Nasscom InnoTrek Is Back: Meet 39 Tech Startups Heading To Silicon Valley For Exposure

In a bid to provide Indian startups, an opportunity to get encouraged through workshops, networking sessions, investor panels, expert roundtables and corporate briefings with subject matter experts and global veterans, the IT trade body National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is all set to host the second edition of Nasscom Innotrek 2015.

The program had started last year with the sole motive of providing opportunity to the Indian tech startups, to interact with global giants. This time, Nasscom has selected 39 startups, who will be taken to the Silicon Valley to interact with the top entrepreneurs and bring back disruptive knowledge. InnoTrek is organized in a form of interactive sessions, workshops and discussions with global players of the Valley to grasp expert tips on scaling up.

This week long program will start from May 11, 2015. It will showcase 39 promising early stage tech startups working through diverse domains like ad-tech, mobility, big data analytics, SAAS, etc.

Besides, the program will also provide platform to interact with seed accelerators like 500 Startups, Spinta Accelerator, and YCombinator.

Here is the list of selected startups for the InnoTrek 2015:

A2Zapps: The startups offers cloud-based work platform with all apps being integrated, social, and mobile. This requires no installation of server or software.

ActOnMagic: This startup offers intelligent monitoring and analytics software. It can optimize the benefits of hybrid cloud for service providers, enterprises, and their customers.

Adatrix: Adatrix is the flagship product of adtech startup Bizense. It is a real time bidding-enabled, white-labeled digital advertising platform for telcos, publishers, and ad networks.

Adpushup: An adtech startup, AdPushUp’s proprietary patent- pending product has a machine-learning algorithm, which can fight banner blindness. It can integrate with the publisher’s current ad server on its existing page layout.

Airwoot: Airwoot is an intelligent social media helpdesk that uses machine learning to automatically bring out intent-based conversations that require a brand’s attention such as customer queries, incidents and crisis situations.

Cloudaria: It is a visual content engine for brands, publishers, and broadcasters to discover, curate, and publish content experiences that are interesting, relevant, and timely for their customers.

Expin.me: A platform on which one can share experiences, opinions, and passion.

CustomerXPs: Real-time intelligent software that enables banks, retailers, and telecom companies to fight fraud and improve the customer experience.

DataWeave: The startup provides actionable data to businesses by aggregating, parsing, organizing, and visualizing millions of data points from the web.

Faircent: A peer-to-peer platform that connects people who have spare money directly with people who want to borrow, thereby eliminating the high margins which intermediaries like banks and financial institutions make on such transactions.

FindURClass: A search and discovery platform to help one find fun activities and hobby classes.

FixNix: It offers governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions.

Flat chat: This startup lets one connect with potential flatmates, prospective owners, and other house seekers by providing location- and requirement-based matches.

Freekall: A cloud telephony startup helps make free or low cost international calls without internet access.

Hoverr: It converts images for business website into a premium ad unit.

i-Exceed: A technology products and services company, i-Exceed’s flagship product Appzillon is a flexible cross-platform suite to build apps for smartphones, tablets, and browsers.

Inspire Infosol: A SaaS platform to manage an organization’s online, digital, and social presence, marketing campaigns, and convert the entire process into a socially intelligent operation.

InstaSafe: It offers scalable and cost-effective private cloud networks.

ShieldSquare: It helps protect online businesses from content theft, web scraping, bot spam, and form abuse.

Kryptos Mobile: This mobile app technology company provides high-end mobile apps to schools and colleges.

LeadEnrich: It provides solutions to enable B2B marketers reach their audiences more precisely and cost efficiently.

LazyLad: This startup helps connect its customers with retailers in their neighborhood.

LinkMySport: It offers business management and online scheduling software for sports facilities, gyms, yoga and personal trainers, coaches, and health clubs.

Loginext: It helps logistics companies to improve their internal operations, optimize delivery networks, and provide superior customer service using data collection, advanced analytics, and visualization.

Metaome: It offers products and custom solutions in science informatics.

MobApper: It helps publishers to create, test, and publish their mobile apps in minutes.

S2Pay: It is a mobile wallet application for making payments to anyone, anytime, anywhere in a quick and safe way.

Howdy: A web- and app-based voice application that encourages peer-to-peer learning.

Nifty Window: A content marketing platform that delivers rich content via virtual display windows and interactive products and services catalogs.

Posist: It offers a cloud-based point of sale for restaurants.

Vibe: A sales intelligence tool that provides comprehensive and accurate prospect information on the go.

Senseforth Technologies: It helps businesses in decision making by sorting through millions of opinions that a search engine throws up for a given product and quantifies the opinions in one place using percentage figures.

SignEasy: An app that allows one to sign documents without having to print them. It seamlessly integrates with Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, and Evernote.

SmartBuildings: It enhances energy efficiency, data center reliability, comfort, and analytics for high-tech buildings.

Socioboard: Its software helps businesses understand and harness the power of social media for increasing their sales.

Solaron: It helps the financial services industry uncover hidden risks in their portfolio and tracks real-time performance of the companies.

Street Hacker (in stealth mode): It intends to offer a fun way to post local tips through six-second videos.

Wagmob: It powers mobile-first software and services for learning and training.

Webrosoft: It has a smartphone/cloud-based tracking system that helps to track projects or complaints using their pictures and location maps.

Editor’s Take

Overall this is a good attempt from Nasscom to provide startups with international exposure, though as the trip is not sponsored by Nasscom, thus this might cost a lot to the startups. According to the startups who are part of the trip, they have paid  for $725 for the trip which includes only the event tickets that they will be attending including TiE Silicon Valley, visits to Google, FB and LinkedIN offices and other day to day travel related expenses during the trip. Including this, the startups are also suppose to pay over $1k for the flight tickets and additionally, $100 for each day stay, as this is a seven day trip, thus $700 for the stay. Thus, each startup has to pay about $2500 for the trip. However, startups are happy to pay this hefty amount because of the exposure they are getting.

One of the selected startup, Adpushup says, “I don’t think it’s expensive. In fact, it’s a bargain considering NASSCOM has covered all the local travel, networking dinners and events (including the TiEcon fee) at a very subsidised price. What NASSCOM is charging for the whole trip is equivalent to the participation fee of a one or two day event in the US.”