Facebook’s ‘India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program’ to promote innovation in AV/VR startups opened for registrations on Tuesday. The accelerator programme, which is being run in partnership with Hyderabad-based T-Hub, aims to discover disruptors in the field of AR/VR in India.
T-Hub and Facebook will aid the start-ups with cutting edge technology to scale using innovation programs, global outreach and technology depth.
Starting today, registrations will be open until February 28. Startups, which are in the space of AR/VR application to Healthtech, Industrial Manufacturing, Education, Corporate Learning & Development, Hardware and Accessories Positioning, Gesture and Eye tracking, mobile hardware and enablement, video processing, developer tools, camera, capture technology, can participate in this program.
However, Facebook is looking for startups that are in the growth stage, meaning those who have seen some amount of traction and are not still in an idea stage.
Eight to Ten startups will be selected as part of this program and will have an opportunity to work and scale up under the aegis of Facebook. The startups will be given an opportunity to develop Proof of Concept (PoC) on the prioritized solution and showcase their PoC to key executives of Facebook and T-Hub during the ‘Demo Day’ at T-Hub Hyderabad.
“This programme is part of Facebook’s long-term commitment towards building an entire ecosystem of emerging technologies in the region. In partnership with T-Hub, we will run a 6-month program where we will provide them with all our resources to try and help them move from stage A to B,” said Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia.
While there will be no direct monetary offering from Facebook or T-Hub, Satyajeet says that Facebook believes in sweat equity, which is giving its time an energy, something he believes is a lot more valuable than money.
The qualified startups will be directly accepted to the Fb Start program and could access T-Hub’s network of mentors, industry experts, investors, service providers, and community.
Speaking on the occasion, Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub, said, "AR/VR today has started to gain traction in industries ranging from - entertainment, gaming, communication and industry. The Indian AR/VR market yet nascent is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 76 per cent over the next five years, fuelled by demand from business and consumer sectors. Our intent, as an ecosystem enabler is to partner with pioneers like Facebook and explore new frontiers that are relevant for India like Healthcare, education etc with AR/ VR and XR. We are extremely excited to be playing a part in enabling and accelerating innovation in this space for India with Hyderabad as the epicentre."
According to GrowthEnabler’s estimates, there are close to 1,500 start-ups in the AR/VR segment worldwide, with the US accounting for nearly 45 per cent, followed by the UK, Israel and Canada. Globally, from 2013 to 2017, the AR segment has received $2.5 billion and VR $2.7 billion in funding.