Honeywell announced Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the philanthropic arm of Honeywell, in partnership with IISc’s Society for Innovation and Development (SID) will continue to support deep-science startups to encourage entrepreneurship and scientific innovations to support society. The objective of the initiative is to bridge the gap that startups face between incubation and early seed investments.
This initiative is a part of Honeywell’s Start Up Support Program which has been running from last few years. The initiative also helps to increase collaboration between industry and technology-based start-ups in furthering the innovations for successful outcomes. The startups supported through the program range from highly advanced healthcare start-ups like Azooka Labs, HealthSeq Precision Medicine, Equine Biotech, Protein Design, Siamaf Healthcare, Mimyk Medical Simulations, PathShodh Healthcare, and Theranautilus to those in Sustainability space like Openwater.in, etc. Close to 30 startups have been funded by Honeywell’s CSR arm HHSIF in the past years. Most of these startups are led by either women or teams that are from the underprivileged communities. These startups are focused on finding solutions in the fields of biotechnology, healthcare, and nanotechnology that have the potential to offer advanced scientific solutions to some of the pressing needs in healthcare and environment.
Prof B Gurumoorthy, Chief Executive at SID, said, “Deep Science startups are problem-oriented and map to at least one of the sustainable development goals. Support for such ventures is inadequate and one of the reasons is the lack of understanding of the underlying science and technology that tends to be diverse and complex. Honeywell and HHSIF have recognized the need to support such startups and we are delighted with their continuing financial support. SID and HHSIF will work together to provide startups with the necessary support and resources to thrive. HHSIF will provide seed capital, while SID will provide infrastructure and technical support. This year, Honeywell’s CSR grant has helped nine startups and three EIRs in diverse areas such as Energy, Water, MedTech, Packaging Materials, etc. last year. MagHeals, IndiaSpeaks Research Labs, Dfine Bio-Innovations, HEM Dimensions are a few of the startups that will be funded this year.”
Honeywell aims to increasingly involve experts from the Company in mentoring the startups, building their capacities, and helping them scale up.
Pooja Thakran, Director, HHSIF, said, “Deep science startups are the engine of innovation, and they are critical to shaping the future. By supporting these startups, we are able to tap into the boundless potential of research ecosystem and support development of solutions through premier research institutes like IISc in our country. By funding these startups, we are fostering the next generation of game-changing technologies that will address some of the world’s most pressing health and environmental challenges. Through this, we hope to give initial support to the deserving innovators who have the potential to make a lasting impact on the society.”
Honeywell partnered with IISC –SID in 2019 to support the science and technology startups and to Entrepreneurship-in-residence program (EIR) programs with specific support to entrepreneurs who have the potential to offer solutions that can significantly address societal issues and challenges in healthcare and environment. Since 2019 Honeywell has supported in incubating close to 30 startups. As we celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, February 11, 2023, Honeywell and IISc-SID salute women in science from across the world who have been paving way for a better world through their contributions.
