PITCHES BY DEEPTECH STARTUPS DOMINATE THE 11TH EDITION OF NETAPP EXCELLERATOR

The 11th edition of the NetApp Excellerator programme recently came to a close with a spectacular Demo Day for Cohort 11. The event, held in Bengaluru, gave viewers a glimpse into the latest technologies in the deeptech sector, insights from NetApp leaders and an amazing fireside chat with badminton legend Pullela Gopichand.

With the aim to highlight the increasing number of global startups building from India, for the world, the Demo Day saw the innovations of six inspiring startups that are currently revolutionising the deeptech space. Founders of startups like AppSentinels, RapL, PrivaSapiens, Firefly, Squadcast, and Zluri presented at the Demo Day.

Emphasising on NetApp’s role in data management, Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India, said the event brought together people united with the same purpose – the belief that we are changing the world with data.

The NetApp journey

From being founded on the back of a napkin almost 30 years ago to becoming an industry leader in storage and data management solutions, NetApp has come a long way. Chhabria credited this growth to the company’s desire to keep innovating.

“We did not innovate the network file system, but we out-innovated the inventor of the network file system. And we didn’t stop there. In the midst of the dotcom wave, NetApp saw the opportunity to create an efficient unified storage platform. At a time when companies were rolling like pins hit by a ball, NetApp was thriving,” he said.

Looking at the current ecosystem, Chhabria believes that the industry is changing the world and crazy innovators is a badge the team is proud of.

Octavian Tanase, SVP, Engineering, NetApp, echoed similar sentiments by stating that NetApp always had a passion for innovation. This passion helps the team understand what it takes for a creative idea to transform into something that has business value. “We have done many things to co-innovate with customers and partners. That came from a deep understanding of the type of data storage problems customers face,” he said.

The NetApp Excellerator impact

Tanase further elaborated on the distinct impact the programme has had over the years. Now in its sixth year, it has impacted 72 startups across 11 cohorts. A key part of the programmer’s purpose is to give women-led startups a platform through NetApp ExcellerateHER. To that end, 12 of these 72 startups are being driven by women.

Over the years, more than $330 million have been raised by companies mentored by NetApp Excellerator. Seven of them have had successful exits. These companies are operating in a vibrant, flourishing ecosystem of innovation.

“We are very fortunate to be the recipient of the energy these startups bring. These startups have massive optimism. They bring a new use case and opportunity that can transform into something commercially viable. We thrive on this engagement,” Tanase said.

Lessons from a legend

The event also had an insightful chat with badminton great Pullela Gopichand. Talking to Chhabria, Gopichand spoke about his initial days as a cricket fan, the importance of pride, and what goes into the creation of champions.

Gopichand’s entry to badminton happened by chance. The stadium he went to did not have admissions in cricket. The other option was tennis. “But my parents decided against tennis because they thought it was a rich man’s sport. The badminton court was empty so I went and started playing there. I am a great believer that it was destiny that took me there,” he said.

At every step, Gopichand knew the next step was possible with a little more work. That is how he achieved his goal. The years 1991, 1992, and 1993 were great for him as he was starting to become the number 1 player in the country. He began to travel abroad and participate in tournaments. One tournament stands out in his memory. During a tournament in Malaysia, the Indian contingent was joking about how they could never win against the Chinese. It was then that Gopichand decided to win. “What I am proud of is the fact that I had the kid in me alive after so many losses,” he reminisced.

Looking back, he credits pride as the secret sauce to his success. “My mother would say that the first child is for the family, but the second child is for the country. I was supposed to join the army so that sentiment was there. When I was playing against an English guy from England, in my mind I would be thinking that these guys have ruled us so I need to get back at them. I will not lose against these fellows.

“Somewhere, those elements truly helped. Because when pride is hurt, that’s the only time you are punching above your weight. You are just going out and saying ‘I will get it’. I love the ethic of the sport and the focus it brought me, but I would go back and credit my winning to pride,” he said.

When it comes to picking the right talent, Gopichand believes that the term ‘talent mapping’ is more accurate than ‘talent identification’. It is because he believes that every kid is talented and it’s his job as a mentor, society, and organisation to see where the talent lies.

“A lot of work needs to happen at the system building stage, so I hope the nation comes together,” he said.

