Forge Innovation & Ventures
Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT)
Coimbatore में हार्डवेयर और deep-tech इन्क्यूबेटर, जिसे Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI) चलाता है और जिसकी मेज़बानी Kumaraguru College of Technology करता है।
Forge Innovation & Ventures at a glance
| Part of | Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) |
|---|---|
| Address | Forge.Factory, G Floor, KCT Tech Park, #3 Athipalayam Road, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu |
| Programmes | 8 standing programmes |
| Stages supported | Idea, Prototype, MVP, Early revenue, Growth |
| Fees | Free — all 2 programmes that state a fee policy |
| Official website | www.forge-iv.co |
| info@forge-iv.co |
Programs by Forge Innovation & Ventures
1 past program · Filter all programs
आगे क्या?
यह काफ़ी पहले बंद हुआ था और हमें नहीं पता कि यह फिर चलेगा या नहीं। "मुझे बताएँ" दबाएँ, चलने पर हम ईमेल करेंगे।
Which Forge Innovation & Ventures programme fits you
8 programmes compared by who they are for, the stage they accept, how long they run and what they cost.
By stage
- Idea
- Forge.Academy
- Prototype
- Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs
- MVP
- Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform, Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation
- Early revenue
- Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform, Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation, Impact Innovation Grants with HDFC Parivartan, Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya Bank
- Growth
- Forge.Fund, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform, Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation, Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya Bank
| Programme | Best for | Stage | Duration | Format | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forge.Fund | Hardware and deep-tech founders in India who need lab time, grant support or seed investment | Prototype – Growth | — | In person | — |
| Forge.Labs | Hardware teams that need machines, testing or pilot-scale manufacturing | Prototype – Early revenue | — | In person | — |
| Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform | Hardware startups with a pilot-ready product looking for an industrial buyer | MVP – Growth | — | In person | — |
| Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovationWith Ministry of Defence (iDEX), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (City Innovation Exchange) | Startups selling into defence, cities, or the public and impact sectors | MVP – Growth | — | Hybrid | — |
| Impact Innovation Grants with HDFC ParivartanWith HDFC Parivartan | Market-stage climate-tech startups with a buyer ready to host a pilot | Early revenue | 6 months | In person | Free |
| Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya BankWith Karur Vysya Bank | Deep-tech startups with an impact product and a public or private sector buyer | Early revenue – Growth | — | In person | Free |
| Forge.AcademyWith Department of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, TANSIM | Engineering students, educators and industrial workforces, not founders | Idea | ProtoSem is 20 weeks; the MBA is two years full-time | In person | No equity |
| Forge.Fast | Industrial corporates; startups join through a corporate engagement | — | — | In person | — |
Track record
What Forge Innovation & Ventures reports about its portfolio.
Every figure below is Forge's own, self-reported and undated. Two of the six counters on its home page are contradicted by different values on its Forge.Fund page, so only the uncontradicted ones are shown. Forge's headline of 132 startups is not a count of startups it has incubated — its own page says that number mixes portfolio startups, programme startups and a pipeline of startups only discovered and evaluated.
All figures self-reported — forge-iv.co, as of Sept 2026.
Programmes they run
Standing programmes at Forge Innovation & Ventures, separate from the funding calls above.
Forge organises everything into six verticals. Forge.Fund is the founder-facing one; Forge.Labs is the equipment; Forge.Lighthouse and Forge.Foundry are routes to industrial and government buyers; Forge.Fast is sold to corporates; Forge.Academy teaches students and workforces. None of them publishes an application form — every one routes to the same general enquiry page.
Forge.Fund
IncubationForge's founder-facing vertical: lab access, grant support, seed investment and advisory for hardware startups, with no fixed cohort.
Best for: Hardware and deep-tech founders in India who need lab time, grant support or seed investment
- Prototype – Growth
- In person
- Grant support for selected startups
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Fund is the route most hardware founders want. Forge describes it as a suite of startup catalysis services for hardware startups in India, running across the whole life of a venture rather than as a dated cohort, and it is the vertical the grants and investments sit under.
What you get
- Access to Forge's product innovation, compliance and certification labs across its seven industrial innovation centres in Tamil Nadu, for product development, prototyping and testing
- Plug-and-play pilot production space to set up and run pilot-scale manufacturing, assembly and testing
- Forge's own product-management method for reaching product-market fit, framed as defining the right product, building the right product, and building the product right
- Industrial pilot projects and product demo labs that show your product to industry buyers
- Strategic advisory on product acceleration, commercial partnerships, investment, milestones and financial planning
- Grant support for product development, and pilot grants that part-subsidise a pilot for your prospective customer
- Growth grant support and seed investment for commercialisation and scaling
- Introductions to angel and venture investors, with advice on how much to raise and what it costs in dilution
- Extra product-development capacity through Forge's own technical specialists
Who can apply
- Hardware startups in India — Forge says the services are offered to hardware startups only, and its focus is what it calls Phygital, meaning hardware-first and digital-plus
- Its eight domains are defence, industrial, mobility, energy and sustainability, health, climate, production and assistive hardware
- Startups at product, market or growth stage; most of the ones Forge works with are at product stage
- Forge publishes no incorporation requirement, no state restriction and no tie to the host college
How selection works: Forge publishes no criteria, no timeline and no cohort dates for this vertical. It describes the engagements as high-touch and tracked by milestones and metrics, which suggests a conversation rather than a scored round.
