International Business Machines Corporations (IBM) is the record-holder for most patents held by a business, marking 23 consecutive years for the achievement in 2016.
However due to its policy on business transparency the corporation has earned a reputation for being closed up, as highlighted by a Forbes contributor in a 2011 article,
“Will IBM Survive Another 100 Years?”It’s a sign of the internet revolution when even its pioneers change their ways to be a part of small upcoming companies. With corporations like Google, Microsoft and TATA setting up plans to uplift and help entrepreneurs through capital, mentoring and access to technology, IBM too looks to do their bit for the Indian startup ecosystem.
We speak to Nipun Mehrotra, vice president of strategy and growth initiatives, IBM Asia Pacific region.
IBM leads this project under the banner, ‘Co-create/Co-innovate’. Could you explain what IBM means by this?IBM is transforming to adapt itself to newer ways of collaborating with the startup ecosystem and work with VCs, academia, government to co-create innovations for Digital India. There is an element of our own internal transformation in this whole process, just like the way we are trying to help the external ecosystem of Startups, inventors etc. to leverage IBM as well.
We hope to change the way we work with the startup ecosystem - including tweaking our own internal culture around how our leaders and our people support and leverage the startup ecosystem.
What are the many activities IBM has planned around ‘Co-create/Co-innovate’?There are several. For example, IBM Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP) India’s biggest B2B startup initiative that allows 700-800 participant start-ups to connect with IBM, and to other enterprise customers as well as investors. Under this we have SmartCamp, a part mentoring boot camp, part networking extravaganza, part epic pitch competition for rising startups from around the globe.
Winners of SmartCamp get a coveted spot as a GEP company, free access to IBM’s innovations lab, cloud credits up to $120,000, and mentorship from IBM top executive team.
There is IBM Garage is another program which connects our enterprise customers with startups. We also have roadshows and IBM-led conferences like DeveloperConnect and Engage.
How can start-ups be a part of such IBM projects?To enroll in the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program, startups should
submit an application on our website.
What is the purpose of all this?The purpose is to reach out and help a burgeoning local startup ecosystem in India - provide support as well as leverage each other and collaborate / co-create.
Many IBMers including top executives volunteer to help and share their expertise with entrepreneurs. I personally mentor 25-30 startups, including connections to our wealthy set of clients. For example, say an IBM client is looking for a cloud encryption solutions and we know of startups that can help, then we are happy to connect them.
On what industries is IBM focusing?We work across all industries, but as a leading technology player, we would like to see more Intellectual Property based "Product" companies coming up in India.
So far how many Indian startups has IBM helped? Is there a maximum number IBM will help?More the merrier. We have tremendous capacity in India. There is no shortage of IBMers or capabilities. We have 7 IBM labs across locations like Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, and Mumbai that we are now opening up to select startups. GEP has 700-800 startups at this point. We would like to see this double, even triple.
However, we are not restricted to GEP start-ups only; we are also working with venture capital companies like Kalaari Capital. IBM is currently connected with more than a 1000 startups and working more actively with around 200 of these companies.
Do any of the IBM projects involve IBM taking equity or stake in any of the selected startups?
No, we do have any equity agreements with any of the startups taking part in any of the projects mentioned. As a leading global tech company, we can be much more useful to the startups when we support them with our technology platforms and capabilities, rather than by doing something which is not our primary business objective.
It does not make sense according to our thinking to offer venture capital or be another accelerator when the ecosystem has plenty of that already.
BW Reporters
Regina is a reporter for BW Businessworld. In her previous assignments, she has worked with Independent television Network as a news anchor and reporter in Sri Lanka
