STPI, Arrow Electronics set up IoT innovation lab in Bengaluru

The 4,200 sq ft STPI IoT Open Lab will help startups develop disruptive IoT-based applications in verticals such as defence, aeronautics, industrial agriculture, health, automotive and education, a statement said. The centre will also help the firms build, collaborate, create intellectual property rights and scale their startup ideas, it said.

The centre, which looks to aid 500 firms in five years, will incubate 16 startups in the first cohort, STPI Bengaluru director Shailendra Kumar Tyagi said. 

Queries from TechCircle regarding the incubation programme remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

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Startups will also have access to sophisticated devices and equipment required for research and development, Natarajan MM, vice president of South Asia at Arrow Global, said.

“With an extensive global technology supply chain network, we are well positioned to provide best-in-class engineering resources, technological expertise and supply chain capabilities to local innovators and engineers,” Omkar Rai, director general of STPI, said.

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Additionally, the STPI IoT Open Lab has partnered with the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) to provide startups with network opportunities, the statement said. 

TiE Bengaluru and IESA are working together to build an IoT ecosystem in the Silicon Valley of India, Ravi Gururaj, president of TiE Bengaluru, said. “We have seen massive growth in the last five years, with 100 enterprise-level companies and over thousands of startups,” he said.

The STPI IoT Open Lab has also collaborated with the PES Institute of Technology and RV College of Engineering for academic mentorship. Its other partners include electronics firms such as Microchip, ST Micro, Infineon, Silicon Labs and Analog Devices.