INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KANPUR

Choosing the right route

• For incubation, use the online application form linked from the SIIC site under 'Incubate with us'.
• For lab or equipment access, speak to your assigned portfolio manager first. SIIC says that is the first step.

How applications work

• Choose your applicant type: a company with a CIN, or an individual.
• Have these ready: co-founder, director or promoter details, a one-line problem statement, a proposed solution, the business model, your team's background, the support you expect from the incubator, a video link and a pitch deck.
• Upload a DPIIT certificate. The form marks it as required.

What the form asks about

• Intellectual property and patent status, scaling potential and an expected exit. Answer each one plainly.

Labs and workspace

• Ask your portfolio manager before you book any lab or equipment.
• Co-working space is offered at both the Kanpur and Noida locations.

The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) is the startup incubator at IIT Kanpur, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. It works with technology and research-led startups that want to turn prototypes and research into products, and it runs a second workspace in Noida. SIIC says it was established in 2000 and describes itself as one of India's oldest tech incubators.

How programmes work

SIIC's own incubation programme takes applications through an online form. SIIC says its role is to connect startups with mentors, academia and industry. It also connects startups to government and CSR initiatives. Its programmes listing shows active and past calls, but most of these are schemes run by ministries, state governments, funders and corporates that SIIC promotes to its startups. They are not programmes SIIC runs itself. The listing shows 47 items in total, five of them marked active when it was checked.

Who can apply

The application form asks the applicant to choose between a company with a Corporate Identification Number (CIN) and an individual. It then asks for the details of a co-founder, director or promoter, a one-line problem statement, a proposed solution, a vision statement, the business model, the intellectual property status, the scaling potential, the industry, the investment interests, the expected exit, why the team is suited to the project, the funds raised to date, the support the founder expects from the incubator, a video link and a pitch deck. The DPIIT certificate upload is marked as required on the form.

Facilities

SIIC offers co-working space at IIT Kanpur and in Noida, with 150,000 sq ft across the two locations. The space includes flexible workstations, meeting rooms and event space. SIIC states that startups can use shared labs at IIT Kanpur, which it describes as more than 50 specialised labs covering electronics, fabrication, 3D printing, computing, biotechnology and testing. Lab access is requested through the startup's assigned portfolio manager, who arranges the schedule.

Scale

SIIC's pages give different counts of the startups it has incubated. The Who We Are page says 500 or more, the careers page says 550 or more, and the Who We Are paragraph says over 200. A separate startups showcase lists the startups SIIC chooses to feature. Founders should confirm the current count with SIIC before relying on any one figure.

Who runs it

SIIC says it now operates under the Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology (FIRST). The testimonials on its site come from founders of CDISC Technologies, Clean Water, Dream Aerospace, LCB Fertilizers, Lenek Technologies and Veer Connects, as SIIC presents them. Board and leadership details are listed on separate pages of the site.

Locations

SIIC's Kanpur centre is at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016. Its Noida office is at Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201309. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM.