Accelerator, being set up jointly by CDAC and KSUM in 50000 Sq ft space at the CDAC complex at Technopark, will be one of the largest work space for startups involved in new age digital technologies in the country.”

“CDAC Trivandrum being one of the largest electronic R&D and technology centres in electronics and allied disciplines , the startups working in the space could get access to world class facilities and labs, and would be mentioned by experts with years of technology expertise”, he said.

“These features make it one of the unique accelerators and would provide strong impetus for the next stage growth of digital technology startups from the state,” Dr Saji Gopinath added.

Saying that CDAC is extremely privileged to sign this agreement with KSUM, Ramani said “ being premier Rand D organization in India, CDAC will be able to offer mentorship that is required by startups to take their products forward to meet the demands of the country.”

“It is also the mandate of CDAC as it does a lot of R&D and product development and startups can also be able to use some of the technologies CDAC has developed to take these technologies forward for their commercialization”, he added.

The facility will provide physical infrastructure support for growth-stage startups involved in development of products and services in electronics technologies for rapid scale up and growth.

Also, the accelerator will facilitate software infrastructure for supporting research and development of high-end electronic systems, tools and services that could provide development of organizations working in cutting edge technologies, leverage on the expertise of CDAC for providing mentoring support to develop hightech startup organizations, support development of startups that could adopt and commercialise the IP available with CDAC and source investment and funding required for the development electronic industries.

The ACE will host growth stage enterprises focusing on technology products and services and develop sustainable enterprises in electronics technology.