To strengthen the Indian startup ecosystem, NXP India, one of the biggest R&D centres for NXP Semiconductors and a world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, has announced the launch of Season II of a unique platform for startups – Tech Startup Challenge 2022.
The event is being organized in collaboration and support from Startup India Hub, a platform to connect the Indian start-up ecosystem by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which will host all the applications and Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) will invite top 3 startups as finalists at the XTC’s bootcamp event and global winners’ competition and have them evaluated by an elite panel of investors for global exposure.
Incubator partners, Electropreneur Park (ESDM Incubator) and Semiconductor Fabless Acceleration Lab (SFAL) will provide Top 10 Tech Startups with equity-free pre-Incubations, lab test equipment’s to convert idea to prototype, mentorship sessions for business and investment and include certain monitory benefits.
The challenge aims to support and mentor start-ups which focus on IP, processors development, semiconductor fabless ASIC designs and embedded product development across Automotive, Industrial & IoT, Mobile and Communication Infrastructure.
“With smart technology all around us, the future will be about creating a connected world that anticipates and automates. With constant evolution in technology and budding innovative business ideas, it would be interesting to see what the Season 2 of NXP India Tech Startup Challenge has to offer. We look forward to providing global visibility and network scalability to startups that have the potential to revolutionize the global market.” said Lars Reger, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NXP Semiconductors.
Expressing his excitement at the kick off of Season 2, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Managing Director, NXP Semiconductors said, “With the wonderful success of Season 1, we are yet again very excited to launch this platform for some of the most innovative tech startups in the country and enable them to pursue their dreams. We aim to make India a global leader in cultivating the next generation of sustainable tech startups. It’s a matter of great pride for us, to showcase the indigenous and untapped talent pool of our country on a global platform. “
In Season 1, 4 startups were selected out of 192 applications for NXP India Tech Startup Challenge 2021. Two startups, Thinkerbell Labs and Sunfox, from the winner’s portfolio also got representation into Shark Tank India.
Benefits for Top 3 selected startups include:
Total prize money of INR 10 Lacs along with mentorship opportunity (3 interactive sessions with mentor each month for 3 months) from NXP India Technical Leadership Experts
Invitation as finalists in the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) and XTC’s bootcamp event. XTC will also have the finalists evaluated by an elite panel of investors for global exposure
Benefits for Top 10 selected startups include:
Top 10 start-ups will get an opportunity to share their business value proposition to NXP and industry partners along with networking
Invitation as an entrant for upto 3-month equity-free pre-incubation at Electropreneur Park (ESDM Incubator), free of charge access to state-of-the-art ESDM Lab test equipment’s to convert idea to prototype, mentorship sessions for business plan refinement, technical mentorship, connect to ESDM suppliers and reimbursement of upto INR 50,000 for prototyping expenses.
Invitation as entrant for upto 4-month equity-free cohort period together with SFAL – Semiconductor Fabless Acceleration Lab that will include access to In-kind Partner (IKP) assets (worth per startup can be upwards of INR 10L): FPGA Innovation Lab@SFAL, tools from In-Kind Partners, access to webinars and guidance on business and investments from SFAL and IKP partners.