Aimed at hand-holding and assisting other Startups in their infancy stage, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has incubated a startup whose primary objective is to help other start-ups.
A brainchild of Professor Thillai Rajan of the Department of Management Studies, IIT-M, the start-up named as YNOS Venture Engine CC (Catalyse & Create) Pvt Ltd, works to enhance the success of early stage startups using Machine Learning and Data Sciences tools and techniques.
Speaking about the first- of- its- kind initiative, Prof Thillai Rajan said, “Information and decision making analytics are not easily accessible for early-stage entrepreneurs. Sell-side intermediation is virtually nil for early-stage start-ups. YNOS uses research insights and technology to provide information and intermediation services for early-stage entrepreneurs. Using advanced marker analytics tools, our platform provides estimates of valuation and also identify appropriate investors for the start-up.”
Highlighting the low levels of fundraising currently being secured by Indian startups, Thillai pointed out that only six-seven per cent of startups are currently able to raise the first round of external funding, which as per him, is ‘really low’, however, adding that the number improves in subsequent rounds – going up to 15 per cent in the second round and 20 per cent in the next.
According to him, it is the first round of external funding that is critical for any start-up. Tillai thus, through YNOS, hopes to turnaround the funding ecosystem available to entrepreneurs of such start-ups.
So far, YNOS has managed to secure seed funding by IIT-M’s incubation cell and Venture Intelligence, a Chennai-based leading market research firm.
