wanted: TECHNOLOGY ANGELS

Tehnopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) of Government of India , managing India's biggest network for mentoring and funding independent innovators of India is looking for Technology Angels. Capable and committed technology experts , both working and retired, are invited to offer their services. See TePP advt `wanted 200 innovators........' .

Google invests in in Ventureast TeNet Fund II

Ventureast TeNet Fund is managed by Ventureast Fund Advisors India Ltd. The fund began with a corpus of $15 million with a mandate to finance start-ups in the telecom and IT industries. Ray Stata, Chairman and co-founder of Analog Devices of the US, had invested $10 million alone in Fund I. The TeNet group of IIT, Chennai, is the technology advisor, while Sarath Naru of APIDC is one of the co-founders of the fund. It typically will invest $2.5 million $10 million in an early stage venture.Now, Google acquired 30 per cent in Fund II for $3.75 million.
TeNet, Analog devices and Google make a formidable combination.
Source: VC Circle

Global Indus Technovators Award 2007

Indian Business Club @ MIT is hosting a yearly award ceremony - Global Indus technovators award, with the objective to felicitate young innovators (under the age of 40) of indus origin. The nominations for the same are open until 16 August 2007. Details can be found at

http://technovators.mit.edu.

Contact: 
Karthik Venkataraman,
Co-director,
Indian Business Club, MIT
vkarthik@MIT.EDU

Cosmos Ignite Innovations Pvt. Ltd

Cosmos Ignite Innovations Pvt. Ltd is an Indo-US Joint Venture . Building on the work of Stanford University, LUTW Foundation , Cosmos Ignite Innovations commenced as a collaboration between Cosmos Energy, India & Ignite Innovations Inc. USA. Amit Chugh, Co-Founder & CEO, is an MBA and Economics graduate with experience in Renewable Energy and Consumer Marketing. He returned to India to found and run an entrepreneurial venture in the energy space ranging from Hydro to Solar and founded Cosmos Ignite Innovations. He is based in New Delhi, India. Mighty lamp, their LED based solar operated lamp with solar panel costs about Rs 2,500/-

ASIAN INNOVATION AWARDS 2007

The Wall Street Journal Asia, announced that it was now accepting entries for the prestigious “Asian Innovation Awards 2007". The deadline for entries is September 5, 2007.

In 2006, the Asian Innovation Awards attracted more than 224 entries from 14 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region and short-listed 12 finalists. The winner of the Gold Award was Veredus Laboratories Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, for bird-flu diagnostic kits and tests that quickly identify different types of flu. The Silver Award went to the State Government of Gujarat, India, for Chiranjeevi Yojana, a maternity-care program that reduces maternal and infant deaths among its poorer communities. Dunwell Engineering Co., of Hong Kong won the Bronze Award for developing a lubricant-recycling process – called vibrating membrane technology – that saves energy and does not cause air pollution.

Applicants can either apply online at www.wsj-asia.com/aia or request application forms by emailing asianinnovation@dowjones.com

2007 International SmartGear Competition

WWF and its partners created the SmartGear Competition to inspire innovative, practical, cost-effective ideas that allow fishermen to "fish smarter" – to better target their intended catch while reducing bycatch. The competition awards cash prizes for the best idea to reduce bycatch, which is the leading threat to many marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and certain fish species. The 2007 International SmartGear Competition will award a $30,000 Grand Prize and two $10,000 Runner-Up Prizes.

Entry Deadline: July 31, 2007

The competition is open to all – fishermen, gear manufacturers, teachers, students, engineers, scientists, and backyard inventors. Visit www.smartgear.org for entry materials and to learn about the winning ideas from the first two competitions.

iPod charger

"ion", the company, was founded by Vikram V Chadaga, Niara Ahmed and Swaroop C H. It all started one fine day when Vikram wanted to charge his iPod but didn't want to keep the computer on overnight just for that (it's a waste of electricity, and there might be powercuts too). So he went looking for the official Apple iPod charger but found it to be rather expensive. The other chargers in the market at that time were not good enough, especially keeping in mind the safety of the expensive iPod, and many of them were unbranded which made them even more risky to use. Being an electronics geek, he took one of the circuits which he had made previously to power some instruments in his home (the circuit was in live use in his home for nearly 5 years) and then use it to create a charger with a USB port. He put in a regulator to make sure his iPod is safe from power surges.He got excited and showed it to his friends and mentioned a crazy idea of producing more of these and selling them. Fortunately or unfortunately, Niara took him seriously and over a period of many months, encouraged him to really follow that idea. Together, they turned the idea to execution (investment and costing, sourcing of raw materials, finding an assembler, etc), and then Swaroop joined them to help them out with the marketing, the design and the website. The rest, as they say, is history.

