Facebook opens call for applications for India Innovation Accelerator Program 2019

With a vision to further build the Indian Startup ecosystem, the India Innovation Accelerator Program by Facebook in partnership with T-Hub, has now opened applications for its second edition. After the success of the inaugural edition of the startup accelerator program, the India Innovation accelerator will now focus on identifying and empowering most innovative startups leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) based solutions that will have a positive impact on the community.

Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia, said “At Facebook, we want to encourage and support startups working on frontier technologies. We believe artificial intelligence is one such technology that can solve problems important for society and help to find right solutions. With the second edition of the India Innovation Accelerator program, we want to help to build the ecosystem for AI in India and support startups with the resources and opportunities, they would need to succeed. We aim to bring our industry knowledge, technical know-how to take their ideas to next level”

The program will support a cohort of AI startups that have an outsized social impact potential and focus on building technology to solve complex social problems in the domains of: Empowerment of Women and Girls, Agriculture, Healthcare, Education, Climate Change, Resilient Cities etc.

Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub, said “The first edition of the India Innovation Accelerator program in partnership with Facebook last year was a great success, as we scouted some super cool and innovative startups in the AR/VR/MR industries. We are excited to partner again with Facebook for the second time, and working with some of the best startups in India in AI for social good space.”

Startups accepted into the program will participate in a rich curriculum of activities specifically designed to support product development, growth, and expansion to new markets. Facebook will provide technical expertise, mentorship, training on the use of Facebook products and tools, free access to a suite of products and services, and access to experts within the company. The startups will also have access to T-Hub’s network of mentors, industry experts, investors, service providers and will be allowed an opportunity to attract funding for their business during the Demo Day at the end of the program. 

• To meet the minimum eligibility criteria of the programme, the startups should have: 
• At least one full time employee with some initial market traction 
• A product or service that provides a functionality/capability that is not currently available in any off the shelf product, or a functionality/capability that can be demonstrated to possess a significant advantage over current offerings in some aspect 
• Product or service that represents original ideas wholly owned with freedom to use or is licensed by the team 
• A team is based in India, and is working to serve the Indian market; teams aren’t limited to working in India, but must have customers in India 
• Formed or is a part of a recognized, legal entity for the company structure

The call for application to participate in the program closes on 2nd, June, 2019. To participate in the accelerator, interested startups can apply here: https://t-hub.co/ innovation_accelerator/