Intel India Maker Lab Conclave : Here's What Indian Startups Should Know !

MNCs have been warming up to the startup ecosystem by offering help through mentorship, funds and incubating them. The question remains, how should startups siphon out the maximum value out of these collaborations?

In a brief tête-à-tête with Entrepreneur India, Nivruti Rai, GM, Intel India & VP of Platform Engineering Group and Jitendra Chaddah, Sr, Director, Strategy & Operations, India, spoke about honing product execution skills at startups.

"We are looking out to support those startups who are in need of hardware/system support that they otherwise would not get," Rai said, adding that corporate houses like Intel have the standing capability and infrastructure to support startups.

Speaking on improvising these collaborative efforts, Rai also stressed on the need for corporates to get together and provide more help to startups, rather than one person doing all this alone. Jitendra Chaddah said that an MNC-startup coming together acts as a win-win for both parties.

The Maker Lab's small checklist

When asked about what do they essentially look for in startups Rai said, "They should have a thought planned, some amount of work done, believe in their idea and their solution should require some help from Intel. It should have the substantial need that Intel could provide, whether it is help through our architects, infrastructure, tools, reference designs and others.

Adding to this Jitendra elaborating on three things the Maker Lab would look for in a startup. "The viability of the solution; if it's something we cannot take to the market in the next ten years then it would not make sense to work with them. Secondly we look for a strong team with the right passion. Third would be the synergies with Intel's roadmap," he said.

The Maker Lab has kept no bar for domains and is open to innovative ideas from varying sectors. Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd (Intel India) hosted its first Maker Lab Startup Conclave and Demo Showcase at its Bangalore campus last week.

The Intel India Maker Lab was set up about a year ago, to enable startups accelerate their hardware and systems innovation towards creation of new products and solutions by offering infrastructure, technology, tools and mentorship.

In its first batch, 17 startups have utilized the lab's facilities for their projects in the areas of education, agriculture, sports, health and other domains. Out of these, nine startups have already launched their products in the market, five have their products ready and are moving to customer trial stage, while the remaining three are in the design stage.