How to apply: There is no form. Every button on the Forge.Fund page goes to Forge's general enquiry page, so send an enquiry that says what you are building, what stage it is at and what you need. The published inbox is info@forge-iv.co.
Forge.Labs
PlatformForge's network of seven industrial innovation labs across Tamil Nadu, for building, testing and pre-certifying hardware.
Best for: Hardware teams that need machines, testing or pilot-scale manufacturing
- Prototype – Early revenue
- In person
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Labs is the equipment side of Forge. It runs seven centres across seven cities of Tamil Nadu, which Forge calls the largest network of Fab Labs accredited by MIT's Fab Foundation in India. The Coimbatore headquarters holds HWjunction; four other centres run as InnovateTN labs with the state's technical-education department; the FORTs are Forge's open industrial innovation ecosystems.
What you get
- Product Innovation Labs across eight industrial technology domains, from industrial robotics and electronics design through industrial fabrication, additive manufacturing and cyber-physical control systems
- Product Compliance Labs for the testing a hardware product needs before formal certification — vibration, sound, coating thickness, dimensional measurement, flaw detection and ingress protection on the mechanical side, Hipot, earth, leakage, harmonic, battery and motor testing on the electrical side, and flying probe and EMC/EMI testing on the electronics side
- Pilot Production Facilities for low-volume manufacturing, covering PCB design, fabrication and assembly, milling, welding, sheet metal cutting, turning, vacuum casting and dough moulding
- Resident technical experts and external mentors, plus product advisory
Who can apply
- Hardware startups, industrial companies, MSMEs and student innovators — Forge names all four as users of the labs
- Forge publishes no access criteria, no booking system and no price list
How to apply: Each of the three lab groups has a Get In Touch button, and all of them go to Forge's general enquiry page. Name the machine or the test you need, because nothing on the site tells you what is available where.
A platform where industrial companies post real problems and startups submit solutions, which can end in a monitored pilot with the company.
Best for: Hardware startups with a pilot-ready product looking for an industrial buyer
- MVP – Growth
- In person
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Lighthouse is a route to an industrial customer rather than an intake into incubation. Its five steps are the only selection process Forge publishes anywhere on its site.
What you get
- A defined problem from a real industrial company, written up as a solution requirement
- A screening step that Forge says is assisted by the platform, to pick candidates capable of delivering business value through a pilot
- A pilot project with the industrial company, monitored and tracked as it runs
- An impact study measuring the result against agreed indicators
Who can apply
- Hardware tech startups with something ready to pilot; Forge also names academia and research groups as sources of solutions
- Forge publishes no eligibility criteria for responding to a challenge
How selection works: A challenge inside an industrial company is identified and turned into a detailed solution requirement, then hosted on the platform. Startups submit applications showing how they meet it. Candidates are screened and selected. The chosen startup runs a pilot with the company under monitoring, and an impact study closes it out.
How to apply: The platform itself is not linked from the page, and there is no login or listing route published. Write to Forge through its general enquiry page and ask to be considered for its industrial challenges. Forge reports twelve industry partners and nine startup partners on this platform, without naming them.
Forge's government and impact work, including its role on the Ministry of Defence's iDEX programme and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' City Innovation Exchange.
Best for: Startups selling into defence, cities, or the public and impact sectors
- MVP – Growth
- Hybrid
With Ministry of Defence (iDEX), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (City Innovation Exchange)
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Foundry opens procurement routes for startups selling into government, cities and the impact sector. Most of what sits here is work Forge does alongside a ministry, so the intake usually belongs to the scheme rather than to Forge.
What you get
- On iDEX, the Ministry of Defence's innovation programme, Forge says it onboards, mentors and manages projects; it also says it devised the iDEX framework and the procurement steps that led to the Innovation category in the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. Forge reports 76 iDEX projects onboarded, mentored and managed, and five procurement contracts won
- On City Innovation Exchange, Forge is the named knowledge and capabilities partner to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and co-authored the SmartProcure policy that lets cities buy directly from startups. Forge reports more than 800 urban tech startups and more than 100 cities on that platform, with more than 30 procurement orders issued
- Pilot grant support for impact startups, and policy work to open direct procurement routes for them
Who can apply
- Defence-tech startups, through iDEX's own process — not through Forge
- Urban-tech startups, by listing on the City Innovation Exchange platform run by the Ministry and NIUA
- Deep-tech startups with an impact solution and a public or private buyer, through the two grant programmes listed separately
How to apply: Applications for iDEX challenges are made on the Ministry of Defence's own iDEX platform, which Forge's page does not link to. City Innovation Exchange onboarding happens on that platform. For Forge's own impact programmes, use its general enquiry page.
Impact Innovation Grants with HDFC Parivartan
Grant schemeA closed round of pilot grants for climate-tech startups, run by Forge with HDFC Parivartan; four winners were selected from 270 applications.
