AIC IIITKottayam Foundation

Choose the right route

• Start-Up In AIC (SIA): apply through the form linked from the SIA page. It is the route with free company registration and incubation for selected teams.
• Startup India Seed Fund: apply on the Start-up India portal and pick this centre among up to three incubators, in order of preference.
• Paid incubation, training or consultancy: register at incubate@iiitkottayam.ac.in.

Before you apply

• The SIA page is undated, so confirm the current call with the centre before you prepare an application.
• For seed funding, check that your startup is DPIIT-recognised and was incorporated under a period of two years at the time of application.
• The site gives both free and paid terms for incubation. Ask which applies to your team before you commit.

How selection works

• Seed funding applications are judged on need for the idea, feasibility, potential impact, novelty, the team and the fund utilisation plan, followed by a presentation.
• The SIA page does not describe its own selection steps.

What reviewers look for

• A clear problem, a technically feasible product and a proof of concept.
• Applications that fit the centre's IoT and cloud focus for societal benefit.

AIC IIITKottayam Foundation is the incubation centre of the Indian Institute of Information Technology Kottayam, in Kottayam, Kerala. It is a non-profit company sanctioned under the Atal Innovation Mission scheme, and it supports founders building societal applications on IoT and cloud technologies.

Who runs it

The centre is hosted by the Indian Institute of Information Technology Kottayam, which its own pages describe as the host institute. Its board is chaired by the institute's director. The board also includes the institute's registrar, the first Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission, and industry members. The team page lists a director and principal investigator, Dr. Shajulin Benedict, alongside the centre's chief executive officer, marketing and partnerships staff and an executive assistant.

How the centre works

The centre's stated research objective is to develop societal applications using IoT cloud technologies or similar high-end technologies. Incubatees are encouraged to turn ideas into prototypes. The product prototype can start on a 3D printer, the software prototype can be designed in the computing space, and the hardware implementation follows at the hardware level.

The centre's workbench offers market analysis, consultation, feasibility analysis, technical advice, implementation support for IoT cloud services, verification and automation analysis, and business and marketing help.

Programmes

Start-Up In AIC (SIA) is the centre's own support scheme for budding entrepreneurs. It covers idea validation, IP, marketing, seed funding and acceleration, with mentoring, company formation and incubation. The page describes free company registration and incubation for selected teams, and says ideas from all domains are supported. Stamp duty and other government fees are not included. The page does not date its current call.

The centre also says it was selected under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme in 2021. Under that scheme, a DPIIT-recognised startup incorporated for under two years can apply on the Start-up India portal and choose up to three incubators in order of preference. The incubator then evaluates the application.

Paid services

The homepage lists paid contracts. An incubation contract gives incubate space and knowledge assistance for 6 to 12 months. A training contract gives incubate space and training support for 1 to 4 weeks. A consultancy contract gives onsite, consultancy and network support. The free SIA route and these paid contracts both appear on the site, so ask the centre which one fits your team.

Facilities

The SIA page lists office space, prototyping labs and a makerspace. The centre's address is Building no.340, Karoor Valavoor, Kottayam.

Scale

The homepage shows 42 startups and 141 jobs created. These figures are self-reported and undated, and the site footer reads 2019-2023, so treat them as the centre's own claims. The site also names several private limited companies as its startups.

Locations

The centre's address is Building no.340, Karoor Valavoor P.O., Kottayam, Kerala 686635.