Open Access to Electronic thesis and dessertations

Information accessible to researchers is often not available to innovators. The current trend to provide open access shows promise. For those interested in state of affairs in India on this subject my read this article by Das, Dutta and Sen.

The TiE – ISB Connect 07

The TiE – ISB Connect 07, is scheduled at the ISB during November 14, 15, 16 2007. There will be discussion tracks on diverse sectors including The Mobile Convergence, Life sciences and Health Care , Security and Biometrics, Retail Industry ,Real Estate and Infrastructure & New Media and Entertainment. Each track will have a keynote address by a successful entrepreneur, a review of global trends in the sector by an analyst, and a panel discussion by venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs on sector opportunities. Entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in these sectors may attend the event as delegates. The entrepreneur community can also benefit from two specific opportunities:

· Investor Pitch – Presenting your project to potential investors.

· Jumpstart your venture – Workshop preparing the aspiring entrepreneur for an exciting journey

Entrepreneurs intending to participate in the investor pitch may please send in a five page summary of business plan (Executive Summary), to

TiE-ISBConnect07@isb.edu before July 31, 2007. Please visit www.tie-isbconnect.com for further details of the event.

EETimes list of emerging start-ups

EETimes list of emerging start-ups includes none from India- an indication of our relative strengths in this sector. Few like semiindia are focussed in India. Our start-ups are quick to track entrepreneurial opportunities but low in resources & commitment to generate/ capture/deliver value. See article `value proposition in knowledge economy'.

Relisys Medical Devices

A firm promoted by Dr Krishan Reddy manufacturing Stents, Catheters etc crossed a major mile stone with receipt of FDA approval. This is the dream project of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, H.E. The President of India who was responsible for inventing the first indigenous Coronary Stent "Kalam-Raju Stent", India's first indigenously developed stent in the year 1998. This first Coil stent was marketed by Relisys Medical Devices Ltd. This was the first indigenously developed Stent by DRDO and CARE Group.The product was withdrawn in 2001 as coil stents were phased out world wide. Advanced version of the company's Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) has been designed to eliminate the existing drawbacks of the currently available polymer coated Drug-Eluting Stent. Relisys' new DES consists of a Cobalt-Chromium Stent, coated with a porous carbon/carbon composite nano-structured matrix containing the active drug. The coating was developed and provided by Blue Membranes, the Germany based company in material and surface engineering. The coating eliminates the use of polymers thus completely reducing tissue inflammation and reaction.The animal trials for this version of advanced DES were recently completed at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Washington D.C.Clinical trial were carried out at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Cardio-Thoracic Centre, Military Hospital, Pune, and CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad.

National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS)

The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) Bangalore is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and is located in Bangalore. The mandate of NCBS is basic research in the frontier areas of biology and in the interface between biology and the physical sciences.

The founder of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha, looked upon the Institute not merely as a place for doing good physics but as an instrument for growing science and scientific culture in India. TIFR’s research activities in physics, mathematics, biology and other areas are well known. Somewhat less known is the fact that it has helped to create a number of other institutions. In the last 15 years alone,TIFR has directly or indirectly catalyzed the formation of six other institutions, the National Centre for Software Technology (NCST, Mumbai and Bangalore), the Society for Applied Microwave Engineering and Electronic Research (SAMEER, Mumbai and Chennai), the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Pune), the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Mumbai), the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (Pune) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (Bangalore). The last three in the above list have been set up directly under the umbrella of TIFR and are governed by its Council of Management.

Bala Krishnamurthy-Robotics expert

The robotic industry’s premier honor, the Engelberger Robotics Awards, were presented to four leaders at the 38th International Symposium on Robotics, June 13, during the International Robots & Vision Show in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois. One of the awardees is Bala Krishnamurthy and she is the first female recipient of an Engelberger Robotics Award.For over 25 years, Bala Krishnamurthy has been designing and developing a wide range of software in programming languages, networked systems, and related technologies which have contributed to the growth of robotics. In 1997 Krishnamurthy founded Aeolean Inc., a company specializing in the design of custom software solutions for high-tech applications, and serves the company as CEO.

Advinus Therapeutics

Tata's wanted to reenter pharma and their first major investment was in Advinus Therapeutics Pvt. ltd, a start-up with focus on drug discovery. The brain behind the venture is Rashmi Barbhaiya. Developing novel therapies for neglected diseases such as Leshmaniasis, dengue fever, tuberculosis, leprosy and malaria is one of its priority area. As big drug companies shut down some research facilities in the U.S. and other rich countries, labs in India and China are increasingly picking up the slack. Eli Lilly & Co., Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline PLC all have outsourced chemistry work to Indian firms.

