Andhra Govt Inks Deal To Boost Startup Ecosystem

Andhra government has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cyient Foundation and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as a part of its strategic effort to boost the startup ecosystem.

Under the deal, Cyient and AICTE will launch a pilot programme to transform higher education institutes in and around Visakhapatnam into innovation hubs by boosting partnership among academia, industry, startups and investors.

As a part of this initiative, both the parties will deploy an ecosystem comprising iCARE (Innovation Creation and Research for Entrepreneurship) centres, iCAFE (Idea Creation and Auxiliary Facilities for Entrepreneurship) centres and IPR-TT (Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer) cells across these institutions.

As a part of the initiative, Cyient will provide CSR grant support and infrastructure for the initiative.

“By nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets and building institutional capacities, we are creating a self-sustaining model that empowers youth, encourages IP creation, and promotes meaningful collaboration between academia and industry,” said Cyient’s founding chairman and board member BVR Mohan Reddy.

This comes on the back of Andhra Pradesh getting into partnership with global  chipmaker NVIDIA to establish an AI university in the state. Besides setting up the university, both the parties will  partner to train over 10,000 students in the technology and support the growth of 500 AI startups based in the state.

Andhra Pradesh Startup Leap 

The state has been active in establishing itself as the country’s leading startup hub.

In March, the state government announced the AP Innovation & Startup Policy (4.0) 2024 -2029. This policy aimed at creating 20,000 new startups in the next five years and fostering 10 unicorns and 20 soonicorns. 

Earlier this year, the government also announced ‘Telugu Angels’, an angel fund aimed at empowering Telugu entrepreneurs to build and scale their ventures globally.

On the partnership front, global giants including Google and Microsoft also inked pacts with Andhra’s government to increase the adoption of AI in the state by providing relevant training to students and professionals.

In January, Indichip Semiconductors, along with its venture partner Japan’s Yitoa Micro Technology (YMTL), signed an MoU with the state government to build a semiconductor facility with an investment of INR 14,000 Cr.