Technology major Oracle today announced that its first startup incubation centre in India will be launched in Bengaluru on April 8. The announcement, made at the ongoing CloudWorld event, is in the backdrop of a recent meeting between Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi where 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 incubation centre known as ‘Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator’ is a first-of-its-kind global startup accelerator initiative by Oracle. With this centre, Oracle aims to speed up a startup’s development through a combination of technical and business mentoring. The initiative targets midsize firms, including MSMEs (micro, small, medium sized enterprises) and startups, which contribute more than 37 per cent to India’s GDP.
The centre will provide startups access to Oracle technology, co-working space, and industry luminaries including Oracle customers and partners, Thomas Kurian, Oracle’s President of Product Development said on the sidelines of the CloudWorld event.
While Bengaluru is the first centre to be launched, other 8 centres are slated to be launched later in Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida, Pune, Trivandrum and Vijayawada. “We chose Bengaluru for our first centre, given that Bengaluru is the second best funded startup hub in the world, outside of USA,” Kurian said. He added that at least 10 startups are expected to be inducted into the programme in the first phase in Bengaluru.
“India is at an exciting phase of growth, innovation and development,” Kurian said. “Through the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator and the growing popularity of cloud as an alternate computing model, we want to be the catalyst for new business ideas. We are committed to furthering the government of India’s ‘Startup India’ initiative. It matches our agenda of fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating the right ecosystem for growth and development.”
Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator is open to early-stage technology and technology-enabled startups who are building innovative solutions. The product or service should have the potential to make an impact on customers in the specific industry segment they are targeting. Prospective startup applicants will be reviewed through a meticulous qualification process. Startups can apply online at www.oracle.com/in/startup/ till May 5, 2016. Selected startups will enjoy the benefits of a 6-month acceleration facilitated by technical and business experts from the industry and Oracle.
BW Reporters
Ayushman is an award-winning business and tech journalist based in Bangalore, with diverse experience in journalism across newspaper, magazine and news wire. He is the recipient of the 15th annual Polestar Award in Jury's category for excellence in journalism in 2013. He is also an NSE-certified capital market professional (NCCMP) and driven by his interest, he has also attended hands-on workshops on cloud computing to stay on top of technology journalism
