Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH)

Start by choosing the right programme

RTIH's programmes are built for different stages. Match yours first:

• A student at a college in Andhra Pradesh: InnoTribe, through your campus.
• An idea with no startup yet: SPARK, a five-day bootcamp. Solo founders are welcome.
• A prototype you want to turn into a company: Future Founders. You must attend in person and register a startup by the end.
• A working prototype, MVP or proof of concept: Catalyst.
• A startup in a focus sector: the sector cohort for your field, or the spoke whose sectors match yours.
• A product that solves a government problem: watch the innovation challenge portal.
• A village innovator or rural enterprise: the Rural Smart Village Centres.

Pick the right hub or spoke

The incubation form asks you to choose a location. Each spoke has its own focus sectors, so pick the one closest to your work, not just your city. Vijayawada leans to industrial IoT and construction, Visakhapatnam to the blue economy and medtech, Rajamahendravaram to food and aquaculture, Ananthapuramu to EV and defence, and Tirupati to electronics and space technology.

How applications work

• Fill the online incubation form. Keep your DPIIT registration number and pitch deck ready.
• You can also walk in to any hub or spoke and apply in person.
• There is no fee to apply. If a cohort has a participation fee, RTIH says it tells you upfront.
• Most programmes were not taking applications in September 2026, so check the programme page before you apply.
• For questions, write to incubation@rtih.co.in.

How selection works

• Shortlisted applicants go through screening and a pitch review before they join.
• Catalyst screens on traction, market potential, scalability, innovation and team.
• Innovation challenges use a first screening, a review by subject experts, and then a demo or pitch day. Each challenge needs its own application.

What reviewers look for

• Proof that matches the programme. Catalyst expects a working prototype or MVP; SPARK needs only an idea.
• A link to Andhra Pradesh. Startups from other states can join, but cannot claim state incentives. Some challenges ask outside startups to set up a legal presence in the state.
• For challenges, a solution you can pilot. Winners may be asked to run a pilot in the state, and RTIH gets first right to pilot or buy the solution. You keep your IP.

Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) is the Government of Andhra Pradesh's statewide platform for innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship, set up under the state's Innovation & Startup Policy 2024–2029. Its central hub is at Mayuri Tech Park in Mangalagiri, in the Amaravati capital region, and it works through five regional spokes in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Ananthapuramu and Tirupati. News reports say Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran inaugurated the hub in August 2025.

How RTIH programmes work

RTIH runs on a hub-and-spoke model. The Amaravati hub is the centre, and each spoke serves its own region with its own focus sectors and industry promoters. Colleges, universities and regional centres can also join the network as RTIH Outposts, so startup support can be given locally.

Its programmes follow a founder from first idea to growth. SPARK is a five-day bootcamp for idea-stage founders and first-time teams. Future Founders is a six-week, in-person programme that sits between an idea and formal incubation, with mentor-led sprints and prototype support. Catalyst is the incubation programme for startups that already have a prototype or MVP, and it held its first edition at the Amaravati hub in 2025. Velocity Labs is a hybrid programme focused on fast experimentation and product validation. RTIH also lists sector cohorts for AVGC, climate, medtech, EV and mobility, food, fintech, agriculture, education and defence technology. None of these programmes was taking applications when we checked in September 2026.

Students have their own route. InnoTribe is a campus programme for any student at an educational institution in Andhra Pradesh. It runs in stages, from awareness sessions and ideathons to bootcamps, demo days and incubation readiness. It is free, RTIH takes no equity, and it offers small prototyping grants tied to milestones. RTIH says more than 450 colleges have sent expressions of interest, and onboarding is under way across the hub and all five spokes.

The Grassroot Innovation and Rural Entrepreneurship Cell works with village innovators and rural entrepreneurs through Rural Smart Village Centres. It offers mentoring, buyer and supply-chain connections, scale-up support and access to government schemes.