Impressive pitches

Gopichand’s inspiring words were followed by pitches by AppSentinels, RapL, PrivaSapiens, Firefly, Squadcast, and Zluri. Each of the pitches was preceded by inspiring words by their mentors.

Here’s a quick look at the startups that participated in the Demo Day:

1. AppSentinels: It is a full life-cycle API security platform that helps development teams build secure APIs and aids security teams in protecting against run-time business-logic API attacks.

2. RapL: RapL helps build your next gen workforce by empowering them via AI-driven adaptive, bite-sized, and continuous learning.

3. PrivaSapiens: It builds privacy technologies and product layers for businesses to enhance user security and meet global security compliance standards.

4. Firefly: Its Cloud Asset Management solution enables DevOps, SREs, and Platform Engineering teams to control their entire cloud footprint and manage it more efficiently using Infrastructure-as-Code.

5. Squadcast: It enables tech teams to enhance their Incident Resolution process using SRE-focused tools such as alert routing, automated escalations, on-call schedules, and blameless post-mortems, in both web and mobile app versions.

6. Zluri: It is a SaaS management platform that helps enterprises discover, manage, and automate their SaaS apps from a single dashboard.

NetApp Excellerator Demo Day 11 Plays Catalyst to Innovation, Brings Forth Six Deep Tech Startups

BENGALURU, INDIA – NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global cloud-led, data-centric software company, saw six startups from the 11^th cohort of its flagship accelerator program, the NetApp Excellerator, graduate at a demo day event. Six deep tech startups: Zluri, AppSenitels, RapL, PrivaSapien, Firefly, and Squadcast, pitched to investors, industry leaders, mentors, and NetApp leaders. The event was graced by the presence of Indian ace Badminton coach and former player Pullela Gopichand, who is also an entrepreneur, a startup founder, and mentor.

“To act as a catalyst in the growth journeys of remarkable startups, is undoubtedly a matter of pride. Increased interest from startups across the world, and investors is a clear indication of India’s growing relevance as a technology hub that meets global standards. Through the NetApp Excellerator, our aim is to create a thriving innovation ecosystem for deep tech-focused startups and help them accelerate their growth, said Ravi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India. “Together, we are shaping the future of technology and driving progress at an unprecedented pace.”

Cohort 11 saw an increased focus from startups developing cutting-edge solutions in the field of data security. At a time when security threats continue to pose significant risks to businesses and individuals alike, startups like PrivaSapien and AppSentinels provide solutions that mitigate these risks and safeguard sensitive information. These startups worked with NetApp mentors to refine their technology and go-to-market strategies which gives them an edge over their competitors.

Among the graduating startups PrivaSapien was mentored under NetApp ExcellerateHER – an initiative of the NetApp Excellerator program that is dedicated to promoting women-led startups. Since its inception, NetApp ExcellerateHER has mentored 12 women-led startups operating in the B2B deep tech space.

Sharing his mentoring journey and startup success at the Demo Day graduation, Pullela Gopichand, Indian Badminton Player and Coach, said, “What I witnessed today at the NetApp Excellerator Demo Day 11 will create a huge impact not only in the enterprise world, but in all walks of life. When I began my entrepreneurial journey, the goal was simple – to redefine the opportunities available in the field of badminton, sports at large and fitness. I realised that technology can be capitalised to make sports accessible to everyone, improve performances, and create new business models to aid sports. Now I believe that technology, like sports, is a great leveler. I am very excited to be here with these startups, and witness them unlock new opportunities.”

A collective sum of over USD 330Mn was raised in funding by different startups participating in the program. Out of the USD 330Mn, USD 160Mn was raised in the calendar year 2022 alone. A total of 72 deep tech startups have been mentored so far and 18 have engaged in proofs of concept (POCs), with NetApp’s backing in funding and technology support. A program with a truly global outlook, the NetApp Excellerator has graduated 24 startups based outside the country. From the current cohort, POCs for AppSentinels and RapL have already been successfully implemented. In addition, seven startups have achieved successful exits, further showcasing the program’s success.

Blog Source : CXOtoday , APN News

Data services innovations by 6 deeptech startups take centre stage at NetApp Excellerator Demo Day

Data services innovations by deeptech startups solving large-scale problems in areas of data protection, compliance, security, and governance remained the key focus as global data storage and management company NetApp showcased the six graduating startups from the 11th cohort of its flagship accelerator program, the NetApp Excellerator.

