Building startups in Kerala: what a decade of Kerala Startup Mission shows

The twelvemonth was 2016. The students of MES College of Engineering successful Malappuram, Kerala, were cheering a pupil sporting a robotic exoskeleton connected campus: the brainchild of 4 friends – Vimal Govind MK, Nikhil P, Rashid K and Arun George.

A photograph of the lawsuit caught the attraction of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the nodal bureau of the Government of Kerala to enactment entrepreneurs. The students were contacted and were fixed the accidental to bash thing revolutionary with the technology. Two years later, they launched Bandicoot, a robot that would regenerate manual scavengers. Their company, Genrobotics, has since past made implicit 400 robots for 19 Indian States and 2 Union Territories, and adjacent exported them to Malaysia, Singapore, African countries, and nations successful West Asia.

Ten years of KSUM has fuelled a robust startup ecosystem successful Kerala. From 300 startups successful 2016, the fig has crossed 7800, dispersed crossed divers areas. While immoderate person collaborated with KSUM from the conceptualisation stage, the others got enactment successful the signifier of funding, infrastructure, mentorship and exposure.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDC), acceptable up by KSUM successful nonrecreational arsenic good arsenic arts and subject colleges and polytechnics, played a cardinal role. Today implicit 550 IEDCs are functioning crossed the State, says Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM.

“We had made 2 models of the exoskeleton and by the clip the 2nd 1 was made we had an IEDC successful college. Although we wanted to acceptable up a institution focussing connected robotic exertion aft assemblage we had to springiness up that imagination owed to fiscal constraints. Once KSUM told america astir the grants and funds, we discontinue our jobs to prosecute what we really wanted to do,” says Vimal, CEO of Genrobotics.

He adds, “It was the KSUM squad that enactment guardant the thought of tackling manual scavenging done our technology. Back past we didn’t realise the gravity of the concern (manual scavenging). By the clip we received the assistance [of ₹10 lakhs], we had understood the script and realised that it was the easier and sustainable thought to enactment upon.”

The exertion has already been adapted to cleanable hazardous, confined spaces arsenic successful refineries crossed India. In addition, they person launched G-Gaiter, a neuro rehabilitation robot for adults and children, presently being utilized successful hospitals successful Kerala and South India. Genbot, a multipurpose semi-humanoid robot that tin beryllium utilized successful respective niche segments, and G Bot, a bipedal wide intent humanoid for quality workspaces and homes, are the different products. “The probe connected processing robotic arms to grip abstraction debris, worldly repairing etc, is going connected astatine our Dubai centre,” Vimal adds.

Their G Spider, an integrated robotic canal system, had its proceedings tally successful Thiruvananthapuram connected January 28.

Fuselage Innovations Private Ltd, which has emerged a pioneer successful drone technology, particularly successful agriculture sector, is tally by Devika Chandrasekharan and her sibling Devan Chandrasekharan. “It was done KSUM that we were capable to avail of the grants from the State government. It besides helped america to get successful interaction with respective stakeholders successful the industry, which yet got america much orders,” she says. Fuselage has sold implicit 300 drones, chiefly to farmers successful Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, and Mizoram. Currently moving astatine KSUM’s abstraction astatine Maker Village, adjacent Kochi, Fuselage is caller from winning the Aspire Award astatine the National Startup Awards 5.0 (NSA) successful New Delhi.

“We person started operations successful Canada and the UK. We are besides making customised drones for immoderate European countries and Australia,” says Devika, adding that they are moving connected making a multi-purpose drone, too those for defence and maritime operations.

In the lawsuit of the edtech firm, Unique World Robotics (UWR) India, presently successful the quality for gifting a desktop robot named aft her dog, Gorby, to astronaut Sunita Williams during her sojourn to Kerala, KSUM came into the representation erstwhile the institution started its operations successful Kerala station the pandemic.

UWR has been into AI, robotics and STEM acquisition and research. “Based successful Dubai since 2019, erstwhile we wanted to acceptable store successful Kerala successful 2023, KSUM gave america the assistance we needed. Their engagement opened up opportunities, frankincense giving america visibility and acceptance,” says Bansan Thomas George, laminitis of UWR, which holds the favoritism of being the largest organiser of NASA’s hackathons covering India, UAE and Netherlands. “When we held the archetypal hackathon successful 2023, KSUM stepped successful with mentors and sponsorships,” helium says, adding the institution volition soon grow to Qatar and Kuwait.

Support system

KSUM has provided fiscal assistance of ₹32.31 crore arsenic innovation grants and ₹12 crore arsenic effect loans. Total concern successful Kerala startups has touched astir ₹6,000 crore.

Initially KSUM utilized to springiness thought assistance of ₹2 lakhs, that saw galore students playing astir with ideas. To rise capital, it aboriginal came up with schemes specified arsenic Seeding Kerala, a curated angel investors’ summit, and Fund of Funds, nether which it partners with SEBI-accredited Alternative Investment Funds to put successful the startups, with the State authorities acting arsenic a constricted partner.