Best for: Market-stage climate-tech startups with a buyer ready to host a pilot
- Early revenue
- 6 months
- In person
- Free
- Grant support for selected startups
With HDFC Parivartan
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
This round has already picked its winners, so treat it as closed and worth asking about only if you want to know whether it will run again. Forge implements it in partnership with HDFC Parivartan.
What you get
- A pilot grant that part-subsidises the cost of a pilot project for your prospective buyer, so the buyer takes on a new technology at lower risk and cost
- Six months to execute the pilot with that buyer, with the aim of proving the case for a larger deployment later
Who can apply
- Market-stage startups commercialising a technology for climate change resilience and reversal
- You need a prospective buyer or customer willing to host the pilot, because the grant subsidises their cost rather than yours alone
- Forge publishes no incorporation, geography or category criteria
How selection works: An application round. Forge reports 270 applications received, 11 startups shortlisted and 4 selected. The screening criteria are not published, and the winners are not named.
How to apply: No route is published — the page describes a round already decided. Ask through Forge's general enquiry page whether another round is planned.
Pilot grants plus an accelerator for deep-tech startups with impact solutions for public and private buyers; five startups are in it.
Best for: Deep-tech startups with an impact product and a public or private sector buyer
- Early revenue – Growth
- In person
- Free
- Grant support for selected startups
With Karur Vysya Bank
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Impact Innovation Nexus pairs a pilot grant with acceleration. Forge runs it in partnership with Karur Vysya Bank and reports five pilot projects and five startups currently under acceleration.
What you get
- A pilot grant that subsidises the cost of running your impact project inside a public or private sector organisation, easing the buyer's adoption risk
- An accelerator alongside it: access to Forge's tech labs, strategic advisory, market access and investment pathways to push product, revenue and growth
Who can apply
- Deep-tech startups working on social, environmental or developmental problems in the public and industrial sectors
- As with the other impact programme, the grant is built around a pilot with a buyer, so having one matters
- No further criteria are published
How selection works: Not published.
How to apply: No dedicated route. Use Forge's general enquiry page and say that you are asking about Impact Innovation Nexus.
Forge.Academy
ProgrammeForge's education vertical for engineering students, educators and factory workforces — not an incubation route for founders.
Best for: Engineering students, educators and industrial workforces, not founders
- Idea
- ProtoSem is 20 weeks; the MBA is two years full-time
- In person
- No equity
With Department of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, TANSIM
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Academy is where Forge teaches rather than incubates. If you are a founder looking for support, this is not the vertical you want, but it is the one most engineering students in Tamil Nadu will meet Forge through.
What you get
- The Innovation Practicum, a curriculum-integrated framework built around engineering, design, innovation and ideation sprints, run with multidisciplinary student teams
- ProtoSem, a twenty-week Graduate Innovation Engineer certification in which students design, develop and deploy a solution to a real industry problem and build working prototypes, covering IoT sensors, edge computing, additive manufacturing, industrial automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and AR/VR
- Forge.Fellows, a three-phase programme that takes educators from innovation educator to innovation mentor to innovation manager
- An AICTE-approved M.Tech in Technology Management, and an AICTE-approved MBA in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Development — a two-year, four-semester, 104-credit full-time course
- The Innovation Practicum for Industrial Workforce, at three levels called User, Engineer and Innovator, for operators through executives
Who can apply
- ProtoSem is for pre-final and final-year engineering students
- Forge.Fellows is for educators
- The industrial workforce practicum is for companies training their own staff
- The masters courses publish no entry criteria on Forge's site
How to apply: There is no admissions page. Enquire through Forge's general contact page. Four of Forge's labs run under InnovateTN, a joint venture with the Department of Technical Education and TANSIM, Government of Tamil Nadu, which takes the Innovation Practicum into the state's engineering colleges and polytechnics.
Forge.Fast
ProgrammeA corporate venture studio sold to large industrial firms; startups take part as the corporate's innovation partner, not by applying.
Best for: Industrial corporates; startups join through a corporate engagement
- In person
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Forge.Fast is bought by industrial companies, not applied to by founders. It is listed here because a startup can end up inside it, and because founders often ask what it is.
What you get, if a corporate brings you in:
- Product and venture acceleration with guidance from the industrial company, tracked by milestones and metrics
- Grant support from the corporate for hardware product development, commercialisation and growth, which Forge notes can come with the corporate taking intellectual property or hiring the team
- A demo or pilot with the company to prove the business case for factory-wide adoption
- Excubate, which spins the corporate's own innovation projects out into ventures
Who can apply
- There is no public intake. Sourcing and selection of technology partners is run by a programme office for the corporate client
How to apply: Not applicable for founders. Corporates enquire through Forge's general contact page.
Labs & facilities
Equipment and space on campus.
All of these are Forge's own, at Forge.Factory in Coimbatore and across its other centres in Tamil Nadu. Kumaraguru College of Technology's campus labs are the college's, and no Forge page says incubatees get access to them, so they are not listed here.
Forge.Factory
Forge's headquarters building inside KCT Tech Park in Coimbatore. The host college gives its size as twenty thousand square feet.