Zluri, AppSenitels, RapL, PrivaSapien, Firefly, and Squadcast were the six graduating deeptech startups of Cohort 11 who pitched to investors, industry leaders, mentors, and NetApp leaders at the NetApp Excellerator Demo Day.

With this cohort, the NetApp Excellerator program has mentored and accelerated the growth of a total of 72 deeptech startups, who have raised funding worth over $330 million, of which $160 million was raised in 2022 alone, despite the funding winter. The program now boasts of seven successful exits.

“Increased interest from startups across the world and investors is a clear indication of India’s growing relevance as a technology hub that meets global standards. Through the NetApp Excellerator, our aim is to create a thriving innovation ecosystem for deeptech-focused startups and help them accelerate their growth,” said Ravi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India.

Signalling the global outlook of the programme, the NetApp Excellerator has graduated 24 startups that are based outside the country. Cohort 11 saw an increased focus from startups developing cutting-edge solutions in the field of data security, the company said.

In India, individuals and organizations are gearing up for the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill that is expected to be tabled in the monsoon parliamentary session. The Bill aims to establish a framework to regulate organization and government agencies regarding collection, storage, processing and transfer of personal data.

At a time when security threats continue to pose significant risks to businesses and individuals alike, startups like PrivaSapien and AppSentinels provide solutions that mitigate these risks and safeguard sensitive information, said NetApp. From the current cohort, proof of concepts for AppSentinels and RapL have already been successfully implemented.

Although data has been the buzzword for a while now, the face of the data industry has evolved from solving for enterprise storage to cloud infrastructure and providing data services to now leveraging its power to ensure a protective layer against advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) products that may abuse freely available consumer data.

From the current graduating cohort, startups like PrivaSapien claim to be the “privacy refinery layer for digital experiences” by building privacy technologies and product layers in compliance with global security standards to enhance user security.

The NetApp Excellerator program, which is now accepting applications for its next cohort, will continue to focus on startup innovations in big data and analytics, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, virtualization, data security, data management, and storage.

Meet 6 Deeptech Startups That Graduated From NetApp’s Accelerator Programme’s 11th Cohort

 

• The six startups – Zluri, AppSenitels, RapL, PrivaSapien, Firefly, and Squadcast – pitched to investors, industry leaders, and mentors about their offerings in the deeptech space
• NetApp’s accelerator programme, NetApp Excellerator, offers a grant of $15K to graduating startups, which is equity-free
• Starting with its first cohort in 2017, the NetApp Excellerator program has so far mentored 72 deeptech startups.

Nasdaq-listed cloud-led data storage and management company NetApp on Wednesday (April 26) announced the graduation of six deeptech startups from the 11th cohort of its flagship accelerator programme, NetApp Excellerator, during the company’s demo day event.

The six startups – Zluri, AppSenitels, RapL, PrivaSapien, Firefly, and Squadcast – also pitched to investors, industry leaders, and mentors about their offerings in the deeptech space. The latest cohort saw an increased focus on solutions in data security, catering to the fast-evolving tech industries.

The accelerator program helped the startups under its cohorts with business and technology mentorship from experienced senior technologists, access to investors, and in scaling the businesses. NetApp Excellerator also offers a grant of $15K to graduating startups, which is equity-free.

Starting with its first cohort in 2017, the NetApp Excellerator program has so far mentored 72 deeptech startups, of which 18 have engaged in proofs of concept (POCs). Seven of these startups have also been acquired. Also, these startups have bagged a total of more than $330 Mn in funding. In that, $160 Mn was raised in 2022 alone, NetApp said in a statement.

Some of its alumni include LightMetrics, Neuropixel, and LivNSense. NetApp also collaborates with organisations like NASSCOM and Alchemist to engage with new startups and then onboard them.

“Increased interest from startups across the world, and investors is a clear indication of India’s growing relevance as a technology hub that meets global standards. Through the NetApp Excellerator, our aim is to create a thriving innovation ecosystem for deeptech-focused startups and help them accelerate their growth,” Ravi Chhabria, managing director of NetApp India, said in a statement.

