The parent company of Facebook, Meta, will nurture 40 early-stage extended reality (XR) entrepreneurs from India. In addition, the corporation will hold a grand challenge for individual innovators from various sectors such as healthcare, education, agri-tech, gaming and entertainment, tourism, and climate change.
Meta, the holding company of Facebook, will nurture 40 early-stage extended reality (XR) entrepreneurs from India.
The company will also offer everyone with a grant of Rs. 20 lakh as part of a new accelerator dubbed the XR Startup Program, which will be run in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
In addition to the accelerator program, Meta will hold a grand challenge for individual innovators in education, healthcare, gaming and entertainment, agri-tech, tourism, and climate.
These entrepreneurs will be offered assistance in getting their XR goods to market. Initially, 80 innovators will be chosen for a boot camp, with 16 receiving a grant of Rs. 20 lakhs to construct a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or prototype.
Both the accelerator and the grand challenge will also assist companies and innovators in developing client relationships and acquiring new collaboration and funding opportunities.
XR encompasses all immersive technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), that provide real-world experiences in a virtual world as well as virtual experiences over real-world items and spaces via head-mounted displays or smartphones.
Ajit Mohan, vice president and managing director of Facebook India (Meta), stated, “India’s increasing technological adoption, paired with a large pool of IT talent, positions the country to shape the future of the internet.” For this future to be egalitarian, all stakeholders, including developers, businesses, creators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs, must actively participate.”
According to Mohan, the XR Startup Program will serve as a “catalyst to unlock the usage of immersive technology across numerous sectors for India and the rest of the world.”
The startup program will be implemented at the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad Foundation (CIE IIIT-H), the AIC SMU Technology Business Incubation Foundation (AIC-SMUTBI), the Gujarat University Startup and Entrepreneurship Council (GUSEC), and the IIT Delhi Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT).
Bhuvnesh Kumar, MeitY’s additional secretary, said, “The engagement with Meta will strengthen the investment landscape and function as a catalyst to develop the startup ecosystem in the country, particularly for new technology firms.”
