Kanpur: IIT Kanpur and NSRCEL, the flagship business incubator of IIM Bangalore, on Wednesday joined hands to accelerate deep-tech startups and transform emerging technologies into market-ready ventures.This first-of-its-kind collaboration brings together the institutions’ complementary strengths in technological innovation, entrepreneurship and business development to strengthen India’s deep-tech ecosystem, particularly in defence, aerospace and allied strategic sectors.Under the agreement, the institutions will explore joint incubation and acceleration programmes, co-incubation opportunities, knowledge exchange, entrepreneurial best-practice sharing, ecosystem activities and engagement with industry, investors and other stakeholders.The partnership will strengthen connections between research institutions, startups and industry, supporting technology self-reliance and innovation-led national development. The collaboration will also support IITK’s deep-tech startup accelerator SCALE Catapult, with its first cohort focused on defence, aerospace and allied dual-use technologies, while establishing a broader framework for future incubation and acceleration initiatives.Dean, research and development, IITK, Prof Jayandharan Giridhara Rao said, “We have a strong pipeline of deep-tech innovation, and creating pathways for these technologies to reach the market is an important institutional priority. The collaboration will build a stronger ecosystem for technology-led ventures emerging from academic and research institutions.”CEO, NSRCEL, IIMB, Rasika Prashant said, “The unique partnership aligns directly with our country’s agenda of building robust defence and aerospace capabilities. The partnership can create meaningful pathways to identify and nurture the next generation of deep-tech innovators in strategic sectors of national importance.”
