Kerala has been India’s hardware innovation hub for a long time. The journey that took off in 1973 with Keltron — a manufacturer of various electronic products — has now culminated in a slew of new-age, innovative startups such as Sastra Robotics, VST Mobility, ASIMoV Robotics and more. Most importantly, a majority of these startups have come forward to the state’s rescue in times of crisis, be it a turbulent tale of floods, the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak or the current Covid-19 pandemic.
In this report, we give you a glimpse of Kerala’s 80+ hardware startups and the journeys and roles of enablers such as the Maker Village, Fablabs and more, in helping the state metamorphose into the largest hardware hub of India.
Maker Village: The Propeller Of Kerala’s Hardware Ecosystem
The Makerspaces In Kerala
The Government’s Initiatives
The Most Promising Hardware Startups From Kerala
The Corporate Connect
Hardware Startups To The Rescue
Fighting Challenges, Eyeing Next Level Of Growth
What’s Next For The Hardware Hotbed Of India?
Summary
Kerala’s robust social and intellectual infrastructure focussed on innovation has helped it secure the title of Top Performer for two years in a row in the Indian government’s state startup ranking. Today, the state is home to more than 2,200 startups and 230+ technical colleges where it runs its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDCs) and nurtures more than 10K aspiring entrepreneurs.
The Kerala government took the ground-up approach to develop its hardware ecosystem. Kerala first built an ecosystem, typically developed around the needs of the existing startups clustered in a place, and then attracted more startups. The state authorities kept adding more facilities to the existing infrastructure based on further requirements of the startups. The biggest example of this is the Maker Village, often lauded as India’s largest hardware incubator.
To recognise and acknowledge the state’s efforts and shine a light on the innovative hardware startups it houses, the report titled Kerala: Driving India’s Hardware Startup Revolution by Inc42 Plus dives deep into the journey of the state that has emerged as the hardware hotbed of India. Powered by KSUM, the report has the Maker Village as its knowledge partner.
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