Here are more details about the six startups that were part of NetApp Excellerator’s 11th cohort:

PrivaSapien

Founded in 2019 by Abilash Soundarajan and Deepika Abilash, PrivaSapien was mentored under the NetApp ExcellerateHER programme, an initiative dedicated to promoting women entrepreneurs.

The Bengaluru-based startup has built privacy technologies for businesses to enhance user security and help them meet global security compliance standards. PrivaSapien empowers businesses to visualise and mitigate privacy risks in data and helps them unlock data without violating privacy regulations globally.

Right now, PrivaSapien largely caters to the US and European markets. It counts a European healthcare analytics company and a Silicon Valley-based Fortune 500 company among its clients. The startup recently received $1 Mn in seed funding from Omidyar Network India.

AppSentinels 

Founded in 2020 by Puneet Tutliani, Deepak Kushwaha, and Mohit Joshi, AppSentinels is an application programming interface (API) security platform which helps app developers build secure APIs and security teams to protect users against API attacks.

AppSentinels’ platform helps organisations adopt a proactive approach to API security and saves time in responding to API attacks.

The Bengaluru-based startup is bootstrapped. AppSentinels is majorly focused on fintech and insurtech clients given the high and complex risk the applications in these ecosystems are prone to.

RapL 

Founded in 2021 by Arun Muthukumar and Murali Krishnan, RapL is a SaaS platform that helps enterprises build next-gen workforce by empowering them via AI-driven adaptive and continuous learning.

RapL claims that its AI-based offering helps create a culture of continuous learning and improvement among employees. It also helps better alignment in business by providing better visibility on any gaps created.

Besides India, the startup also has its base in Seattle in the US. It currently caters to over 70 global customers, including EY, L&T, Dell, and Toyota. It has so far raised $2.2 Mn in a seed funding round in 2021.

Zluri 

Bengaluru-based SaaS management platform Zluri, founded in 2020 by Ritish Reddy, Sethu M, and Chaithanya Y, helps enterprises discover, manage, and automate their SaaS apps from a single dashboard.

Zluri enables companies’ IT teams with better visibility and control of their SaaS application ecosystem.

Zluri is backed by the likes of Kalaari Capital, Endiya Partners, and MassMutual Ventures. Last year, it raised $10 Mn in its Series A round. So far, it has raised $12 Mn in total funding.

Squadcast 

Founded by Amiya Adwitiya and Sisir Koppaka in 2018, Squadcast is headquartered in San Francisco and has a development centre in Bengaluru.

Squadcast calls itself a “reliability orchestration” specialist for software engineers which helps enterprises run their IT systems across websites and mobile apps efficiently and smoothly by automating human tasks.

The startup aims to be the easiest reliability and incident response platform by allowing global IT teams of all sizes to uplevel their incident management with next-generation Reliability Orchestration Engine based on site reliability engineering  (SRE) best practices.

Squadcast is backed by the likes of Wipro and DNX Ventures. It counts SonyLiv, Udaan, Clearbit, and American Airlines among its clients.

Firefly 

Founded in 2021, Firefly is a cloud asset management solution provider that enables DevOps, and platform engineering teams to control their cloud footprint and manage it more efficiently using Infrastructure-as-Code.

While cloud complexity and lack of sufficient management solutions lead to service disruptions, increased costs, misconfigurations, and inefficiencies, Firefly helps organisations to boost business velocity, increase cloud ROI, and improve governance by solving cloud complexity.

The startup is Israel based and caters to the Fortune 500 companies as well as startups.

What’s your reason behind tapping into the Indian startup ecosystem for mentorship?

India is a source of talent for NetApp. It’s been our source of talent for 20 years. India has been a low-cost talent destination for many but for NetApp, that was never it. In fact, we had the kind of talent any company would die for, anywhere in the world. If you look at NetApp, we operate at a fraction of the headcount in comparison to the likes of IBM, Microsoft and Amazon. We are just 3,000 in India. But how do you create a presence for yourself in a big country with that? Through being a brand for innovation. We are living in different times and working with a generation that believes in making a difference, irrespective of size.

And so, partnering with startups is giving you that value in India?

It is one of the elements. Everything that defines NetApp in India is innovation. The reason it’s important is not only because innovation is what we sell, but innovation is what we create. And creating innovation comes from talented people. So, our focus is on talented people.

