IANS | 11 Sep, 2023
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) incubated startup
Noccarc, which had been at the forefront during the peak of Covid-19,
has secured a substantial investment from the Small Industries and
Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
The investment comes under the
SIDBI Seed Equity Support Scheme (S4-SIIC) launched in March 2023 during
the annual startup festival Abhivyakti 2023, in IIT Kanpur.
This
is an exclusive investment scheme tailor-made to support startups
incubated at the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT
Kanpur.
According to an IIT-K release, during the peak of the
pandemic, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, the then Professor In-charge of
SIIC, IIT Kanpur, led a team to develop a fully-functional low-cost
ventilator within only 90 days.
The Noccarc team came to the
limelight by successfully executing the project under the guidance of
mentors from IIT Kanpur. They are now revered for bringing out
innovations in the critical healthcare sector. The investment from SIDBI
will help expand their existing operations and make progress in
developing a smart ventilator solution for a global market.
Prof.
Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur, said on the announcement, “Our
technology business incubator SIIC had been a flag bearer during the
peak of Covid for facilitating various research and development work to
enrich the healthcare system. Noccarc has been a key incubated startup
in that domain. I believe that this investment from SIDBI will give more
push to the healthcare innovations the startup is aiming to bring and
help enrich the country’s critical care sector.”
Nikhil Kurele,
IIT-K alumnus and Co-Founder of Noccarc, said: "We are not only thankful
for SIDBI's financial backing but also for their trust in us. With
their unwavering support, we are poised to venture into uncharted
territories of innovation, delivering even more robust and accessible
products and services."
The SIDBI Seed Equity Support Scheme
(S4-SIIC) comes as a result of a partnership with SIIC IIT Kanpur to
invest in startups incubated at SIIC through equity-based seed fund
support. Noccarc has been selected for funding following a thorough
evaluation.