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STPINEXT Initiatives
Government

STPINEXT Initiatives

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), MeitY

New Delhi, Delhi, India

STPI's special-purpose vehicle running national startup challenges, CoE programs, and incubation under MeitY.

STPINEXT Initiatives at a glance

Part ofSoftware Technology Parks of India (STPI), MeitY
AddressNew Delhi, Delhi, India
Programmes4 standing programmes
Official websiteinnovate.stpinext.in

Programmes they run

Standing programmes at STPINEXT Initiatives, separate from the funding calls above.

Apiary – Centre of Entrepreneurship in Blockchain Technology is a Technology Business Incubator located at STPI, Gurugram.

What you get, who can apply and how to apply

Apiary CoE has a mandate to onboard 100 start-ups over 5 years. Objectives : To identify & support potential cutting-edge IT entrepreneurs especially in the field of Blockchain and significantly contribute towards product development, job creation and enhance economic health of the region. The theme for the ICP 3.0 is “ BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION THRU WEB 3.0 ”. Location : Gurugram, Haryana. Target Beneficiaries :100 start-ups are expected to be benefitted over a period of 5 Years. Offerings include Prize Money to the tune of Rs. 200,000/- for the ‘Best 3 Start-ups of the ICP 3.0’, access to pitch to STPI’s Investors’ Partners Network, State of Art Plug & Play Office Space, opportunities to participate in various Governments’ Programme & Digitization Initiatives, opportunities to work with various Governments’ and Industries’ problem statements, structured training & mentoring by Industry Expert / Domain Mentors, access to IBM, Intel & Amazon Blockchain Platform, and secretarial support for Company Formation, IPR Filings & Regulatory Compliances.

Full Apiary – Centre of Entrepreneurship in Blockchain Technology guide

Smart Farm Grant Challenge is a program to identify impactful solutions from start-ups to address the problem statements identified for sugarcane harvest.

What you get, who can apply and how to apply

The Smart-farm Grant Challenge is open for participation in teams having experts from all domains of a software development life cycle. It challenges applicants to develop a “Digital solution to predict optimum time of sugarcane harvest” with specific features listed including prediction accuracy, utilization of computer simulations, plot wise polling and yield estimate, remote sugar content estimation, identification of mature/ready plots, poor plots, command area vs survey area identification, water stressed plot identification, results in interpretable formats, validation against real-time digital data, user-friendliness, low power usage, no external hardware dependency, and dissemination through mobile app.

Official programme page

STPI IoTOpenLab

Centre of Excellence

CoE- STPI IoTOpenLab aims to support & nurture start-ups over a period of 5 years.

What you get, who can apply and how to apply

The initiative is expected to contribute to Make-in-India, Startup India & Digital India programmes of Govt. of India by reducing Electronics imports and recognize value of IP & Technology locally. Located at Electronics city, Phase-1. Bengaluru. Operational since 21st September 2020. It provides four models (Complete Package Model (CP), Associate Membership (AM) Model, Internship Model and Technology led Industries Model) to support IoT startups.

Official programme page

Centre of Excellence on Efficiency Augmentation is setup by STPI in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka, supported by HPEIPL at Jayanagar, Bengaluru.

What you get, who can apply and how to apply

The CoE is the first of its kind in India which is an immersion of innovation, creativity and new business development for augmentation of the efficiency in all the business verticals, service sector & also in Government operations/projects leveraging emerging Industry 4.0 technologies. Objectives – To Support start-ups that would build products and solutions to increase the efficiency of the industrial production and operations, service sector, and Government projects, leveraging the emerging technologies. Launched on 30th November 2023. Address / Location: No. 4, 1st Floor, 31st Cross, 11th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru - 560011.

Official programme page

Labs & facilities

Equipment and space on campus.

Plug & Play Office Space

Innovation and Development Lab

Incubation facility

16,000 Sq. ft. (100+ Plug n Play incubation seats)

Support services

Help offered alongside funding and space.

IP & patentsLegal & financeRegulatory supportBusiness advisory

Recognitions & empanelments

Official approvals this incubator holds.

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)Government of Karnataka

About STPINEXT Initiatives

Overview

AIC STPINEXT Initiatives (commonly referred to as STPINEXT) is a Section 8 special-purpose vehicle of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. STPINEXT is the operational arm through which STPI delivers its modern, innovation-led programmes — running Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoEs), national startup challenges, mentor networks, and corporate-startup partnerships.

It was set up to give STPI's startup ecosystem activities a more agile, partnership-friendly vehicle that can sign MoUs with corporates, banks, and state governments to channel investment, technology, and market access to early-stage founders across India.

Programs

STPINEXT runs and operates the public-facing portals (innovate.stpinext.in) for many of STPI's flagship programs, including:

  • OctaNE Open Challenge Program (OCP) — Northeast India gaming, entertainment, IoT and emerging-tech CoEs
  • BuildForBharat IoT Startup Challenge — joint initiative with Jio Things (JTL) on consumer/business IoT
  • Apiary — Blockchain Centre of Excellence with MeitY and the Government Blockchain Association
  • IndiaAI Innovation Challenge — discovering AI startups solving for Bharat
  • Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) — MeitY's tier-2/3 software product incubation programme
  • STPI SANGAM — annual showcase of DeepTech and FinTech startups

What Startups Get

  • Seed funding and grant support through CoE-specific programs
  • Plug-and-play incubation at STPI Centres across India
  • Mentoring from industry experts and corporate partners
  • Market access through partnerships with companies like Jio Platforms, IndusInd Bank, Capgemini, and others
  • IPR, legal and regulatory support
  • Demo days and investor connects with India's leading VCs

Eligibility

Varies by program — most STPINEXT-run challenges are open to Indian-registered startups (DPIIT-recognised, typically <5 years old) building in the specific domain of the CoE (gaming, blockchain, AI, IoT, FinTech, MedTech, etc.).

Impact

Across its CoE network and challenge programmes, STPI has supported 300+ startups with direct funding, incubated thousands more across its 64+ centres nationwide, and partnered with major banks (IndusInd Bank), corporates, and state governments to bring follow-on capital and market access to its portfolio.

Who Should Apply

Early-stage Indian founders building deep-tech, software product, or hardware-software combination products who want non-dilutive seed funding, government-backed incubation, and access to a national network of mentors and corporate partners. Particularly strong fit for founders outside metro hubs and those building for Bharat (tier-2/3) markets.

Who they work with

Stage

Sectors

Tags

Frequently asked questions about STPINEXT Initiatives

What does STPINEXT Initiatives do?

AIC STPINEXT Initiatives (commonly referred to as STPINEXT) is a Section 8 special-purpose vehicle of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.

Where is STPINEXT Initiatives located?

STPINEXT Initiatives is based in New Delhi, Delhi, India.

What programs does STPINEXT Initiatives run?

STPINEXT Initiatives runs Apiary – Centre of Entrepreneurship in Blockchain Technology, Smart farm Grant Challenge, STPI IoTOpenLab and Centre of Excellence on Efficiency Augmentation.

What sectors does STPINEXT Initiatives support?

STPINEXT Initiatives works with startups in DeepTech, FinTech, AI/ML, IoT, Blockchain and Gaming and other sectors.

What stage of startup does STPINEXT Initiatives support?

STPINEXT Initiatives supports startups at the Ideation, Validation and Early Revenue stages.

What facilities does STPINEXT Initiatives offer?

STPINEXT Initiatives offers Plug & Play Office Space, Innovation and Development Lab and Incubation facility.

Is STPINEXT Initiatives government recognised?

STPINEXT Initiatives holds the following recognitions and affiliations: Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and Government of Karnataka.