HWjunction
Described by Forge as an MIT Fab Foundation accredited digital fabrication lab at Forge.Factory, covering computing and AI, IoT, electronics, desktop fabrication, 3D printing, drones, and automation and robotics, for building and testing production-ready prototypes.
Forge.Labs network
Forge says it runs seven industrial innovation centres across seven cities of Tamil Nadu and calls it the largest network of Fab Labs accredited by MIT's Fab Foundation in India. Four of them operate as InnovateTN labs with the state's technical-education department. The cities are shown only on a map image, not named in text.
Product Innovation Labs
Equipment across eight industrial technology domains: industrial robotics and cobotics, including a six-axis industrial robot and robotic controllers; electronics design, test and verification; industrial design and fabrication, with machining workbenches, power tools, laser cutters and CAD, CAM and CAE tools; accelerated computing; cyber-physical control systems; additive manufacturing; electronics rapid prototyping; and industrial metaverse.
Electronics design, test and verification
Multifunctional and mixed-signal oscilloscopes, function and signal generators, network and spectrum analysers, and industrial-grade simulators.
Product Compliance Labs
Verification, validation and pre-certification testing. Mechanical: vibration, sound level, coating thickness, dimensional measurement, flaw detection, ingress protection test chambers and coordinate measuring machines. Electrical: Hipot, earth, current leakage, harmonic, battery and motor testing. Electronics: flying probe and EMC/EMI testing.
Pilot Production Facilities
Plug-and-play low-volume manufacturing for startups and MSMEs. Electronics: PCB design, fabrication and assembly. Mechanical: vertical milling centres, MIG, TIG and arc welding, sheet metal cutting, turning, vacuum casting and dough moulding.
Support services
Help offered alongside funding and space.
Business advisory
Strategic advisory across product acceleration, commercial partnerships and investment, covering venture strategy, milestones and metrics, business and financial planning, and fundraising.
Design services
Product design and development support, plus Forge's own product-management method for reaching product-market fit: defining the right product, building the right product, and building the product right.
Regulatory support
Pre-certification testing and compliance checks so a hardware product can clear formal certification, aimed at cutting time to market.
Market access
Industrial pilot projects and product demo labs that put startups in front of industry buyers, plus procurement routes through the iDEX defence programme and the City Innovation Exchange platform for cities.
Recognitions & empanelments
Official approvals this incubator holds.
Neither of these comes from a recognition badge on Forge's site — Forge's own pages mention no government scheme at all. The first rests on government listings for the registered entity, the second on Forge's own description of a joint venture with Tamil Nadu's technical-education department and startup agency.
DST-supported Technology Business Incubator (as CIBI)· 2014
Forge's own website never mentions DST, NSTEDB or a TBI designation. The evidence is external: a government Technology Business Incubator list records “Forge Incubator - Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI)” as the registered incubator with Kumaraguru College of Technology as host institute and a sector-agnostic thrust area; and the Department of Science and Technology's ISTI portal lists CIBI at the college with DST as funding agency and 2014 as year of establishment. Neither source publishes a sanction period, so whether the support is still running cannot be told from them. The contact listed there is an inbox on a domain Forge has since retired.
Government of Tamil Nadu — InnovateTN joint venture
Forge's own page describes InnovateTN as a joint venture between the Department of Technical Education and TANSIM, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Forge, taking its Innovation Practicum into the state's engineering colleges and polytechnics. Four of Forge's labs run under this name. It is a stated working relationship with the state, not an incubator accreditation.
How to apply to Forge Innovation & Ventures
