Rolls-Royce R2 Accelerator's 1st Cohort: ClearQuote, PiChain, Imaginate

SUMMARY

Rolls-Royce announced its accelerator programme in January this year

The aircraft engine maker is focussing on deeptech startups through this accelerator

ClearQuote, PiChain, Imaginate will get INR 8 Lakh each as grants

UK-based aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce’s acceleration hub, R² Data Labs, has announced three startups shortlisted for its first ‘Start-up Accelerator Programme’ in Bengaluru. The accelerator programme was announced in January this year.

Under the programme, the aircraft engine maker will mentor these startups and provide them with the opportunity to connect, collaborate and commercialise their projects. The programme will help startups to raise venture capital, provide technical and funding support to businesses that work across areas such as advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, quantum computing, autonomous and sensing.

Kishore Jayaraman, president of Rolls-Royce India & South Asia, said, “Our India Start-up Accelerator Programme is a reinforcement of our faith in the potential of Indian start-up minds in creating innovative solutions fundamental to the digital future of the industrial technology sector.”

The startups include:

ClearQuote (Xenon Automotive)
Founders: Venkat Sreeram and Sharath Murthy
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
ClearQuote is an app that determines the extent of damage on cars in case of accidents or collisions, and instantly generates estimates for any repair work.

PiChain Innovations
Founders: Prasanna Padmanabhan, Shubhradeep Nandi
Founded: 2018
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
PiChain is a deeptech startup employing blockchain for document management, onboarding, KYC, digital identity verification and more.

Imaginate Technologies
Founder: Hemanth Satyanarayana
Founded: 2016
Headquarters: Hyderabad.
Imaginate is an AR/VR based platform that enables multiple enterprises to collaborate using smartglasses.

The startups were evaluated on the basis of their ideas, capabilities and project fitment, and were selected out of 15 shortlisted finalists. The winners were awarded GBP 10K (roughly INR 8 Lakh) of equity-free grant and will be working with the Rolls-Royce team to collaborate with industry experts.

The Rolls-Royce’s Start-up Accelerator Programme is being supported by NUMA Bengaluru, which is an innovation hub that promotes business through open innovation, entrepreneurship and development of new skills for the digital age.

Update: October 3, 2019 | 11:18 AM
The previous version of the article mentioned that Rolls-Royce is an “automobile giant”.