AssisTech Foundation (ATF) is working towards growth of the Assistive Technology sector and helping millions of the disabled population around the world live their lives with dignity. In the last two years, we have empowered our portfolio start-ups to do just that through access to customers, government and investors and other stakeholders. In this time, collectively, ATF start-ups have impacted over 1.6 lakh people with disabilities.
Things have been quite exciting at the ATF since we opened our applications to invite assistive technology start-ups for our Cohort 3 acceleration program. Nearly 100 aspiring disability technology start-ups applied. It is more enriching that the applications were diverse in nature, covering all areas of disabilities, impact areas, and were in different stages of their start-up journeys. Over the past weeks we have discussed & debated a lot while reviewing so many quality Assistive Technology (AT) solutions.
It’s a pleasure to announce the winners of ATF’s Cohort 3 to India’s first Start-up Acceleration Program. Congratulations to all the passionate technologists for the innovative ideas and aspirations. The list of 10 winners are as follows (in alphabetical order):
- Aumeesh Tech is working to build Dynamic Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis (KAFO) – India’s first mechanical KAFO to help people with Locomotor Disabilities
- Cogniable has innovated an AI based detection and intervention solutions for Autism Spectrum Disorder all managed remotely through Mobile application
- Digital Arts Academy for the Deaf (DAAD)– An Edu-Tech start-up delivering accessible tech education for deaf in India
- DeepVision Tech is empowering people with disabilities with AI based innovative solutions. Their Let’sTalkSign solution enables easy two-way communication between deaf, speech & hearing impaired and others
- Innaumation helps in bringing back the voice of patients who have lost their voice because of throat cancer
- Invention Labs creates assistive technology products that empower and educate people with disabilities
- Kickstart Cabs is India’s first accessible transportation provider based out of Bangalore
- MyUdaan offers a single epi-center app connecting Technology, Product & Services creating India’s first Mobility ecosystem for people with disabilities
- Trestle Labs empowers the Blind and Visual-impaired community towards inclusive education and employment by enabling real-time access to any Printed, Handwritten and Digital content through audio across 12 Indian and multiple international languages
- True Consultancy enables inclusion by making transport accessible to persons with partial/limited/reduced mobility. They offer an award-winning swivel seat mechanism for cars, TurnPlus, which addresses a very important aspect of easy commute
Congratulations to all the winners and a warm welcome to the ATF family! We are inspired and impressed by your passion and sincerity. We are happy to note that this year’s cohort winners are diverse in terms of covering more than 12 types of disabilities. They are based not only in the metros but are spread out across Tier 2 and 3 Indian cities and are in various stages of their entrepreneurial evolution.
What is in store for the winners over the next few months?
● ATF is looking forward to working with all the 10 start-ups and will conduct a workshop to induct the winners into the ATF acceleration program
● The start-ups will be part of sessions conducted by industry veterans, the best brains from the fields of disability, technology and business
● They will each have mentors assigned to them to help them with their growth strategy and trajectory
● ATF will work hand in hand with each of them to ensure that they have a seamless transition and make steady progress
Our objective is to create a conducive ecosystem in a structured and programmatic manner and help the start-ups develop a milestone based operating plan and investment strategy which will essentially shape the course of their business.
We look forward to these collaborations that we hope will help harness the power of technology and meaningfully impact the lives of people with disabilities.