सही रास्ता चुनना
Forge एक साथ छह चीज़ें है, इसलिए उन्हें लिखने से पहले पता लगाएं कि आप किस vertical में आते हैं।
- यदि आपको अपने हार्डवेयर स्टार्टअप के लिए lab समय, grant सहायता, seed निवेश या सलाह चाहिए, तो आपको Forge.Fund चाहिए।
- यदि आपको केवल मशीनें और testing चाहिए, तो Forge.Labs चाहिए, और जिस विशिष्ट उपकरण या test की आपको ज़रूरत है उसका नाम लेना उपयोगी है।
- यदि आपके पास पहले से एक उत्पाद है और आप एक औद्योगिक ग्राहक चाहते हैं, तो Forge.Lighthouse चाहिए, जो स्टार्टअप्स को उन समस्याओं से मिलाता है जो औद्योगिक कंपनियों ने पोस्ट की हैं।
- यदि आपका खरीदार कोई सरकारी विभाग, शहर या सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र की संस्था है, तो Forge.Foundry चाहिए।
- यदि आप संस्थापक के बजाय छात्र या शिक्षक हैं, तो Forge.Academy है, और ProtoSem pre-final और final-year इंजीनियरिंग छात्रों के लिए है।
Forge स्पष्ट है कि वह हार्डवेयर का समर्थन करता है, software का नहीं। वह खुद को उस चीज़ के आसपास वर्णित करता है जिसे वह Phygital कहता है — हार्डवेयर-पहले, digital-plus — और अपने स्टार्टअप्स को रक्षा, औद्योगिक, mobility, energy और sustainability, health, climate, production और assistive hardware में बांटता है। शुद्ध software या consumer-internet उत्पाद वह नहीं है जिसके लिए यह इन्क्यूबेटर बना है।
आवेदन कैसे काम करते हैं
कोई आवेदन फॉर्म नहीं है और कोई portal नहीं है। Forge के हर पन्ने पर हर बटन एक ही छोटे पूछताछ फॉर्म पर जाता है, जो आपका नाम, ईमेल, व्यवसाय का नाम और फोन नंबर पूछता है। इसका मतलब है कि आपकी पूछताछ वह काम करती है जो आमतौर पर आवेदन फॉर्म करता है, इसलिए विवरण आप खुद उसमें डालें:
- कौन सा vertical और कौन सा कार्यक्रम आप पूछ रहे हैं।
- आपका उत्पाद हार्डवेयर के रूप में क्या है, और वह किस चरण पर है। Forge स्टार्टअप्स को product stage, market stage और growth stage में बांटता है, और जिनके साथ वह काम करता है उनमें से अधिकांश product stage पर हैं।
- आपको वास्तव में क्या चाहिए: एक विशिष्ट मशीन या test, एक production-ready design तक पहुंचने में मदद, pilot के लिए grant सहायता, या किसी औद्योगिक खरीदार से परिचय।
- क्या आपके पास पहले से कोई संभावित ग्राहक है। Impact कार्यक्रमों के लिए यही पूरा मुद्दा है — ये grants एक नामित खरीदार के pilot की आंशिक सब्सिडी के लिए मौजूद हैं।
Forge द्वारा प्रकाशित एकमात्र inbox info@forge-iv.co है, और उसका प्रकाशित फोन नंबर contact पेज पर है। निर्णय के बजाय बातचीत की उम्मीद रखें।
चयन कैसे होता है
एकमात्र चयन प्रक्रिया जो Forge बताता है वह Forge.Lighthouse प्लेटफॉर्म का प्रवाह है: एक औद्योगिक कंपनी की चुनौती को एक समाधान की आवश्यकता में बदला जाता है और पोस्ट किया जाता है, स्टार्टअप्स उसके विरुद्ध प्रस्तुत करते हैं, एक screening और चयन चरण उच्च-संभावना वाले उम्मीदवार चुनता है, चुना गया स्टार्टअप निगरानी में एक pilot चलाता है, और एक impact study परिणाम मापती है। यदि आप उस रास्ते पर हैं, तो आवश्यकता दस्तावेज़ वही है जिस पर आपको आंका जा रहा है।
बाकी सब के लिए Forge कोई मानदंड या समय-सीमा प्रकाशित नहीं करता। HDFC Parivartan के साथ उसका impact grant दौर बताता है कि वह किस तरह की संभावनाओं पर काम करता है: 270 आवेदन आए, 11 स्टार्टअप्स की शॉर्टलिस्ट हुई और 4 चुने गए।
समीक्षक क्या देखते हैं
उस समस्या के बारे में Forge की अपनी भाषा पढ़ें जिसे वह हल करने का दावा करता है, क्योंकि उसी पर वह स्क्रीन करता है। वह उस अंतर की बात करता है जहां हार्डवेयर नवाचार trial-ready prototype और production-ready MVP के बीच अटक जाते हैं, और स्टार्टअप्स को design, testing, certification और compliance से होकर उस बिंदु तक ले जाने की बात करता है जहां वे user trials और paid pilots के लिए तैयार हों। उसकी product पद्धति तीन सवालों के रूप में बनी है — सही उत्पाद परिभाषित करना, सही उत्पाद बनाना, और उत्पाद को सही तरीके से बनाना — manufacturability, quality और scale के लिए डिज़ाइन पर ज़ोर के साथ।
इसलिए सबसे मज़बूत मामला ठोस होता है:
- वह विशिष्ट तकनीकी या certification कदम जिस पर आप अटके हैं, न कि सहायता की सामान्य ज़रूरत।
- इस बात का प्रमाण कि आपने वास्तविक औद्योगिक उपयोगकर्ताओं से इस समस्या पर बात की है।
- इसकी समझ कि चीज़ का निर्माण कैसे होगा, न कि केवल वह बेंच पर कैसे काम करती है।
- यदि आपके पास है तो एक नामित संभावित खरीदार — Forge स्वयं को pilots पूरे होने और procurement खुलने से मापता है, इसलिए वास्तविक ग्राहक तक पहुंच वही परिणाम है जिसकी उसे परवाह है।
खुद जांचने योग्य बातें
Forge की वेबसाइट अपनी Technology Business Incubator स्थिति, अपने होस्ट कॉलेज, या किसी सरकारी योजना का उल्लेख नहीं करती। वे सरकारी सूचियों से आते हैं, जो यह भी नहीं बतातीं कि समर्थन वर्तमान है या नहीं। इसके impact आंकड़े पन्नों के बीच अलग हैं, और साइट पर कई संख्याएं उन programmes की हैं जिन्हें वह रक्षा मंत्रालय या आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय के लिए चलाता है, न कि उसके अपने portfolio की। जिस पर भी आप निर्भर करने वाले हों, उसके बारे में सीधे पूछें, जिसमें यह भी शामिल है कि आपने जिस कार्यक्रम के बारे में पढ़ा है वह अब भी नए स्टार्टअप्स ले रहा है या नहीं।