RTIH also runs innovation challenges with state government departments. A department sets a problem, startups and innovators send proposals, and the best go through expert review and a demo day. Winners can get pilots, and some challenges lead to direct purchase by the government. Past challenges covered alternate energy, early childhood development, drone services for farming, urban sanitation, health technology and public distribution.

Funding and fees

RTIH mainly offers incubation support rather than money. Its site says it does not directly offer financial support, but its incubation page says selected startups may be eligible for seed support after evaluation. RTIH also helps startups reach investors, venture capital firms and state or central government funding schemes, and it promotes loan melas that connect founders with bankers. On equity, RTIH says terms depend on the support model: startups that get direct funding may have an equity arrangement, and others do not give equity. Startups keep their own intellectual property.

Applying costs nothing. RTIH says any cohort fee is shared upfront, and some advanced services, such as labs, co-working space and venues, may be charged by use.

Who can apply

Most programmes are for startups and founders in Andhra Pradesh. Startups from other states can join programmes but cannot claim state incentives. Future Founders asks applicants to be Andhra Pradesh residents and Indian citizens, to attend in person at a hub or spoke, and to register a startup by the end of the programme. Catalyst needs a working prototype, MVP or proof of concept. The agriculture and food cohorts also welcome farmer producer organisations and farmer-led ventures.

To apply for incubation, you fill one online form. It asks for your DPIIT registration number and a pitch deck, and lets you pick a hub or spoke. You can also walk in to a hub or spoke and apply in person. Shortlisted founders go through screening and a pitch review before they join.

Facilities

Every spoke offers co-working desks and private offices, meeting and conference rooms, and space for training and startup events. Some spokes have more. Rajamahendravaram has a 60-seat training hall. Visakhapatnam has prototyping labs and demo zones. Tirupati has incubation bays, electronics benches and seminar rooms. Ananthapuramu has a maker space for light prototyping. The Amaravati hub has INNO-XR, an immersive-technology lab linked to its AVGC-XR work. Incubated startups also get a toolkit of partner offers covering legal, finance, technology, marketing and HR.

Who runs it

RTIH is led by its CEO, Mallavarapu Suryateja, IAS. Its challenge pages name the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society as the office behind them. The hub is named in honour of Ratan Tata. Tata Sons is the lead promoter of the Amaravati hub, with L&T as co-promoter and IIT Madras, IIM Visakhapatnam, SRM University AP, VIT-AP University and NIT Andhra Pradesh as knowledge partners. RTIH says more than 200 organisations partner with it.

The state's startup policy sets goals for RTIH, including support for 20,000 startups and one lakh jobs. These are goals for the policy period, not results so far.

RTIH also hosts events such as the Chai, Chaos and Code founder talk show, runs Sunrise Connects for the global Telugu community, and offers guided exposure visits for college students. Its careers page lists open roles, including internships in Amaravati.

Locations

The Amaravati hub is at 4th Floor, Mayuri Tech Park, Mangalagiri, Guntur district. Tata Sons is its lead promoter.

The Vijayawada spoke is at the Sonovision Building in Enikepadu. It focuses on industrial IoT, agriculture technology, auto-body building and light engineering, and construction technology. MEIL is its lead promoter.

The Visakhapatnam spoke is at The Deck in Siripuram. It focuses on smart infrastructure, the blue economy, medtech, biotech and fintech. GMR is its lead promoter.

The Rajamahendravaram (Rajahmundry) spoke is in Bommuru. It focuses on food processing, marine technology, aquaculture and energy transition. Greenko is its lead promoter.

The Ananthapuramu (Anantapur) spoke is in the old admin block at JNTU Anantapur. It focuses on automotive and EV systems, hybrid renewable energy, agriculture and food processing, logistics and warehousing, and defence and aerospace. JSW is its lead promoter.

The Tirupati spoke is on Tirupati Airport Road in Renigunta. It focuses on batteries and advanced manufacturing, electronics, horticulture technology and dairy, and space technology. Adani is its lead promoter.