PrivaSapien, one of the startups from your 11th cohort, has some interesting offerings, including an AI chatbot with a privacy twist. Are you looking to incorporate the solutions by the startups in your cohorts?

Our objective is not always to incorporate them into our product. The big trend we see is that data is now pervasive. Data is not the product of a business transaction; it is now even the source of business value. But it is creating all these conflicting purposes for you and me. Today, we are creating data without a thought on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram – on every social media platform and beyond. Every time we swipe a card somewhere, some entity is in the know. Hence, there is a discomfort about having me being identified or being stereotyped or targeted. But there is undoubted value in all these actions. PrivaSapien is looking to safeguard you but at the same time enable a business to use the information. And we are looking to enable them.

Do you think privacy is a good problem to solve for a startup right now?

If you look at the whole volume of data being produced today, you must address the problem of protecting that data efficiently. Moreover, it must be compliant and relevant to a customer to generate value. Every country and every business, across verticals, is different. If you are a startup, you are thinking – there are zillions of opportunities. At some point, a pattern will emerge. The next Microsoft could come from something like that. We are all trying to say: let us be part of that solution.

How serious is NetApp about data and privacy in the current environment that is rapidly changing?

It is huge for us. Everything comes with risks and complexity. If you go look at the value propositions of companies over decades, they are born out of the idea of solving complexities. Hence, complexities must be seen as opportunities. Sometimes it’s not an opportunity that may be directly related to what we do but very often it will be. But when we talk about going from an enterprise data storage company to a cloud storage company, it’s an expansion of the market. When you talk about cloud storage company to now being able to provide observability intelligent solutions for governance, compliance, protection and security – you are advancing into yet another market. It allows us to expand our market again. So, that’s what we are interested in.

Where do the startups come into this picture?

These startups are the ones that are creating solutions. Trying to solve that problem. We are looking to be able to help them in that regard. Ultimately, there is going to be growth in this area. And no single company, not even Google, Amazon or Microsoft is going to solve all problems. The startups in our cohorts are working on hard problems that have not been solved at scale. They are all making some breakthroughs in their space. We are saying, let us help. That way, you learn and we learn too. Some of them will get acquired, some of them will go bust and some of them will do well. Some of them may use our product while others may be relevant to our customers.

INNOVATIONS, INSIGHTS AND MORE: NETAPP EXCELLERATOR GEARS UP FOR THE DEMO DAY OF COHORT 11

NetApp is synonymous with data, application, and storage management solutions globally. For years, the company has leveraged its expertise in the deeptech industry to modernise and manage applications and data across hybrid multicloud environments. NetApp Excellerator, its flagship accelerator programme, is just an extension of the company’s passion for innovation in the deeptech space. The programme taps the company’s expertise and experience to guide and support some of the brightest deeptech startups.

Since inception, NetApp has mentored over 70 startups including 24 global startups through the programme, and 12 startups through NetApp ExcellerateHER – an initiative under NetApp Excellerator that promotes women-led startups operating in the B2B deeptech space.

It’s been quite a journey and NetApp Excellerator is now gearing up for Demo Day of Cohort 11, to be held on April 26 in Bengaluru.

With Cohort 11, NetApp Excellerator aims to highlight the increasing number of global startups building from India, for the world. Five of the startups are headquartered in the US and Israel, besides being operational in India.

This year’s Demo Day will shed light on deeptech innovation in cybersecurity, data privacy, SaaS, and IT services. It will give graduating startups the chance to showcase their solutions to a panel of investors, industry and NetApp leaders, mentors and other alumni startups.

What’s in store for you?

Fireside chat with Pullela Gopichand and Ravi Chhabria: Get leadership lessons and insights on how data can play a catalyst and bring about transformative changes to any organisation – straight from Pullela Gopichand, Coach and former ace Indian Badminton player and Ravi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India.

Meet NetApp mentors:

Get a chance to connect and network with mentors and leaders from the NetApp team, including Octavian Tanase, SVP Engineering, NetApp; Ravi Chhabria, MD, NetApp India; Krish Vitaldevara, SVP, Product of Platform; and Naveen Chand, VP, ONTAP Product Management.