About Forge Innovation & Ventures
Forge, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu में एक हार्डवेयर और deep-tech इन्क्यूबेटर है। यह Forge Innovation & Ventures के नाम से चलता है, और इसके पीछे पंजीकृत इकाई Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI) है, जिसका मेज़बान संस्थान Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) है। Forge का अपना आधार, Forge.Factory, Chinnavedampatti में KCT Tech Park के भीतर स्थित है, और यह जिसे Phygital तकनीक कहता है, उस पर काम करता है: हार्डवेयर-पहले, digital-plus उत्पाद जो factories, रक्षा और infrastructure के लिए बनते हैं, न कि app stores के लिए।
काम छह verticals में बंटा है, और संपर्क करने से पहले यह जानना उपयोगी है कि आप किससे निपट रहे हैं। Forge.Fund संस्थापकों के सामने वाला हिस्सा है: हार्डवेयर स्टार्टअप्स के लिए grants, seed निवेश, lab पहुंच और सलाह। Forge.Labs मशीनें चलाता है। Forge.Lighthouse स्टार्टअप्स को उन औद्योगिक कंपनियों से जोड़ता है जिन्होंने एक वास्तविक समस्या पोस्ट की है। Forge.Foundry वही काम सरकारी और impact क्षेत्र के खरीदारों के लिए करता है। Forge.Fast बड़ी औद्योगिक फर्मों को बेचा जाने वाला एक corporate venture studio है। Forge.Academy छात्रों, शिक्षकों और factory workforce को पढ़ाता है।
कार्यक्रम कैसे चलते हैं
Forge.Fund वह रास्ता है जो अधिकांश संस्थापक चाहते हैं। यह भारत में हार्डवेयर स्टार्टअप्स को दी जाने वाली startup catalysis सेवाओं का एक समूह बताता है: product innovation, compliance और certification labs तक पहुंच; plug-and-play pilot production जगह; product-market fit तक पहुंचने के लिए एक संरचित product-management पद्धति; औद्योगिक pilot परियोजनाएं और demo labs जो स्टार्टअप को उद्योग के खरीदारों के सामने रखते हैं; product development और pilot deployments के लिए grant सहायता; growth grants और seed निवेश; और dilution पर सलाह के साथ निवेशक परिचय। जुड़ाव को high-touch बताया गया है और उसे एक निश्चित-अवधि के cohort के बजाय milestones और metrics से ट्रैक किया जाता है। कोई अवधि, कोई cohort तिथियां और कोई शर्तें प्रकाशित नहीं हैं।
Forge.Lighthouse उलटा काम करता है। एक औद्योगिक कंपनी एक चुनौती लाती है, Forge उसे एक समाधान की आवश्यकता में बदलता है और अपने प्लेटफॉर्म पर होस्ट करता है, स्टार्टअप्स उस पर प्रस्तुत करते हैं, एक screening चरण उम्मीदवार चुनता है, और चुने गए स्टार्टअप कंपनी के साथ एक निगरानी वाला pilot चलाता है, जिसके बाद एक impact study उसे बंद करती है। पूरी साइट पर Forge यही एकमात्र चयन प्रक्रिया प्रकाशित करता है, और यह incubation में प्रवेश के बजाय एक ग्राहक तक पहुंचने का रास्ता है।
Forge.Foundry सरकारी और impact काम संभालता है। Forge कहता है कि उसने रक्षा मंत्रालय के लिए iDEX ढांचा तैयार करने में मदद की, जिसमें वे खरीद चरण शामिल हैं जिनसे Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 में Innovation श्रेणी बनी, और वह iDEX परियोजनाओं को onboard, mentor और manage करता है। यह आवास और शहरी मामलों के मंत्रालय के City Innovation Exchange पर नामित ज्ञान और क्षमता साझेदार है, और उसने SmartProcure नीति की सह-लेखन किया है जो शहरों को सीधे स्टार्टअप्स से खरीदने देती है। यहां दो impact कार्यक्रम भी हैं: HDFC Parivartan के साथ Impact Innovation Grants, जिसने एक दौर के बाद, जिसमें 270 आवेदन आए, चार climate-tech स्टार्टअप्स को संभावित खरीदारों के साथ छह-महीने के pilots चलाने के लिए धन दिया; और Karur Vysya Bank के साथ Impact Innovation Nexus, जो pilot grants को एक accelerator के साथ जोड़ता है और वर्तमान में उसमें पांच स्टार्टअप्स हैं।
कौन आवेदन कर सकता है
Forge कहता है कि उसकी सेवाएं भारत में हार्डवेयर स्टार्टअप्स के लिए हैं, उन आठ क्षेत्रों में जिन्हें वह रक्षा, औद्योगिक, mobility, energy और sustainability, health, climate, production और assistive hardware बताता है। वह जिन स्टार्टअप्स के साथ काम करता है उन्हें product stage, market stage और growth stage में बांटता है, और उनमें से अधिकांश product stage पर हैं। इससे आगे साइट कोई मानदंड नहीं देती। यह नहीं बताती कि आपका निगमित होना ज़रूरी है या नहीं, आपका Tamil Nadu में होना ज़रूरी है या नहीं, या होस्ट कॉलेज से कोई संबंध ज़रूरी है या नहीं। किसी भी पन्ने पर Forge को KCT के छात्रों, faculty या alumni तक सीमित करने वाली कोई बात नहीं है, और न ही उन्हें इसके लिए खोलने वाली कोई बात।
Impact कार्यक्रम अधिक सीमित हैं। दोनों एक market-stage स्टार्टअप मांगते हैं जिसके पास पहले से एक संभावित खरीदार हो जो pilot की मेज़बानी करने को तैयार हो, क्योंकि grant उस खरीदार की लागत का आंशिक सब्सिडी देने के लिए बना है। HDFC Parivartan का दौर केवल climate-tech के लिए था।
