DERBI Foundation
Dayananda Sagar University
Bangalore-based healthcare-focused incubator at Dayananda Sagar University, supported by DST NIDHI, DBT-BIRAC, and MeitY, offering pre-incubation to acceleration programs.
DERBI Foundation at a glance
| Part of | Dayananda Sagar University |
|---|---|
| Established | 2015 |
| Address | DERBI Foundation, DSU Innovation Campus, 2nd Floor, Block 1, Survey No. 48/1, Kudlu Gate, Hongasandra Village, Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Programmes | 7 standing programmes · 1 open call right now |
| Official website | derbifoundation.com |
Programs by DERBI Foundation
1 open now · 4 past · Filter all programs
Programmes they run
Standing programmes at DERBI Foundation, separate from the funding calls above.
DERBI publishes structure where most incubators publish adjectives: PACE is 16 weeks and requires a full-time founder, GALLOP is two years and sets out its selection steps. What it does not publish is money — no amount, equity term or fee appears against any programme. The one exception runs the other way: the Prayas Shala Lab has an actual charge sheet, which no other incubator profiled here offers.
16-week hands-on programme to validate an idea, build a prototype and get investor-ready.
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Who qualifies: early-stage startups or individual founders with a clear problem statement, in MedTech/HealthTech, Wellness and Sports Tech, Sustainability and GreenTech, or Space Tech. Open across India; hybrid participation from Bengaluru is encouraged.
The real constraint: at least one founder must be available FULL-TIME for the whole 16 weeks. That rules out anyone building alongside a job, and it is stated up front, which is more than most programmes do.
What you get: mentorship, access to labs and testing facilities, real-world data partnerships for pilots, corporate validation, grant and funding linkages after validation, and a Pitch Day. Completing PACE gives direct entry into GALLOP.
No funding amount or equity term is published.
GALLOP
IncubationTwo-year incubation for healthcare startups at proof-of-concept or MVP stage.
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Focus: point-of-care devices, hospital management, home care, medical equipment, telemedicine, sports and wellness, and nutrition.
What you get: product development support, customised mentoring, clinical trial and regulatory pathway assistance, access to physician networks, go-to-market strategy, and potential seed capital.
Selection: direct scouting or online application, then internal screening, then a pitch to an external committee before onboarding.
The regulatory and physician-network support is the distinguishing part — it is the bottleneck most medtech startups actually hit, and few incubators offer it.
EMERGE
AcceleratorAcceleration for later-stage healthcare startups, with a digital-health track.
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Aimed at product refinement, scaling and revenue rather than validation.
Prayas Shala Lab
PlatformDERBI's instrumented prototyping and testing lab, with a published charge sheet.
What you get, who can apply and how to applyHide details
Unusually, DERBI publishes an equipment list with charge details and an online sample-submission form, plus a components bank list. The charges live in a linked document rather than on the page, but the fact that a rate card exists at all sets DERBI apart from every other incubator profiled here, none of which price their facilities publicly.
NIDHI PRAYAS
Grant schemeDST prototype grant, paired with the Prayas Shala Lab on site.
Official programme pageIncubation tracks
The routes into DERBI Foundation, and what each one includes.
This is a genuine ladder rather than a menu, and it is worth reading in order: PACE (16 weeks, validation) feeds directly into GALLOP (two years, incubation), which is followed by EMERGE for startups already generating revenue. The full-time founder requirement on PACE is the gate most applicants will hit first.
| Track | Type | Space | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PACE – Pre-Incubation Program3-4 months | Pre-incubation | — | — |
| GALLOP – Incubation Program2-year incubation program | Resident incubation | — | solution validation, product development, regulatory assistance, IP support, go-to-market strategies, one-on-one mentoring, potential Seed Funds/ capital |
| EMERGE – Acceleration ProgramFlagship acceleration program for late-stage healthcare startups | Acceleration | — | product validation/fine-tuning, scale-up strategies, revenue generation support, customized clinics |
Labs & facilities
Equipment and space on campus.
