Facebook parent company Meta, has announced the launch of an accelerator program to support and accelerate technology startups across India.
This initiative, titled XR Startup Program, focuses on skilling and building technological capabilities for the metaverse, which will also help to shape the country’s ecosystem for these emerging technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the country.
India is reportedly the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, witnessing a higher compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in venture capital, compared to China.
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Meta, having observed how productive India’s startup ecosystem is, has sought to permeate into its startup ecosystem, as it bolsters its bet on the metaverse.
MeitY Startup Hub and Meta’s effort, called XR Startup Program, will work with 40 early-stage startups in India and help them in research and development, in order to develop workable products and services.
Meta also disclosed that each startup will also receive a grant of over $25,000, in order for them to scale.
The program, supported by Meta’s $50 million XR Programs and Research Fund, will initially hand-pick 80 startups to attend a Bootcamp. It will also aid selected startups to find customers, inking relationships, and raise funds.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar disclosed this collaboration with Meta is a pleasant one, and he hopes that it will provide the necessary impetus towards fueling the growth of investments in future technologies, in line with the government vision for making India a trillion-dollar economy.
In his words;
“It is an important day in terms of achieving Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji’s vision of making the next 10 years as India’s Techade – full of opportunities for young Indians. It is also an important milestone in the area of Metaverse which is an important part of the emerging future of the internet.
“I look forward to the collaboration with Meta and I hope it provides the necessary impetus towards fueling the growth of investments in future technologies in line with the government vision for making India a trillion-dollar economy by 2025.”
He also spoke on how the Digital India Programme launched in 2015 has so far effectively transformed the lives of the citizens, governance & democracy which has catalyzed India’s Digital Economy & created significant capabilities in emerging technologies.
Mr. Rajeev disclosed that with the country’s technological advancement, it is clear that India will no longer be a consumer of Technology but rather, the country will become a leader in Producing Emerging Technologies”.
He emphasized on how Young Indian Startups, especially those from tier 2/3 cities, will play a significant role in emerging tech areas like Web 3.0, blockchain, AI, Metaverse, etc. and will shape the future of Technology and the internet for India and the world.
The XR program will be implemented by four Indian institutions including IIT Delhi which will also host a “grand challenge” for innovation in categories including education, healthcare, entertainment, agritech, climate action, sustainability, and tourism.
It is however interesting to note that Meta’s interest in working with startups in India is nothing new at all.
The social media giant company has in the past backed three startups in the country including social commerce platform Meesho and online education group Unacademy.