आवेदन कैसे करें
Forge की साइट पर कोई आवेदन फॉर्म नहीं है। होमपेज और सभी छह vertical साइटों पर हर call to action एक ही सामान्य पूछताछ पेज पर जाता है, जो आपका नाम, ईमेल, व्यवसाय का नाम और फोन नंबर पूछता है, और कुछ नहीं। इसलिए पहला कदम एक पूछताछ है, आवेदन नहीं, और आपको अपने शब्दों में समझाना होगा कि आपको कौन सा vertical चाहिए। प्रकाशित inbox info@forge-iv.co है।
सुविधाएं
Forge कहता है कि वह Tamil Nadu के सात शहरों में सात औद्योगिक innovation केंद्र चलाता है, और इस नेटवर्क को भारत में MIT के Fab Foundation द्वारा मान्यता-प्राप्त Fab Labs का सबसे बड़ा समूह बताता है। Coimbatore मुख्यालय में HWjunction है, जिसे MIT-मान्यता-प्राप्त digital fabrication lab बताया गया है, जो computing, IoT, electronics, desktop fabrication, 3D printing, drones, और automation तथा robotics को कवर करती है। इनमें से चार केंद्र InnovateTN labs के रूप में चलते हैं।
उपकरण तीन समूहों में आते हैं। Product Innovation Labs में औद्योगिक robotics और cobotics, electronics design और test, industrial design और fabrication, accelerated computing, cyber-physical control systems, additive manufacturing, electronics rapid prototyping, और जिसे Forge industrial metaverse कहता है, शामिल हैं। Product Compliance Labs formal certification से पहले एक हार्डवेयर उत्पाद को जिस testing की ज़रूरत होती है उसे संभालते हैं: mechanical पक्ष पर vibration, sound level, coating thickness, dimensional measurement, flaw detection और ingress protection; electrical पक्ष पर Hipot, earth, current leakage, harmonic, battery और motor testing; और electronics पक्ष पर flying probe और EMC/EMI testing। Pilot Production Facilities कम मात्रा के निर्माण को कवर करती हैं, जिनमें PCB design, fabrication और assembly, milling, welding, sheet metal cutting, turning, vacuum casting और dough moulding हैं। Forge नेटवर्क की कुल lab फर्श जगह बीस हज़ार वर्ग फुट से अधिक बताता है, नेटवर्क भर में बीस निवासी तकनीकी विशेषज्ञ और चालीस बाहरी mentors के साथ।
इसे कौन चलाता है
Vish Sahasranamam सह-संस्थापक और chief executive हैं। Lakshmi Meera Forge.Academy की vice president और chief programme officer हैं, और Sriram R vice president, finance and operations हैं। Board of governors में TVS Capital के Gopal Srinivasan चेयरमैन हैं, Sakthi Group के M. Balasubramaniam, Spread की Sonia Manchanda, और Shankar Vanavarayar संस्थापक और managing director के रूप में।
पैमाना
Forge के अपने आंकड़े स्व-रिपोर्ट किए गए, बिना तिथि के हैं, और पन्नों के बीच हमेशा एक जैसे नहीं हैं। इसका portfolio पेज जिसे वह Forge Hardware Startup Collective कहता है उसमें 132 स्टार्टअप्स को शीर्षक में रखता है, लेकिन उसी पेज पर कहा गया है कि यह संख्या portfolio स्टार्टअप्स, programme स्टार्टअप्स और केवल खोजे और मूल्यांकित किए गए स्टार्टअप्स की pipeline को मिलाती है, इसलिए यह इन्क्यूबेट किए गए स्टार्टअप्स की गिनती नहीं है। इसके पन्ने स्टार्टअप्स द्वारा सृजित रोज़गार को एक जगह 2,200 और दूसरी जगह 2,851 बताते हैं, और राजस्व तथा बाहरी फंडिंग भी पन्नों के बीच अलग हैं। जो आंकड़े कहीं विरोधाभासी नहीं हैं वे हैं 200 वाणिज्यिक बनाए गए उत्पाद और चालीस बाहरी mentors। Forge.Academy की अलग संख्याएं, प्रशिक्षित छात्र और प्रकाशित patents, कॉलेजों के साथ उसके शिक्षा कार्य से संबंधित हैं, इनक्यूबेशन से नहीं।
Forge उन grant योजनाओं के नाम बताता है जिनका उसके स्टार्टअप्स ने उपयोग किया है, जिनमें उसका अपना FORT Grant, NIDHI PRAYAS, TIDE 2.0, SISFS, SAMRIDH और HDFC Parivartan तथा Karur Vysya Bank के दौर शामिल हैं। सरकारी सूचियां CIBI को Department of Science and Technology द्वारा समर्थित Technology Business Incubator बताती हैं, जो Kumaraguru College of Technology द्वारा होस्ट है और 2014 में स्थापित हुआ; Forge की अपनी साइट इस पदनाम का कभी उल्लेख नहीं करती, और कोई भी सूची यह नहीं बताती कि क्या वह समर्थन अब भी चल रहा है।
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Who they work with
Stage
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Notable alumni
The team
Vish Sahasranamam
सह-संस्थापक और CEO
Lakshmi Meera
VP और Chief Programme Officer, Forge.Academy
Sriram R
Vice President, Finance & Operations
Gopal Srinivasan
Board of Governors — Chairman, TVS Capital
M. Balasubramaniam
Board of Governors — MD, Sakthi Group
Sonia Manchanda
Board of Governors — Cofounder, Spread
Shankar Vanavarayar
Board of Governors — Founder & MD
Frequently asked questions about Forge Innovation & Ventures
What is Forge Innovation & Ventures?
