NASSCOM CoE-IoT&AI

About NASSCOM CoE – IoT & AI

The MeitY-NASSCOM Centre of Excellence for IoT & AI (NASSCOM CoE-IoT&AI) is India's largest deep-tech innovation hub, established under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in partnership with NASSCOM. The Centre operates across four strategic locations — Gurugram (Haryana), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) — each co-created with respective state governments.

The CoE's mission is to build a robust Industry 4.0 ecosystem by connecting startups, enterprises, academia, and government to solve real-world problems at scale using emerging technologies including IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, AR/VR, Robotics, Drone Technology, Quantum Computing, and Generative AI.

Programs & Support

The CoE runs an industry-linked zero-equity incubation model based on its FAME framework — Funding, Acceleration, Mentorship, and Enterprise Connect. Selected startups are matched to validated industry problem statements and can secure paid Proof-of-Concept (PoC) contracts with corporate partners, dramatically shortening the path from prototype to revenue.

Benefits for incubated startups include:

• Subsidised co-working space and advanced prototyping labs
• Shared, complimentary GPU clusters for AI/ML workloads
• Access to a curated network of 200+ mentors, domain experts, and investors
• Enterprise connect with leading corporates for pilot deployment and scale-up
• Facilitated investor introductions and pitch events
• Participation in national and global innovation challenges

Scale & Impact

Since inception, the NASSCOM CoE-IoT&AI has supported over 1,000 startups and has become a flagship initiative for India's deep-tech startup ecosystem. The CoE regularly hosts corporate innovation sprints, hackathons, and policy roundtables to bridge the gap between industry demand and startup innovation capacity.

Who Should Apply

The CoE is ideal for early- to growth-stage deep-tech startups building solutions in IoT, AI/ML, Robotics, Drones, AR/VR, Cybersecurity, Smart Cities, Industry 4.0, or adjacent domains. Startups must have a clear technology differentiator and ideally a problem statement that aligns with the CoE's enterprise partner network. Both product and research-oriented ventures are welcome.

The programme is particularly suited to startups seeking enterprise customers and PoC opportunities over direct grant funding, making it a strong fit for B2B deep-tech companies looking for commercial traction alongside technical and infrastructure support.