Target India To Accelerate Seven Startups In Fourth Batch Of Accelerator Program

Target India, the Indian operations of the US-based retailer is all set to launch its startup accelerator program for fourth batch through which it mentors startups that work in tandem with the retail space relevant to Target’s business.

Target’s earlier batches were focused on themes around retail including personalisation search and omnichannel evolution. Now, broadening the scope of Target’s accelerator program, the fourth batch will work in the areas of wellness, Internet of Things (IoT) and retail technologies.

Five startups were selected for the Target Accelerator Program to develop disruptive ideas relevant to Target’s business. These include:

• Preksh – leverages visual merchandising in the store to create rich online experiences
• MintM – an in-store customer engagement platform
• Uncanny Vision – a computer vision processing library
• Lechal – an interactive, haptic footwear
• Lawbot – an automated platform that analyses legal contracts

“Our sustained effort to tap into India’s innovation potential has led to the success of our accelerator program,” said Navneet Kapoor, President and MD, Target India. “We’re excited to have this latest batch focus on potentially game-changing technologies as well as areas of opportunities for Target like wellness and IoT.”

The fourth batch also includes two internal teams in addition to the startups. These are as follows:

• A versus C will provides tools to analyse online shopping cart abandonment behaviour and
• Hashtag Shopping will enable shopping on social media through conversational commerce.

Some of the startups that were a part of their earlier batches includes Findmeashoe.com, BugClipper, Whodat spaces, and Twiddly.

Target Corporation launched its first accelerator programme in India in March 2014 and then launched the second in the same year in the month of June to help further its transformation into an omnichannel retailer. Target India’s portfolio includes – muHive, Unbx, InstaClique, Konotor, Turnaround Innovision, Instaclique, Twiddly,  Whodat’s Spaces, Wazzat, Torch, and Visarity.

Target was founded in 1962, as a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Dayton Department Stores and it was launched as a retailer in Bangalore (India) during mid-2005. Target collaborates across borders in support of business initiatives.

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