ET BureauBENGALURU: XPrize Foundation, which is known to award prizes including the $30-million Google Lunar XPrize, plans to launch multiple prize segments in India over the next few years in the areas of water, energy and global connectivity, a move that promises to offer wider visibility to startups operating in the non-traditional sectors.
The US-based non-profit organisation that hosts global themed competitions is being supported by the likes of giants including US chipmaker Qualcomm, Google and Coca-Cola. "India is a test bed and a testing market for the competition in the focus areas," said Zenia Tata, programme director, global expansion, at XPrize Foundation. "Implementation of innovative technologies in absolute need-of-the-hour segments is what we hope will happen with this initiative in India."
The foundation expanded operations to India in December with the aim of designing global-scale competitions and prizes in the non-traditional sectors. Its India chapter will see a global competition hosted with the support of Coca-Cola on the issue of water scarcity and sustainability, and is to take off this year. It was during one of her visits to the country that Tata, who is also a relative of industrialist and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, realised that the investor mindset in India needs to change.
`Scientifically safe' technologies and 'statistically reliable' business models are no more the mantra towards investing in a startup, she said. "There are other areas that need financial attention, a hurdle many Indian entrepreneurs face and can do so well."
Niche-market investor groups are slowly but surely becoming present and investors now are ready to be experimenting and daring even as they pump in their money in niche, country-centric sectors, say experts.
A case in point is Team Indus, the lone Indian representative and the recent winner of $1 million of the $30 million Google Lunar XPrize. Team Indus received investment from a slew of Indian investors that included Shekhar Kirani and Subrata Mitra of Accel Partners, Sharad Sharma, co founder of software product thinktank iSPIRT and Vivek Raghavan, chief product manager of UIDAI.
"There will be an adequate number of startups only if there is a commensurate number of willing investors. Such competitions can help entrepreneurs and investors get the much needed visibility," said Shyam Menon, investment director of clean technology-focussed fund Infuse Ventures.
Like hackathons and incubation sessions, XPrize brings investors and mentors to the teams, spurring activity in the Indian startup ecosystem. However, brand values and the cash prize act as elements that have enticed and encouraged entrepreneurs to start innovating in nascent areas, said a participant of one of the competitions, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The foundation consists of a board of trustees that include Ratan Tata, Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington and Larry Page. "At the end of the day, it is one team that wins the prize. The others have a chance to win the market.India has the potential and will make that happen," said Tata.
The US-based non-profit organisation that hosts global themed competitions is being supported by the likes of giants including US chipmaker Qualcomm, Google and Coca-Cola. "India is a test bed and a testing market for the competition in the focus areas," said Zenia Tata, programme director, global expansion, at XPrize Foundation. "Implementation of innovative technologies in absolute need-of-the-hour segments is what we hope will happen with this initiative in India."
The foundation expanded operations to India in December with the aim of designing global-scale competitions and prizes in the non-traditional sectors. Its India chapter will see a global competition hosted with the support of Coca-Cola on the issue of water scarcity and sustainability, and is to take off this year. It was during one of her visits to the country that Tata, who is also a relative of industrialist and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, realised that the investor mindset in India needs to change.
`Scientifically safe' technologies and 'statistically reliable' business models are no more the mantra towards investing in a startup, she said. "There are other areas that need financial attention, a hurdle many Indian entrepreneurs face and can do so well."
Niche-market investor groups are slowly but surely becoming present and investors now are ready to be experimenting and daring even as they pump in their money in niche, country-centric sectors, say experts.
A case in point is Team Indus, the lone Indian representative and the recent winner of $1 million of the $30 million Google Lunar XPrize. Team Indus received investment from a slew of Indian investors that included Shekhar Kirani and Subrata Mitra of Accel Partners, Sharad Sharma, co founder of software product thinktank iSPIRT and Vivek Raghavan, chief product manager of UIDAI.
"There will be an adequate number of startups only if there is a commensurate number of willing investors. Such competitions can help entrepreneurs and investors get the much needed visibility," said Shyam Menon, investment director of clean technology-focussed fund Infuse Ventures.
Like hackathons and incubation sessions, XPrize brings investors and mentors to the teams, spurring activity in the Indian startup ecosystem. However, brand values and the cash prize act as elements that have enticed and encouraged entrepreneurs to start innovating in nascent areas, said a participant of one of the competitions, who wanted to remain anonymous.
The foundation consists of a board of trustees that include Ratan Tata, Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington and Larry Page. "At the end of the day, it is one team that wins the prize. The others have a chance to win the market.India has the potential and will make that happen," said Tata.
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