The strongest medtech prototyping bench of any incubator profiled here, and specced in public down to model numbers. The distinguishing items are not the spectrometers but the compliance kit: a vital-sign simulator and an electrical safety analyser. Electrical safety testing is a mandatory gate for a medical device, and access to it inside an incubator saves a route to an external test house that costs both money and months.
Confocal Laser RAMAN Spectrometer
Phase Contrast Microscope
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer-IRSpirit
UV/VIS Spectrophotometer
Imaging & Optical
Optical Table
Fluke-Prosim 3-4307790 Vital Sign Simulator
ProSim 3 patient simulators
ESA609-12-Electrical Safety Analyzer
CompactDAQ USB Chassis
Designed For Small, Portable Sensor Measurement Systems
NI 9401 8-Channel, 100 Ns, TTL Digital Input/Output Module
NI 9207, 16-Ch Voltage/Current, 24-Bit,500 S/S AI Module
PCB Prototype Making and Antenna Designing Machine (300W)
Table top SMT Pick and Place Machine
2-in-1 Soldering Adjustable Auxiliary Clip Magnifier with 4- LED Light
150mm Stainless Steel Digital Caliper Vernier with LCD Display Screen
PUHUI T-961 Mini SMT Reflow Oven Infrared IC Heater BGA SMD SMT Rework Station T961 Reflow Wave Oven
Digital storage oscilloscope: Tektronix- TBS2102B
Mixed Signal Oscilloscope: Tektronix- MSO2004B
Function Generator
Spectrum Analyzer B&K Precision- 2682
Programmable DC Power Supply Keithley- 2230G-60-3
Bench Power Supply
BGA Rework Station Weller-WXD 2010
Soldering and De Soldering Machines
Logic Analyzer IKAlogic -SQ200
Multimeter Fluke 115
LCRQ Meter Keysight- U1732C
Stratasys UPrint SE 3D Printer
3D Scanner Brand – Artec 3D, Model – Artec Eva Lite
DIY 3D Printer
NI Labview
Matlab and Simulink
DELL 5820 data science work station
Benchtop lathe
Bench drill
Vacuum Pump
Vernier caliper
Bench Vice
Laser cutter/Engraver
Screw gauge
Grinders
Support services
Help offered alongside funding and space.
Recognitions & empanelments
Official approvals this incubator holds.
All four are funding routes rather than honours. DERBI was set up with NSTEDB support and runs an unusually complete slice of the NIDHI family alongside SISFS and TIDE 2.0 — so most of its money is national scheme money it is approved to disburse, not its own.
A medtech incubator that can actually test a device
DERBI is the Dayananda Sagar Entrepreneurship Research and Business Incubation Foundation, hosted by Dayananda Sagar University at Kudlu Gate in Bangalore, and set up with founding support from DST-NSTEDB.
The reason to look at it is the Prayas Shala Lab. Most incubators list "lab access" and leave it there; DERBI publishes an instrument-by-instrument inventory with model numbers, and the contents point squarely at medical devices. Alongside the expected spectroscopy — confocal RAMAN, FTIR, UV/VIS — it holds a Fluke ProSim 3 vital-sign simulator for ECG, pacemaker and arrhythmia testing, and an ESA609 electrical safety analyser.
That second pair matters more than it looks. Electrical safety testing is a mandatory gate for any medical device, and it normally means booking an external test house at real cost and a wait of weeks. Having it on the bench during development, rather than at the end, is a structural advantage for a medtech hardware team.
The rest of the lab supports the same story: a full PCB and SMT line, Tektronix test gear, 3D printing and scanning, a small machine shop, and a dual-RTX5000 workstation with MATLAB and LabVIEW licences.
Best fit: medtech and health hardware, at the stage where a device has to be built and proven. Weaker fit: software-only healthcare, which would use little of what makes DERBI distinctive.
