T-Block Accelerator shortlists 30 startups for first cohort

T-Block Accelerator, launched by the Telangana blockchain district and information technology services major Tech Mahindra, has selected 30 startups for its intensive startup training programme. 

This is the accelerator’s first cohort since its launch in February. Blockchain district is a Telangana government project to make the state a hub for blockchain technology.

Around 160 blockchain-based startups had applied for the programme from all over the country, a statement said.

The accelerator was formed at Tech Mahindra’s campus in Hyderabad. It had invited applications for registrations from startups, offering them a one-week boot camp, followed by an intensive training programme. 

Other than Pune based Tech Mahindra, the accelerator has onboarded expert partners including open-source platform Tezos’ India unit, blockchain technology provider for enterprises R3 Corda, blockchain technology integration platform SettleMint as platform partners and a Swiss incubator platform CV Labs as the hub partner.

T-block Accelerator will provide technical support to selected pilot-stage startups to build their solutions on their platform and launch operations on a case-on-case basis. The startups will undergo a three-week training, including one-on-one sessions with a panel of mentors and training assignments. 

After further filtration, the remaining startups will have an opportunity to pitch innovative ideas and get mentored by experts from the state government, Tech Mahindra, centre for development of advanced computing (C-DAC) and international institute of information technology, Hyderabad (IIIT). C-DAC is an initiative by the government of India for advanced computing. 

“The 30 selected startups that proceed to the acceleration phase of the T-Block Accelerator have shown immense potential to solve real-life problems faced across verticals,” Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary of information technology, electronics and communications department of Telangana government said.

Blockchain technology is estimated to generate $3.1 trillion in new business value worldwide by 2030, according to technology research firm Gartner.