Kerala is presently moving with 16 task superior funds. Venture capitalists person invested astir ₹207 crore successful Kerala startups. Through the scheme, Thiruvananthapuram-based semiconductor startup Netrasemi raised ₹118 crore, the largest concern raised by a semiconductor startup successful India. With enactment from the aforesaid scheme, Kochi-based underwater drone startup Irov secured a ₹47 crore enactment bid from the Indian Navy.

In 2017, Government arsenic a Market Place (GAAM) was introduced nether which authorities departments tin straight procure products oregon services from startups and let tenders exclusively for startups.

A caller startup to articulation the database is CRAV, launched by actor-producer Nivin Pauly and young entrepreneur Ramees Ali astatine the latest variation of Huddle Global, KSUM’s startup festival, held astatine Kovalam successful Thiruvananthapuram past month. Ramees, a instrumentality graduate, launched Interval Learning, a one-on-one tutoring level successful 2021 astatine Areekode successful Malappuram, which by 2025 had 50,000 students dispersed crossed 65 countries connected its roll.

“Although KSUM was not successful the representation erstwhile Interval was formed, erstwhile we faced problems successful 2023 it was their mentors nether MIND (Mentor Inspired Networking on-Demand), who helped us. KSUM besides opened up caller opportunities and gave publicity frankincense affirming its spot successful us,” says Ramees, who exited Interval past twelvemonth earlier launching CRAV.

A movie buff, Ramees adds that CRAV was calved retired of the discussions helium had with Nivin erstwhile they met astatine Kerala Innovation Festival organised by KSUM successful Kochi. “CRAV, a instrumentality connected the connection crave, is an IP mill for animation movies, comics, games etc developed successful Kerala. Our contented has planetary grammar but we cannot physique a Spiderman oregon Tom and Jerry oregon Mr Bean. Our purpose is to physique IPs that would springiness semipermanent revenue. Nivin is wide astir what helium wants and we person joined hands to execute our passionateness and vision,” says Ramees, adding KSUM has provided abstraction for CRAV astatine Kalamassery successful Kochi. “We are besides readying an incubator successful collaboration with KSUM wherever creators volition get assistance to physique IPs.”

Anoop adds that 1 of the biggest accomplishment for KSUM has been bringing Zoho Corporation to Kerala, with the opening of their R&D centre astatine Kottarakkara past July.

KSUM’s coworking spaces are known arsenic LEAP (Launch Empower Accelerate Prosper) and astir 350 startups are presently operating successful implicit 20 specified centres. KSUM besides runs 2 fab labs (fabrication laboratory), including Super Fab Lab successful Kochi, opened successful collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the lone 1 of its benignant extracurricular the US. This is successful summation to 23 mini fab labs successful assorted colleges. Alongside, 63 incubators are functioning successful assorted institutions and universities.

Looking ahead

*Startup Infinity – For expats to acceptable up concern successful Kerala. First centre opened successful Dubai and much coming up successful Belgium, the US and Germany

*Freedom Square – A abstraction for students to pursuit their entrepreneurial dreams to travel up astatine Pallippuram successful Thiruvananthapuram. Plan is to unfastened 1 each successful each district.

*Startup Pod – To beforehand workation civilization successful collaboration with the Department of Tourism. First 1 volition travel up astatine Varkala

* Emerging Technology Hub – Coming up connected 3 acres successful Thiruvananthapuram

Besides Technopark successful Thiruvananthapuram, KSUM has aggregate spaces successful Kochi, which see Digital Hub and Kerala Technology Innovation Zone that houses Integrated Startup Complex which has Maker Village and Super Fab Lab and astatine Cyberpark successful Kozhikode.

A trailblazer among colleges has been Amal Jyothi College of Engineering successful Kottayam, which opened an Entrepreneurship Development Cell nether the mentorship of Technopark Technology Business Incubator (TTBI), the precursor of KSUM, arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2006. Known arsenic Startups Valley TBI, it has 73 startups, which see incubated and pre-incubated startups by students, alumni, module and those individuals extracurricular the campus, says Prof Sherin Sam Jose, CEO, Startups Valley TBI.

KSUM has been holding peculiar programmes to beforehand women-run startups, too programmes for persons with disabilities and the marginalised communities. A caller strategy for retired hands is besides successful the pipeline.

Anoop, who has seen the improvement of the ecosystem and is buoyed by the startup boom, says, “Unlike states specified arsenic Gujarat and Maharashtra, our nine has not been enthusiastic astir entrepreneurship. It was thing meant for those families who already person concern oregon whitethorn beryllium for those children who are not bully successful studies. Our children were moulded to instrumentality up a occupation alternatively than bash business. But the script has changed,” helium says.