NERVE CoE, Nagpur

Check the current call first

NERVE takes applications through its Open Challenge Program, not on a rolling basis. The first OCP ran from 5 June to 15 July 2026, and no later window was announced on the site when this page was last checked. If you want in, watch the Open Challenge Program page, or write to the centre and ask when the next call opens.

Know which route you are on

There are two routes and they are not the same offer:

• Startups get the 18-month support period, the bootcamp, seed funding support, GPU access and the go-to-market work.
• MSMEs get GPU lab access and ecosystem access, with mentoring, bootcamps and go-to-market support offered on a chargeable basis.

Pick the one that matches how your business is actually registered.

Settle the eligibility question before you write anything

NERVE's guidelines page says individuals, teams and registered entities may apply, and lists an idea stage. Its offerings page reproduces the government's startup definition, which requires a private limited company, a registered partnership firm or an LLP within an age and turnover limit. Those two pages point in different directions. If you are not incorporated, email the centre and get an answer in writing before you build an application around the looser wording.

Use the sample problem statements

NERVE publishes sample problem statements gathered from industry associations, research institutions and domain experts in agriculture, healthcare, environment and mining. They are guidance, not a fixed list, but they tell you what its partners actually want solved. A proposal that answers one of them, or that is clearly adjacent to one, is easier for a screener to place.

Write the proposal they ask for

The centre lists what a proposal must cover, and it is a full business plan rather than a short form: an executive summary, your vision and value proposition, the problem and the gap, market analysis, your product, technology and IP strategy, go-to-market and competitive strategy, the founding team, a financial plan and revenue model, your organisational and equity structure, current operating status and risks. Have the financial projections ready, including profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet forecasts, plus a break-even estimate and the incubation period you are asking for.

What the jury weighs

Screening looks at your stage, domain, problem statement, founder profile, team size, patents, funds and revenue. The pitch round is judged on the strength and depth of the technology, market relevance and commercialisation potential, the founding team's expertise and commitment, the chance of generating IP, how scalable and sustainable the model is, commercial viability, funding needs and investment readiness, time to market, and the break-even timeline. Two things are easy to underrate here: the IP question, since this is a deep tech centre, and the sector fit, since NERVE is built around agriculture, healthcare, forestry and environment, and mining.

Make the Nagpur fit explicit

The centre is set up around its region and its domain partners, so say plainly where your solution would be piloted and with whom. If your work touches farming, manganese and coal mining, forest monitoring or hospital care in central India, name that.

If the apply link does not work

The apply buttons on the Open Challenge Program page are meant to take you to STPI's SAYUJ portal, but they are mis-typed and do not reach a working form. If you hit that, write to nerve@stpi.in rather than assuming applications are shut.

Be realistic about timing

NERVE is new. Its own pages say the centre is being established, its list of what founders get is headed as proposed, and it was still recruiting its incubation team in September 2026. Apply for the sector fit, the GPU access and the partner network, and plan for a centre that is still building its processes.

NERVE is a Centre of Entrepreneurship run by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) at STPI Nagpur, in Parsodi, Maharashtra. Its full name is NextGen Ecosystem for Research, Ventures and Entrepreneurship, and STPI describes it as a CoE in NextGen Intelligent Solutions for Core Sectors. It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), STPI and the Government of Maharashtra, and it backs founders using AI in four core sectors plus an open category.

What NERVE is for

The centre exists to put AI to work on problems that matter in and around Vidarbha. Its four named sectors are agriculture, healthcare, forestry and environment, and mining, and it also takes applications in an open category it calls other emerging sectors, which it describes as covering defence, aerospace, manufacturing, and AI in automotive and mobility. In its own words its objective is to give startups and innovators ready workspace, domain-specific labs, GPU computing infrastructure, mentoring, training in industry-relevant courses, funding support, market linkages, and help with patents, legal work and accounting.

One thing to be clear about before you plan around it: NERVE's site says the centre is still being established, and its list of what founders get is headed as proposed. As of September 2026 it was still hiring its Chief Operating Officer, Incubation Manager, Assistant Incubation Manager and a finance and admin executive. So treat this as a centre in its first year rather than one with a track record. NERVE publishes no count of startups supported, no portfolio and no impact figures.

