EMPOWERING GROWTH

Dassault Systèmes, with its 3D Experience Lab, offers promising startups an ideal platform to unleash their creativity, foster innovation, and accelerate their journey toward unprecedented success. Here’s knowing how three startup winners – 3k Nano, P-Flow, and Ares Systems – feel about the 3DxPitch Disruptive Innovation competition and their further plans…

Bolstered by rapid advancements in technology and future-focused government policies, India’s startup community has grown immensely in the last few years. In 2017, India was the world’s third-largest country in terms of startup volumes with 4,200 new technology companies. The year 2023 witnessed a large number of veteran entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and celebrities offering funding to the startup ecosystem. According to data gathered by market intelligence platform TheKredible, they have made upwards of 101 investments in 2023.

Dassault Systèmes' contribution

To support this group of innovative entrepreneurs who are breaking new ground to bring about significant positive change in the country, Dassault Systèmes enables access to the latest tools and technologies via its 3DEXPERIENCE Lab.

The 3DEXPERIENCE Lab showcases the power of the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, bringing cloud connectivity, digital continuity, and operational efficiency to speed up time-to-market for new products.

Since 2015, the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab has brought Dassault Systèmes’ market-leading innovations to startups across the globe. It has worked with companies in IoT (Internet Of Things), Healthcare, Smart Cities, Transportation & Mobility, and various other segments to aid their product ideas through 3D simulations, smarter product design processes, and multi-disciplinary collaboration.

In September 2018, the company launched its 3DEXPERIENCE Lab in India in one of
the country’s major startup hubs, Pune. At the facility, entrepreneurs can leverage collective intelligence and Dassault Systèmes’ technology to nurture projects that could bring in sustainable innovation, and transform society, and lives. The Lab is an open innovation center that works with selected startups across specific focus areas and provides deep support to their product design and development processes for two years.

Celebrating innovative startups: 3DxPitch 2023

3DxPitch by Startup was a remarkable event held during the 3DEXPERIENCE Forum 2023 with the objective of identifying disruptive startups that
3DS can support. The theme ‘Propelling Sustainability’ resonated with Indian industry leaders as the event aimed to foster startups with a positive impact on society.

The event featured an illustrious jury and took place on October 5, 2023, in Bangalore. Each startup had 20 minutes, including a 3-minute pitch and a 2-minute Q&A session with the jury.

Meet the winners

The winners of the 3DxPitch Disruptive Innovation competition are as follows:

3k Nano: This startup specializes in new material technology, particularly nano-materials. They work with noble nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanofibers, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, and nano-composites. These materials find applications in various environmental and medical fields. It was presented by Dr Pratima Solanki, Founder, 3k Nano LLP, Special Center for NanoScience, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

P-Flow: P-Flow offers a home-based urine flow and urine test kit designed to replace conventional uroflowmetry test procedures. Its portable kit provides a diagnosis of prostate and urinary infections, enhancing convenience for patients. It was led by Dr Ashish Rawandale-Patil, CEO, Tejnaksh Healthcare and Chief Urologist, Institute of Urology, Dhule.

ARES Systems: ARES Systems envisions a sustainable world through hydrogen technology. They design and develop energy storage and conversion systems based on hydrogen (Fuel Cells) for off-road heavy-duty mobility and industrial applications. It was presented by ARES Systems’ Yash Tambi, Founder & CEO; Dr Dhiraj Mahajan, Co-founder & CTO; and Sikhar Barari, Founding Member.

The winner startups will get a chance to present at the Global 3DEXPERIENCE Lab Community event in Paris. Besides, they will be getting Communication and Branding in 3DS Social Media channels and six months of mentorship from Lab. They will also be receiving access to a 6-month 3DEXPERIENCE Platform (Industrial Software Design, Simulation Manufacturing, and Data Management); access to 3DEXPERIENCE Platform Training; and access to External 3DEXPERIENCE Lab Swym community and Global Startup ecosystem.

Sharing of the experience

She highly recommends participating in the 3DxPitch program to her peers in the startup community. “It offers an exceptional platform to connect with Dassault Systèmes, a leading company in technology and innovation. The program provides access to cutting-edge technological solutions and opens doors to a supportive ecosystem of industry professionals and experts who can provide invaluable guidance and support to startups like ours. The experience is transformative, offering opportunities for collaboration and growth that are unparalleled in the startup landscape.”

She then shares plans to collaborate with institutions such as AIC-JNU to strengthen the startup’s presence in the Indian research industry. “Through a customer-centric approach, we aim to not only increase our reach but also provide tailored solutions that address the specific needs of the Indian health sector as well as other industries,” she reveals.

For Dr Patil of P-Flow, collaboration with Dassault Systèmes and the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab through the 3DxPitch program has been an invaluable catalyst for the startup, propelling its healthcare innovation to new horizons. “This unique partnership has opened doors to a network of experts, resources, and mentorship, fostering our growth and development in an environment that nurtures cutting-edge technologies and insights. This has empowered us to push the boundaries of what's possible in our industry,” he adds.

He strongly endorses his fellow entrepreneurs in the startup community to engage with the 3DxPitch program and intends to utilize his established connections to bolster the startup’s footprint in the Indian market where a common man can access its products. “Furthermore, we are committed to actively interacting with industry associations, joining pertinent conferences and events nationally and internationally,” he further adds.

IIT-Ropar incubated Ares Systems is a deep-tech green hydrogen startup developing novel materials and technologies for highly efficient membrane-less electrolysis. “We provide containerized plug-and-play on-site hydrogen generation systems based on its proprietary technology, an indigenous, novel and highly efficient (>85% HHV) and low cost (<200$/kWe), which helps bring down the cost of green hydrogen production drastically,” Tambi claims.

Sharing his experience at the 3DxPitch program, he remarks, “The Dassault team was very supportive throughout the process and guided us through the program very efficiently. They consistently helped us set up and structure our pitch, present, and also with meeting key stakeholders. We had a wonderful time associating with Dassault.”

He shares that it turned out to be a useful experience to pitch in front of a highly intellectual audience present at the pitch event. “Moreover, Dassault’s suite of software is very useful for a multi-physics development such as ours and having them available definitely speeds up the development and scale up the process,” he adds.

At present, the startup is focusing on developing and maturing its technology further which, Tambi reveals, will continue over the next year. “Commercialization is expected to begin 2026 onwards,” he adds.

MURALI SUNDARAM Correspondent Magic Wand Media Inc murali.sundaram@magicwandmedia.in

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