The industrial automation company Honeywell India’s philanthropy arm, the Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), stated that it is dedicated to supporting regional innovation. In collaboration with the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), the incubation division of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the non-profit platform has provided research and financial assistance to nine entrepreneurs-in-residence (EIR) and more than 40 Indian firms.
HHSIF funded 13 innovations in FY23–24, including 8 startups and 5 EIR programs. These concentrate on developing advancements in fields including renewable energy, healthcare, and agriculture. Agritech accounted for 20% of the enterprises financed in this fiscal year, while medtech accounted for 50%. HHSIF has committed to supporting seven companies and one EIR in related sectors in FY24–25.
“Our mandate is to support deep science startups. It takes a longer time and larger resources for them to reach the point where they can enter the market and launch their product. As an incubator, it is not difficult for us to provide them with space and other support, but funding is a major bottleneck,” said B Gurumoorthy, CEO, FSID, and professor of mechanical engineering, IISc. “This is where companies, especially Honeywell, have been very steadfast in their support. They write cheques directly passed on to the startups, which goes a long way in providing the sustenance they need in the early years,” Gurumoorthy added.
HHSIF offers human capital, technology, and research support in addition to financial help. It provides all of its partner entities with access to a global network of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), venture capitalists (VCs), angel investors, and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).
According to Honeywell India’s senior director of communications and corporate social responsibility (CSR), Prashanth Balarama, the partnership with IISc is assisting the company in interacting with startups in globally significant fields.
“There is absolutely no commercial angle to what we are trying to do with the startups. It is purely with the intention of infusing technology and sharing the knowledge we have as a global company,” said Balarama. “We are not seeking tangible or commercial benefits from this.”
Manoj Kumar R. established Translead MedTech, one of the startups the program supports. It seeks to address problems that older persons encounter. One product from Translead is a specially made chair that helps older people with severe joint issues by improving their “stand to sit and sit to stand” experience.
Neha Bhatia, Manish Arora, and Deval Karia launched Open MedLabs, another company that creates accessible and reasonably priced medical equipment for individuals with long-term illnesses like diabetes. Within the next ten years, they hope to provide successful devices to around 6.5 million insulin-dependent diabetics in low- and middle-income Southeast Asian countries.
Agritech
In the field of agriculture, the initiative backs Green Collar Agritech Solutions, which was established by Sarangan Thirumavalavan, Hema Annamalai, and Padmini Sampath. The company uses sophisticated technology in food processing and agriculture with the goal of increasing profits along the entire value chain. Near Infrared Spectroscopy and machine learning are used in their initial product, TARAM, an immediate quality assessment tool for turmeric, to enable objective price discovery and increase farmer income.
Through tech-enabled agriculture and the processing of sugarcane into jaggery, another company, Rait Setu, seeks to support small farmers as entrepreneurs. This program minimizes urban migration by raising agricultural prices, boosting farmer income, lowering carbon emissions, and creating better-paying village jobs. Roopa Suresh Kanapet, Santosh Rayappa Kittur, and Pooja Santosh Kittur created the company.
Water treatment
Additionally, the program supports NatureWrks, a business that works to address environmental contamination and reduce waste from plastic packaging. Lakshminath Kundanati, Ankur Kulkarni, and Somanna Kolimada started it.
Openwater, another business, wants to make wastewater management and water treatment easier. Sanjiv Sambandan and Prabha Nagarajan launched the company, which has created a technology that allows individual customers to use a hassle-free treatment device to clean water from any source.
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