CSI news letter with Innovation as theme

Anuradha, working at Infosys, running innovation management program sent me link to CSI news letter with several interesting articles on Innovation. Useful insights from IT community on Innovation:
http://www.csi-pune.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=8&name=June-July+2007+Newsletter.pdf

CHOIS gets the first licensee

Sky n Land, the first Licensee company for CHOIS (Converged Home and Office Interactive Services) Technology, has appointed its first CHOIS Franchisee in Mangalore city. The Franchisee, Access Online, will be responsible for providing each home with a 100 Mb Ethernet fibre connection. The CHOIS Franchisee will also be providing comprehensive services for CHOISpad and CHOISpc at each home, through a CHOIS Head-end. Sky n Land is currently in process of appointing additional Franchisees in different regions in India and Abroad. This will trigger off the era for the Next Generation Video Internet and Smart Homes. CHOIS Technology is an end-to-end technology for enabling Next Generation Video Internet Services. This pioneering technology has been invented by Innomedia Technologies, Bangalore, a technology innovation company of the Reliance Communications, Mumbai. Sky n Land, Mumbai, a company promoted by pan-IITians, was appointed as the first Licensee in May 2007.

Interested -contact "Mohan Tambe"

Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions

Rajeev Karwal's Milagrow offers, Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions, which essentially hand-hold small businesses by offering them professional management services, and if needed, take up sweat equity or strategic stakes in some of the ventures. Rajeev earlier worked LG, Philips, Electrolux, and Reliance. SMEs planning going global can contact him ; rk@milagrow.in

Sewage treatment plant at Worli, Mumbai

Sewage treatment is a difficult urban problem, is expensive and often unsatisfactorily delivered especially in India. Effective but simple technology has been developed by IITB (Prof.HSShankar, ChE Dept along with his students) that uses the ‘green’ Soil Bio-Technology (SBT). The Soil bio-Technology uses a carefully prepared and maintained soil bed as a highly aerated reactor containing bio-organisms for (i) filtering the suspended matter and its bioconversion to odourless bio-fertilizer, (ii) converting dissolved organics by adsorptionand oxidation/bioconversion, and (iii) oxidizing the dissolved inorganic substances leading to precipitation and bioconversion. The basic control apparently is to manage the soil chemistry with appropriate mineral based additives to maintain a near neutral pH andto keep it highly porous for good aeration. The root systems of the plants on the bed helpin keeping the soil porous and have a biotic relationship with the organisms.

m-cam.com

David E. Martin, is the founding CEO of M·CAM, Inc., dealing with intellectual property-based financial risk management. M·CAM developed the Technology and Vendor Qualification Programs™ to assist professionals involved in procurement efforts to acquire specific technologies for their organizations. The products provide critical assessment information on the validity of the proposed technology to be procured vis-á-vis the state-of-the-art within a specific technology sector. M·CAM Vendor Verification Certifications™ provide clients with an ability to verify whether or not a vendor/supplier of a technology actually has the legal right to the technology being procured.M·TRACE™ services consist of proprietary research analyses developed by M·CAM to illuminate knowledge-asset proliferation threats posed by proposed, current, or former employees of a client company. And several more path breaking services in IP- read on.

Fab Lab

Fablab is basically a collection of set of computerized high-tech tools, which can be used to fabricate instruments of any utility and configuration. A place that empowers innovators to make almost anything. Fablabs have been developed by Centre of Bits and Atoms of Masssachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT), USA. One such a lab exists at Vigyan Ashram, Pune finded by MIT at a cost of $200,000/-. VA trains school drop outs to use FABLAB equipments. The students undergo a diploma course of one year where they work in different streams of engineering and get trained in various fields. Engineers at the Ashram train these students. R&D takes place at the Fablab where the students are asked to work on a project of their choice using the Fablab equipments. Interested- read on:

Here are background links on fab labs:

articles:

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060821/full/442862a.html

(copy at http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/dist/nature.pdf) http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3786368 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-06-fab-lab_x.htm interviews:

http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2005/Nov/hour1_111105.html http://audio.theworld.org/wma/2005/09207.wma

book:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931027_mz005.htm

talks and presentations:

http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=n_gershenfeld http://cba.mit.edu/events/06.06.ZA/symposium.html http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/dist/fab.pdf

CBA:

http://cba.mit.edu/events/06.10.review/

http://cba.mit.edu/docs/06.09.NSF/

demos:

http://cba.mit.edu/~neilg/demos

hardware:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/inv.html

software:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/

videoconference:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/content/processes/video/index.html