Tech start-up incubator T-Hub and Facebook have come together to initiate an accelerator programme for start-ups working in the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) space in the country.
Their India Innovation Hub Accelerator Programme, launched on Tuesday at a function in T-Hub, is for start-ups working on AR/VR application in the areas of health tech, industrial manufacturing, education, corporate learning and development, hardware and accessories positioning, gesture and eye tracking, mobile hardware and enablement, video processing, developer tools as well camera, capture technology.
After exchanging documents for the partnership with T-Hub CEO Jay Krishnan, Head for Platform Partnerships of Facebook India and South Asia Satyajeet Singh said 8-10 start-ups are to be selected for the first batch of the programme. While the application process has opened with the launch — closes on February 28 — the first batch will begin in April. The entire programme will run for six months, of which the acceleration component is for around three months.
“We want to provide the right support, training and mentorship they need to explore the potential of emerging technologies,” Mr. Singh said, adding the programme would look at early and growth stage start-ups and not those in the idea stage.
The mentorship sessions, for which Facebook would provide resources to the participants, are to be held at T-Hub. The selected start-ups would get an opportunity to work and scale up under the aegis of the social media giant. They would also get access to T-Hub’s network of mentors, industry experts, investors, service providers and community/eco-system.
“The main agenda is to discover amazing start-ups working in the field of AR/VR... T-Hub and Facebook will aid the start-ups with cutting edge technology to scale using innovation programmes, global outreach and technology depth,” a release said.
The start-ups will also be given the opportunity to develop Proof of Concept on the prioritised solution and showcase their PoC to key executives of Facebook and T-Hub during the demo day at the incubator in Hyderabad.