Forge Innovation & Ventures is an incubator based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
What does Forge Innovation & Ventures do?
Forge, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu में एक हार्डवेयर और deep-tech इन्क्यूबेटर है। यह Forge Innovation & Ventures के नाम से चलता है, और इसके पीछे पंजीकृत इकाई Coimbatore Innovation and Business Incubator (CIBI) है, जिसका मेज़बान संस्थान Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) है। Forge का अपना आधार, Forge.Factory, Chinnavedamp…
Where is Forge Innovation & Ventures located?
Forge Innovation & Ventures is located at Forge.Factory, G Floor, KCT Tech Park, #3 Athipalayam Road, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
What programs does Forge Innovation & Ventures run?
Forge Innovation & Ventures runs Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform and Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation, among others.
Which Forge Innovation & Ventures programme should I apply to?
It depends on how far along your startup is. Idea stage: Forge.Academy. Prototype stage: Forge.Fund and Forge.Labs. MVP stage: Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform and Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation. Early revenue stage: Forge.Fund, Forge.Labs, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform and Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation and others. Growth stage: Forge.Fund, Forge.Lighthouse — Industrial Innovation Platform, Forge.Foundry — public and impact sector open innovation and Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya Bank. Check the programme's own eligibility before applying — several programmes are sector-specific.
Do Forge Innovation & Ventures programmes charge a fee?
No. Every Forge Innovation & Ventures programme that states a fee policy is free to join, including Impact Innovation Grants with HDFC Parivartan and Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya Bank.
Does Forge Innovation & Ventures provide funding?
Selected startups in some Forge Innovation & Ventures programmes can receive grant support, including Forge.Fund, Impact Innovation Grants with HDFC Parivartan and Impact Innovation Nexus with Karur Vysya Bank. Grant amounts are set per programme and cohort, and selection into a programme does not guarantee a grant — check the programme's own page for current terms.
What sectors does Forge Innovation & Ventures support?
Forge Innovation & Ventures works with startups in Engineering, IT and Manufacturing.
What stage of startup does Forge Innovation & Ventures support?
Forge Innovation & Ventures supports startups at the Ideation and Validation stages.
What facilities does Forge Innovation & Ventures offer?
Forge Innovation & Ventures offers Forge.Factory, HWjunction, Forge.Labs network, Product Innovation Labs, Electronics design, test and verification and Product Compliance Labs.
Is Forge Innovation & Ventures government recognised?
Forge Innovation & Ventures holds the following recognitions and affiliations: DST-supported Technology Business Incubator (as CIBI) and Government of Tamil Nadu — InnovateTN joint venture.
How do I apply to Forge Innovation & Ventures?
Forge एक साथ छह चीज़ें है, इसलिए उन्हें लिखने से पहले पता लगाएं कि आप किस vertical में आते हैं। - यदि आपको अपने हार्डवेयर स्टार्टअप के लिए lab समय, grant सहायता, seed निवेश या सलाह चाहिए, तो आपको Forge.Fund चाहिए। - यदि आपको केवल मशीनें और testing चाहिए, तो Forge.Labs चाहिए, और जिस विशिष्ट उपकरण या test की आपको ज़रूरत है उसका नाम लेना उपयोगी है। - यदि आपके पास पहले से एक उत्पाद है और आप एक औद्योगि…
Who runs Forge Innovation & Ventures?
Vish Sahasranamam (सह-संस्थापक और CEO) and Shankar Vanavarayar (Board of Governors — Founder & MD).
Who is the CEO of Forge Innovation & Ventures?
Vish Sahasranamam is the CEO of Forge Innovation & Ventures.
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