Oracle Inducts First 5 Startups Into Its Cloud Accelerator Program

Oracle has shortlisted the first set of five startups which would be inducted into the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Program it launched in April 2016 at its flagship CloudWorld event in Mumbai. The program was launched soon after Oracle CEO Safra Catz committed an investment of $400 million in India for the purpose of setting up the largest Oracle campus outside of the US in Bengaluru and 9 regional incubation centres across states.

The accelerator program aims to help catalyse India's growing startup ecosystem and provide support to the country's Digital India initiatives. The program which specifically focuses on cloud-based startups is also seen as part of Oracle's aggressive global strategy of becoming a cloud-first company.

In a span of four weeks, Oracle said the program received a tremendous response from early-stage technology and technology-enabled startups. The startups were evaluated based on parameters like business concept, level of innovation, scalability and potential to solve real-life problems for their customers, as well as to make an impact on the segment of society on which they focussed.

The selected startups include ExpertRec, a plug-n-play search and recommendation engine for online market places; Niyo Solutions, a Fin-Tech startup focussed on alternate payment mechanisms; Ray iCare, an artificial intelligence-based sleep monitoring device; Tydy, a mobile-first, automated employee on-boarding platform; and Vear which offers an augmented/ virtual reality platform.

As part of the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Program, the five startups will receive over 125 hours of combined mentorship from Oracle and industry experts, 24x7 access to a co-working space within Oracle's premises, access to Oracle's vast ecosystem of customers and partners, exposure to the investor community, and access to Oracle Cloud including training, at no charge. After completing the six-month program, the startups that have leveraged the Oracle Cloud for their business may be eligible to continue using it for an extended period.

"The entrepreneurial spirit in our country is going through a complete revolution. We see cloud technology playing a crucial role in enabling this change," said Sanket Atal, Group Vice President of Development, Oracle India. "I would like to welcome these startups and look forward to working with them to build their business ideas for a better tomorrow."

On the last day of the program, the startups will be given the opportunity to pitch their idea and showcase a demo to prominent technology investors and leaders. Additionally, they will also be enrolled in the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator's alumni program and gain fast-track membership into the Oracle Partner Network.