Infineon Partners With AIC Sangam To Support Cleantech Startup Ecosystem

Gurugram-based incubator for cleantech startups, AIC Sangam has partnered with semiconductor solutions provider Infineon Technologies. The duo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to nurture technology startups that focus on the environment, recycling and clean energy.

Under the collaboration, Infineon will sponsor lab equipment and offer business and technical guidance as well as training specific to building on Infineon technology platforms.

Further, experts from Infineon will work closely with the cleantech startups on prototyping and solution development at AIC-Sangam. Incubated startups will also have access to Infineon’s product samples and maker kits as well as workshops and events. Going forward, AIC-Sangam and Infineon will jointly identify problem statements for prospective startups.

AIC Sangam was set up as a partnership between Sangam Ventures and Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India under the Atal Incubation Centre scheme. Sangam Ventures is leveraging its experience as a venture capitalist to create an ecosystem for clean-tech entrepreneurship to thrive.

Vinay Shenoy, managing director, Infineon Technologies India said, “Infineon’s mission to make life easier, safer and greener resonates well with AIC-Sangam and startups like Khethworks. We build semiconductor technology to help innovative entrepreneurs realize their products and unleash the potential of their applications. By contributing towards a sustainable future for India, we are also fulfilling Infineon’s mission.”

AIC-Sangam’s team and its acceleration programming is designed to help cleantech startups achieve product-market fit and scale their high impact solutions. During the MoU signing, AIC-Sangam cofounder and chairman Karthik Chandrasekar said that the incubator’s Sustainable Development Goals’ focus is to contribute, benefit, care, promote and support these goals.

The incubator’s partners include Gray Ghost Ventures, Shell Foundation, USAID, Social Alpha among other organisations.

Ramanan Ramanathan, mission director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, said, “Partnerships between international corporates and our Atal Incubation Centres enable incubated startups to accelerate their time to market and extend their industry reach, whilst catalysing innovation by identifying opportunities for new startups to be created.”

Cleantech ecosystem in India has become the need of the hour as India addresses its renewable energy efforts in the face of increasing pollution and exhausted non-renewable energy sources.

India has also launched the joint ‘virtual clean energy centre’ with the UK and the joint ‘clean energy research and development centre on energy storage and smart grids’ with the US.

The Department of Science and Technology is setting up a clean energy centre for integration of intermittent renewables with suitable energy storage in on-grid or off-grid situations. The renewable energy market in India alone is estimated to be at $17 Bn and is expected to continue growing at 15% annually.

The share of renewable energy in India’s overall power capacity has shot up from around 13% in 2015 to around 20% in 2018. In 2017, the country added more renewable capacity than conventional power.

Startups such as Clairco, DataGlen, Synapptra and more, accelerators and incubators such as YES SCALE, CIIE and Indian Angel Network provide a further push to this segment.