What to know before you apply
DERBI is unusually specific about how its programmes run, which makes planning easier than at most incubators.
PACE needs a full-time founder. Sixteen weeks, with at least one founder available full-time throughout. It is stated up front, and it is the requirement most applicants will need to plan around — building alongside a job will not work here.
The ladder is real. PACE feeds directly into GALLOP, so completing the 16-week programme is itself a route into two-year incubation rather than a separate application. GALLOP then runs a defined selection sequence: internal screening, then a pitch to an external committee.
The lab has a published rate card. DERBI lists its equipment with charge details and an online sample-submission form — the only incubator we profile that prices its facilities openly. If you need instrument time rather than a desk, you can cost it out in advance.
On funding: DERBI channels national schemes — NIDHI EiR, NIDHI PRAYAS, NIDHI SSS, MeitY TIDE 2.0 and SISFS — whose terms are set centrally and can be checked independently. Programme-level support is matched to the startup rather than fixed, so the fastest route to specifics is the Pitch To Us form.
About DERBI Foundation
DERBI Foundation (Dayananda Sagar Entrepreneurship Research & Business Incubation Foundation) is a healthcare-focused incubator based in Bengaluru, established in 2015. Supported by DST's NIDHI Ecosystem, DBT-BIRAC, DPIIT-Startup India, MeitY, and the Government of Karnataka's IT & BT ministry, DERBI provides state-of-the-art technology support and business mentorship to early-stage tech ventures.
DERBI offers three flagship programs: PACE (3-4 month pre-incubation using Stanford BioDesign methodology), GALLOP (2-year incubation covering product development, regulatory assistance, IP support, go-to-market strategies, and seed funding), and EMERGE (customized acceleration for late-stage healthcare startups focused on scaling and revenue generation).
The foundation has supported more than 100 entrepreneurs, providing end-to-end support from idea validation through market entry and growth. All programs are designed to address the unique challenges of healthcare innovation including regulatory compliance, clinical evidence generation, and reimbursement strategy.
Who Benefits
Healthcare and MedTech entrepreneurs at all stages, from nascent innovators needing pre-incubation guidance to growth-stage startups seeking regulatory support, clinical validation, and scaling assistance in Bangalore's healthcare innovation ecosystem.
Who they work with
Stage
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Frequently asked questions about DERBI Foundation
What does DERBI Foundation do?
DERBI Foundation (Dayananda Sagar Entrepreneurship Research & Business Incubation Foundation) is a healthcare-focused incubator based in Bengaluru, established in 2015.
Where is DERBI Foundation located?
DERBI Foundation is located at DERBI Foundation, DSU Innovation Campus, 2nd Floor, Block 1, Survey No. 48/1, Kudlu Gate, Hongasandra Village, Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka.
What programs does DERBI Foundation run?
DERBI Foundation currently has 1 open programme: KAN Accelerator 2026 KDEM Cohort 3. 4 further programmes have run in the past.
What sectors does DERBI Foundation support?
DERBI Foundation works with startups in Healthcare, MedTech, Life Sciences and BioTech.
What stage of startup does DERBI Foundation support?
DERBI Foundation supports startups at the Ideation, Validation, Early Revenue and Growth stages.
What facilities does DERBI Foundation offer?
DERBI Foundation offers Confocal Laser RAMAN Spectrometer, Phase Contrast Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer-IRSpirit, UV/VIS Spectrophotometer, Imaging & Optical and Optical Table.
Is DERBI Foundation government recognised?
DERBI Foundation holds the following recognitions and affiliations: NSTEDB, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, NIDHI EiR Program, NIDHI PRAYAS SHALA, MeitY Tide 2.0, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and NIDHI SSS.
How do I apply to DERBI Foundation?
Applications run through each programme's own call. DERBI Foundation lists 1 open programme — check the programme page for its deadline and eligibility, or apply via https://derbifoundation.com/.
When was DERBI Foundation founded?
DERBI Foundation was founded in 2015. It operates as an academic.
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