AIC-Prestige

Choose the programme that fits your stage

• Scaling a SaaS product: SaaStart.
• Testing a solution with corporate buyers: the Industry 4.0 programme.
• Building a drone product: the Drone Tech Centre of Excellence.
• Smart-city solutions and matchmaking with cities: the Smart Cities Accelerator Program.
• Space and mentoring from the start: in-campus or virtual incubation.
• Business modelling, go-to-market and funding readiness: Jumpstart for Startup.

How to apply

• Use the Apply Here button, which opens the startup registration form.
• Have ready the startup name, founders, entity type, DIPP Startup India registration status, funding status, and short statements of the problem and the solution.
• Name an external mentor if you have one.

Before you commit

• The site gives no batch dates or fee terms for the accelerators. Ask the centre for the current intake, whether equity is taken, and whether a fee applies.
• The site does not split its services by track. Confirm what a virtual place includes before you join.

AIC-Prestige, run by the AIC Prestige Inspire Foundation, is an incubation centre in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. It offers in-campus and virtual incubation for startups and functions under the Atal Innovation Mission scheme of NITI Aayog, Government of India. The centre supports innovative and disruptive business ideas with ideation, mentoring, co-working space, funding assistance and wider ecosystem support for prototyping, validation, scale-up and expansion.

How the programmes work

The main route is incubation. In-campus incubation takes place at the centre in Indore. Virtual incubation is listed with ideation, mentoring and funding assistance. The site does not say which services apply to the virtual route, so ask before you assume.

The centre also runs sector programmes. SaaStart is for SaaS startups that want to scale, with mentorship, market research and linkage, and help with building a team, growing revenue and setting up marketing channels. The Industry 4.0 programme is for startups ready to test or deliver their solutions with corporate partners or customers, with access to an advanced lab, matchmaking with corporate partners, expert workshops and investor exposure. The Smart Cities Accelerator Program connects cities, municipalities and government agencies with solution providers, and offers strategic mentors and media visibility during the batch. The Drone Tech Centre of Excellence supports startups in drone technology and smart-city applications with one-to-one mentoring, product development support, prototyping access, financial tools and a design-for-manufacture lab.

Jumpstart for Startup is a set of modules on business modelling, go-to-market strategy, technology modelling and funding readiness. Prestige Exponentia is a programme for family businesses and emerging entrepreneurs, run by Prestige Institute of Management and Research in association with the centre.

The Innovation Club is a platform for startups, students and interested individuals to take part in innovative and creative activities with hands-on training. It charges a membership fee.

The site does not state batch dates or fee terms for its accelerators. Its events list shows past events only, so confirm the current intake before you plan around it.

Who can apply

Most programmes take applications through the startup registration form, which the Apply Here buttons link to. The form asks for the startup name, the founders, the entity type, DIPP Startup India registration status (done or pending), funding status, a short description of the problem and of the solution, and any external mentor.

The centre's pages do not say whether founders outside Indore can apply, or whether places are reserved for startups linked to its campus network. Ask before you apply if your team is based elsewhere.

Facilities

The centre has an incubation space in Indore and a co-working area with shared work spaces, printing and scanning, conference and meeting rooms, high-speed WiFi and a recreation area. Its drone lab has tools for prototyping, workstations for processing project data, licensed drone software, test facilities and on-field support. It also lists an AR-VR lab for immersive technology, simulation and extended reality work.

Funding route

Startup India and Invest India selected the centre for the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, which gives financial assistance to early-stage startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. Check the scheme's own terms and the centre before you count on this route.

Location and contact

The centre is on the third floor of Prestige Vihar, Scheme No 74C, Vijay Nagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452010. The contact inbox is info@aic-prestigeinspirefoundation.in.