How the Open Challenge Program works

The way in is the Open Challenge Program, or OCP. NERVE announced its first one on 5 June 2026 and took applications until 15 July 2026. There are two routes, one for startups and one for MSMEs, and you pick the one that matches your entity. NERVE also publishes a set of sample problem statements, contributed by industry associations, research institutions and domain experts across its four sectors, which are meant as guidance for what to build rather than a fixed list you must pick from.

Selection sits with a Program Management Group. After the call closes there is a preliminary screening on your stage, domain, problem statement, founder profile, team size, patents, funds and revenue. Shortlisted teams pitch to a jury made up of the Chief Mentor, domain and industry experts, investors and external partners, who assess the proof of concept, prototype or MVP, the go-to-market plan, and how feasible, scalable and relevant the work is to NERVE. If you are selected you get an offer, sign an incubation agreement, and are then onboarded to the labs, bootcamp, training, mentoring and market support. NERVE says it may also select startups through hackathons, business idea competitions, pitch events or direct one-to-one conversations.

Who can apply

NERVE's guidelines page is the broad answer: it says the programme is open to individuals, teams and registered entities working on technology-driven solutions in its focus sectors, and it sets out four stages it supports, from an idea, through a prototype, to pre-revenue, to a startup already earning revenue. Each stage has its own package of help, so an idea-stage team is offered concept validation and mentoring while a revenue-stage company is offered scaling and market expansion support.

Its offerings page is stricter. There it reproduces the standard startup definition issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in February 2026: you must be a private limited company, a registered partnership firm or an LLP; registered no more than ten years ago, or twenty if you are a recognised deep tech startup; under the turnover ceiling in that notification; not formed by splitting up or rebuilding an existing business; and working on innovation or running a scalable business model. The two pages do not agree, so if you are an unincorporated team or an individual, ask the centre where you stand before you spend time on an application.

MSMEs are handled separately. NERVE says it will support product-based MSMEs in healthcare, agriculture, environment, mining and emerging sectors with access to its GPU computing lab and to its wider network, and that mentoring and technical guidance, bootcamps and training, and go-to-market and industry connect support are offered to MSMEs on a chargeable basis.

What you get

For startups the support period is 18 months, extendable by up to six. The offer is built around access to GPU infrastructure for training and deploying AI models, a bootcamp covering product validation, business model, unit economics, investor pitch and access to venture capital, seed funding support and introductions to other funding agencies, and a go-to-market workshop with introductions to high-value customers. Alongside that the centre lists physical and virtual co-incubation, guidance on patents and IP filing, legal structuring and compliance, a mentor network, investor connect, and chances to join international exhibitions, conferences and trade missions.

Facilities and location

NERVE is at Plot No. 3, IT Park, Parsodi, South Ambazari Road, Nagpur 440022, inside the STPI Nagpur building. The incubation facility is described as 10,000 sq. ft., with ready-to-use incubation space, high-speed internet, and meeting and conference facilities alongside the AI and GPU computing infrastructure. The building's own gallery shows an auditorium, a conference room, a discussion room, workspace and a cafeteria.

Who runs it, and its partners

NERVE is administered through STPI's Maharashtra and Goa directorate, whose office is at Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Hinjawadi, Pune. The people named on the site are STPI's own leadership rather than centre staff, which fits a centre still recruiting its management team.

Its published partner list is long for a new centre. Government partners are MeitY, the Government of Maharashtra and STPI. Industry and technology partners are Persistent Systems, Infocepts and Konverge AI. Academic partners are VNIT Nagpur, IIM Nagpur and IIIT Nagpur. TiE Mumbai and TiE Nagpur are its industry associations. Domain partners are PDKV Akola for agriculture, AIIMS Nagpur for healthcare, CSIR-NEERI for environment and MOIL for mining. Celesta Capital, Seafund and SilverX Fund are named as venture partners.

How to reach NERVE

General questions, application questions and partnership enquiries go to nerve@stpi.in, or through the contact form on the centre's site, which says its team replies within one to two business days. The centre also publishes a careers page with its current openings and a tenders page for procurement notices.