NASSCOM Accelerate 10X Program to Help Tech Startups of India
Rakesh Raman Holding a Digital Marketing Program for Business Leaders in India
India’s leading software industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has unveiled Accelerate 10X program that aims to take tech startup ecosystem onto the next level.
Over the last decade, according to NASSCOM, India has risen in significance and is the third largest tech startup ecosystem globally. It believes that in future the demand for advanced deep tech and AI-related technologies is expected to unlock a trillion-dollar opportunity.
NASSCOM estimates that AI (artificial intelligence) has the potential to add US$957 billion, or 15% of current gross value added to India’s economy in 2035 and tech startups will drive this transformation as well as spearhead the broad structural transformation of the economy.
“Prowess in deep tech and artificial intelligence will be one of the main drivers of economic competitiveness in the near future,” Debjani Ghosh, president, NASSCOM said.
In the last 5 years, NASSCOM says, its 10000-Startups program has spread its wings to nurture early stage startups by incubating them in startup warehouses in 10 cities with the support of the state governments and sponsors. It adds that the Accelerate 10X program is designed to channelize the nation’s entrepreneurial zeal into emerging technologies that will catalyze business and economic growth in future.
As the Indian public and private sector focuses on the adoption of next generation technologies, the demand for advanced deep tech and AI-related technologies has seen an enormous growth, creating an opportunity for start-ups and tech players to provide innovative products and services.
The AI startup sector saw an increase in funding of over 70% in 2017 with Natural Language Processing being one of the major focus areas for investors and estimates suggest that 50% of firms in India are implementing AI in their products.
In an effort to build on this momentum and mentor 100 mature stage startups every year, the immersive six-month program divided in phases of 45 days each will focus on three key aspects – Product (Global Acceleration & Mentoring), Technology (Engineering & Deeptech Lab) and access to Patient capital.
NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 2100 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 3.5 million professionals.
