Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog today successfully concluded the #5th Edition of AIM-iLEAP program on ‘Innovations in Audio-Tech’ – a unique step towards using technology to solve the audio industry’s most pressing problems, innovate the future of audio-tech, and boost the Indian culture.
The final enterprise and investor demo day of the #5th edition was organised after a series of virtual boot camps held in collaboration with Startup Réseau and Visa under its ambitious AIM-iLEAP (Innovative Leadership for Entrepreneurial Agility and Profitability) initiative-an initiative to back tech start-ups with much-needed access to industry, markets and investors.
In the Audio-Tech cohort, a total of 10 startups got a chance to showcase and pitch their innovations to 20+ number of investors/enterprises.
Speaking during the virtual opening of the ‘Demo Day’, Mission Director AIM, Dr. Chintan Vaishnav said “We are proudly moving ahead with the creation of different cohorts and bringing together the start-ups, enterprises, investors and financers onto one platform to achieve major goals for Indian entrepreneurship ecosystem. Over the past, we have seen some outstanding innovations in crucial social sectors; however, this is for the first time India is exploring innovations in an area that intersects arts and entrepreneurship via Audio-Tech sector under our AIM-iLeap initiative.”
Founder & CEO, Startup Réseau Ajay Ramasubramaniam while speaking during the launch of virtual ‘Demo Day’ said “the audio industry has come a long way since the first microphone was created in 1875, and while in the 1960s video killed the radio star, the evolution of the internet and penetration of smartphones has brought about a revival of sorts, driving the future innovation of audio technology. Audio Tech has a huge role to play in consumer, enterprise, and Government applications. We are delighted to onboard this 5th cohort of the AIM iLEAP program, and look forward to working with the audio tech ecosystem in India.”
The call for applications for this cohort was thrown open in March this year and closed on May 15 following which, an exciting panel discussion with industry experts was held, followed by a number of virtual boot camps that were held for the selected start-ups. After going through rigorous polishing, the start-ups showcased their solutions to various enterprises for market access and investors for funding in virtual ‘Demo Day’ that saw participation from a large number of corporates and investors.
The #5th Edition of AIM-iLEAP concluded with another insightful panel discussion today with eminent industry experts on the topic- ‘How can Audio-Tech Innovations ensure that the legacy of great Indian artists is carried forward?’. The Panels included several notable personalities including Founder, Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation Durga Jasraj, Programme Head, All India Radio, Lucknow Meenu Khare, Music Producer, Live Performer Mahesh Raghvan, Performer, Researcher, Teacher, & Archivist, Hindustani Raga Sangeet Srijan Deshpande.
A similar panel discussion was conducted right in the beginning of this cohort whose topic was –“Innovations in Audio-Tech”. That panel included eminent personalities like renowned India singer of Hindustani Classical music Shubha Mudgal, Honorary Member, Sanskriti Haat Samiti, Center for Cultural Resources and Training, Ministry of Culture Namrata Kohli, Co-founder and CEO, Indian Raga Sriram Emani, and Co-founder and CEO, Agrahyah Technologies and aawaz.com Sreeraman Thiagarajan.
In the past, AIM-iLEAP has successfully completed 4 cohorts which included Fin-Tech, Cyber-security, Home-based Healthcare solutions, and Fighting Air pollution through Innovation.
The start-ups whose innovations stood out in the previous editions were entitled to benefits such as an opportunity to earn a POC with participating corporates, Access to extended network of Startup Réseau, Business Insights, Access to Enterprise Assests, Industry Credibility, and Access to Investors.
