Actor Sushant Singh Rajput launches emerging-tech startup

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and serial entrepreneur Varun Mathur have launched a startup called Innsaei Ventures Pvt. Ltd that will create intellectual properties (IPs) based on virtual reality, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence.

Innsaei will create and distribute IPs in the areas of content and communication, health and holistic wellness, and education and learning. The company will also launch a business incubation programme, where it will partner other firms to create IPs.

“We feel now is the perfect time for IP creation and emerging tech to converge. There is a number of specific areas that we are closely associated with, which we will be attacking first. We have selected these sectors based on the rich body of knowledge and their relevance to India,” Mathur told TechCircle.

The company is launching its operations in the content communication space, where it has already began work on augmented reality and virtual reality projects. The firm plans to tap these projects, which majorly cater to the entertainment industry, for industrial use.

Mathur said the company is in an advanced phase in its first two IPs in the content space, which are a feature movie and a web series. The feature movie is scheduled for release towards the end of 2019.

“We are simultaneously working on our other initiatives as well. Our second focus is on health and wellness, a space where India has a strong body of knowledge. We will first create content IPs in the health and wellness vertical. In the education segment, our primary focus would be on alternative learning,” Mathur said.

The firm estimates project investments worth of Rs 300 crore going into the company in the first two years. “We will be setting aside Rs 50 crore for business incubation and Rs 20 crore for R&D. Many of these projects will be developed in partnerships with other firms and, therefore, a good part of this investment will come from our partners,” he said.

Rajput, an engineer by qualification, has been active in the entertainment industry, acting in television serials and Hindi feature films. “Emerging technologies are disrupting socio-cultural and economic structures at an exponential pace and this will impact key areas like education, employment, entertainment and health,” he said.

Mathur is the co-founder of sports-focused digital broadcast network Veqta, which had raised $500,000 in a seed round of funding from early-stage venture capital firm Chatsworth Management and sports management company ITW Consulting Pvt. Ltd in May 2016. Veqta offers sports content from across the globe through video-on-demand and live streaming.