, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, along with Applied Materials India Private Limited, recently conducted the third edition of its startup engagement programme, ASTRA (Applied Startup Technology and Research Accelerator).
This year, seven startups based in India and Singapore pitched their offerings and business plans to Applied Materials executives and industry leaders during a hybrid event held recently in Bengaluru, as well as through an online platform.
The third cohort of ASTRA featured startups in areas including Industry 4.0, chip design, life sciences, semiconductor and display manufacturing technologies, advanced optics and photonics, resilient supply chain, sensors, advanced materials, and AI hardware.
The selected startups of ASTRA’s third cohort are: Aira Matrix (India, life sciences), Anailytica (US/Singapore, AI/ML), Attonics Systems (Singapore, sensors), Crosscope (US/India, life sciences), Morphing Machines (India, semiconductor), Nanolumi (Singapore, display materials), and Six Sense (Singapore, semiconductor).
Aira Matrix was also part of the 'Cohort 3' programme of medical technology company GE Healthcare last year.
The startups will now be assessed for mentorship and possible collaboration opportunities with Applied Materials, as well as investment opportunities from Applied Ventures. They will also have access to Applied’s product development expertise, infrastructure, and ecosystem connections.
Om Nalamasu, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Applied Materials, and President, Applied Ventures, said,
"We are excited to be embarking on a journey with the startups and explore materials engineering solutions that can help accelerate global technology inflections. The dynamic startup proposals for the third cohort of ASTRA demonstrated novel solutions to address white space opportunities with innovative products and business models. Applied Ventures now has a unique opportunity to collaborate with these exceptional startups."
Applied Materials is an American company that supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor chips for electronics, flat panel displays for computers, smartphones, televisions, and solar products.
Anand Kamannavar, Global Head, Applied Ventures, and sponsor of ASTRA, said,
“ASTRA plays a key role in enabling us to connect with next-generation startups. We are excited to collaborate with the selected startups from across the Materials to SystemsTM stack who have the potential to bring game-changing innovations to market.”
ASTRA aims to collaborate with startups and transform disruptive possibilities into reality. It also connects the selected startups with Applied Materials India’s network of customers, supply chain partners, and co-investors across leading corporate and financial venture capital firms.
ASTRA is seeking startups that are pioneering innovations in areas of the company’s interest. Applied Materials India is actively collaborating with Zinnov, C-CAMP as a Knowledge Partner, premier academic institutes like the IITs and consultants to engage with the startup ecosystem in India.
Edited by Kanishk Singh