European aircraft-maker Airbus is betting big on Indian startups. The firm has unveiled Airbus BizLab, a global aerospace accelerator in Bengaluru, where startups and Airbus employees called ‘intrapreneurs’ will transform ideas into businesses.
This is the third such facility for Airbus globally after Toulouse, its headquarters in France, and Hamburg in Germany. Airbus, which last year had almost 61 billion euros in revenue, has tied up with French startup accelerator NUMA in Bengaluru.
It would offer a six-month acceleration programme where startups would be given access to infrastructure, mentors, experts and venture capitalists. “We know everything about aeronautical world; nonetheless the world is changing. Digitisation is transforming this industry drastically,” said Bruno Gutierres, head of Airbus Bizlab. “We need to go beyond our natural borders and work with other industries, be more agile and develop quickly our innovation. Working with the startups is the way to do that.”
The accelerator would look at tapping innovations in areas such as robotics, augmented reality, big data analytics, financial technology, gaming and Internet of Things — where devices communicate with each other intelligently. For instance, in Toulouse it is working with a German firm that would print aircraft spare parts through 3D printing. It is also working on technology to secure the information that goes to the printer and assess the quality and safety of the parts that have been printed.
“You are lucky we are not a risk taker, that is a good thing in the way we are manufacturing our aircraft,” said Mr. Gutierres. “The way we are tackling our innovation, we need to be a risk taker."
The accelerator works on a ‘hybrid’ concept. It not only collaborates with young ventures but also allows them to better understand the needs and ways of working with large groups.
Srinivasan Dwarakanath, managing director at Airbus India, said they were launching the accelerator not because it was fashionable. “This is a fundamental part of our global strategy. Innovation is a key for Airbus, that is what is going to keep us as leaders and going into the future,” said Mr. Dwarakanath.
Rajiv Chib, Director for Aerospace and Defence Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Airbus has set up this accelerator because it is looking to tap new disruptive technologies. “Also, there is lot of talent in India.”
NUMA, which is Airbus’ accelerator partner in Bengaluru, has already shortlisted 12 start-ups for the first batch of its programme. The firms which were selected from more than 200 applicants will go through a six-month tailored acceleration programme.
“We can be the gateway for Indian startups to Europe,” said Frederic Oru, chief operating officer at NUMA. He also said that big corporates know that doing research and development in an old fashioned way misses the target and is expensive compared to young firms which are flexible. What differentiates NUMA from other accelerators is that they make corporates, startups and free lancers work together. “This marriage will bring together a mixture of startup energy and corporate processes,” said Naresh Narasimhan, chief executive at NUMA Bengaluru.
Bengaluru has emerged as the startup capital of India. The city is home to approximately 3,100 to 4,900 active tech startups and has achieved the second highest growth rate for exit volume and venture capital investment among the top 20, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking by U.S-based research firm Compass. As a result, Bengaluru moved up four positions to number 15 in 2015, advancing from number 19 in the 2012 ranking, according to the report.
Airbus, which also has an engineering centre in the city, already works with young technology ventures such as Dynamatic Technologies. Dynamatic makes wing flap track beams, which are instrumental in controlling the speed, direction and balance of the aircraft.
“Plenty of talent here, lot of institutes, extremely dynamic, it is the perfect place” said Mr. Gutierres of Airbus.
