Accenture to support promising startups with deep tech capabilities
Global management consultancy Accenture is continuing its involvement in the development of digital expertise in India, most recently through the second edition of its Applied Intelligence, designed to identify promising tech startups in the country. Results of the challenge will be announced later this week.
The contest is organised by the firm’s Accenture Ventures vertical, and looks to single out startups in the country that have promising and innovative ideas when it comes to business to business (B2B) models in the Industry 4.0 domain. Specific areas of desired expertise include artificial intelligence, data analytics and automation.
Eligible candidates for the contest include B2B startups that have generated revenues in excess of $100,000 over the last financial year. Over two rounds of assessment by Accenture executives, the submissions are evaluated on the basis of their level of innovation, market contribution and the broader applicability across larger markets.
There are three winning spots up for grabs, and the winning firms will be announced on the 25th of July. The top firms will then be offered a world of opportunity to develop their business models, including the chance to partner with Accenture and its clients to grow and improve their solutions, on occasion at the Accenture Innovation Hub.
The winners will operate under the wing of Accenture executives, and will have access to substantial networking opportunities using Accenture’s industry contacts. Accenture’s support for these firms not only aligns with broader market trends, but also with the firm’s outlook on the Indian market in recent years.
India has been witnessing what experts have called a startup revolution in recent years, and a number of the up and coming firms are grounded in the deep tech domain. Accenture has long reiterated that developing expertise and solutions in the tech domain is the ideal way forward for the Indian economy – a principle that it has not only applied to its own employees, but has also been imparting to the youth in the country through other initiatives like the Applied Intelligence challenge.
Commenting on the contest, Managing Director of Accenture Ventures & Open Innovation for India and Middle East Avnish Sabharwal said, “As part of our commitment to creating a cohesive open innovation ecosystem in India, we aim to partner and accelerate the growth of deep tech start-ups in India. We’re excited to announce the second edition of the Accenture Ventures Challenge in India to recognise the top B2B deep-tech start-ups with the most innovative use cases in Applied Intelligence. The three winners will get the opportunity to collaborate and co-create with us and our clients across the globe while scaling the next level of growth.”
“Applied Intelligence is our unique approach of combining Artificial Intelligence, automation and advanced analytics with human ingenuity and deploying it responsibly. With Applied Intelligence, we empower our clients to reimagine their business and drive unprecedented new growth and efficiencies. According to industry estimates, in the past five years, B2B tech start-ups grew at the rate of 30 percent compared to 20 percent growth rate of total tech start-ups. We believe the next level of growth in the start-up ecosystem will be led by B2B deep tech start-ups and we hope to see many Indian start-ups make it big at the global level,” he added.