See the latest innovations:

Get a front seat to witness the latest innovations in the deeptech space as startups showcase their cutting-edge solutions.

Meet the startups:

Zluri: This SaaS management platform helps enterprises discover, manage, and automate their SaaS apps from a single dashboard.

AppSentinels: This full life-cycle API Security platform helps development teams build secure APIs and aids security teams in protecting against run-time business-logic API attacks.

RapL: It helps build your next-gen workforce by empowering them with what they must know.

PrivaSapien: It builds privacy technologies and product layers for businesses to enhance user security and meet global security compliance standards.

Firefly: The Cloud Asset Management solution enables DevOps, SREs, and Platform Engineering teams to control their entire cloud footprint and manage it more efficiently using Infrastructure-as-Code.

Squadcast: It enables tech teams to enhance their Incident Resolution process using SRE-focused tools such as alert routing, automated escalations, on-call schedules, and blameless post-mortems, in both web and mobile app versions.

NETAPP EXCELLERATOR COHORT 11: MEET SIX STARTUPS DRIVING THE NEXT WAVE OF DEEPTECH INNOVATION

Leading the way with innovation, global cloud-led, data-centric software company NetApp has accelerated the digital journey of many new-age organisations for almost three decades. In tune with their efforts in the tech space, NetApp has been putting the spotlight on some of the nation’s brightest deeptech startups with their flagship accelerator program NetApp Excellerator.

This year, NetApp Excellerator presents Cohort 11 under which Zluri, AppSentinels, RapL, PrivaSapiens, Firefly, and Squadcast have been selected as part of the program. PrivaSapiens will be mentored under NetApp ExcellerateHER, NetApp’s dedicated accelerator program that supports women entrepreneurs disrupting the technology space.

Meet the Cohort

Firefly:

Launched in 2021 by Eran Bibi, Sefi Genis and Ido Neeman, Firefly is an Israel-based company that is on a mission to enable DevOps and Platform teams to solve cloud complexity in order to boost business velocity, increase cloud ROI, and improve governance. The wide adoption of Infrastructure-as-Code as the standard to manage cloud resources also pushes cloud teams to adopt Firefly. The team recently launched AIaC.dev that leverages the power of ChatGPT for DevOps’ everyday use-cases.

PrivaSapien:

Founded in 2019 by Abilash Soundarajan and Deepika Abilash, PrivaSapien Technologies empowers businesses to visualise and mitigate privacy risk in data, so that they can unlock data without violating privacy regulations globally. The company offers the world’s first privacy red teaming and blue teaming platform for global compliance and unlocking data. “Integrating NetApp’s deep expertise in data management and hybrid cloud data services with PrivaSapien’s pioneering privacy engineering solutions can empower customers in creating privacy complaint data ecosystems, which can be a strategic differentiator in gaining end user’s trust,” Deepika said.

Squadcast:

Founded in 2018 by Amiya Adwitiya, Squadcast has the vision to be the easiest reliability and incident response platform by allowing global IT teams of all sizes upgrade their incident management with next-generation Reliability Orchestration Engine based on SRE best practices. It is the only integrated platform that unites on-call alerting and incident management along with SRE workflows in one offering, in turn automating human tasks efficiently.

Zluri:

Zluri is a SaaS Management platform (SMP) that enables IT teams to gain visibility and control of their SaaS application ecosystem and ensure the right employees are securely accessing authorised SaaS applications. The company leverages patented AI and recommendation engine, No code Workflow Automation and granular data pipelines and usage tracking.

AppSentinels:

Founded in 2020 by Puneet Tutliani, Deepak Kushwaha and Mohit Joshi, AppSentinels aims to protect customers’ APIs and help customers focus on their business. It has the world’s most comprehensive API security platform with continuous API and Sensitive data discovery, automated Intelligent Stateful API DAST, multi-layer protection for known and unknown API attacks, and pin-pointed remediation for developers and security teams.

RAPL:

Founded in 2021 by Arun Muthukumar and Murali Krishnan, RAPL is a B2B SaaS solution that empowers every employee in a personalised, data/AI driven, measurable manner. The company provides companies with visibility and insights on gaps, progress, and how they impact business outcomes. “This approach is far advanced and unique compared to traditional employee learning and engagement solutions, which merely track ‘completion’ with no correlation to outcomes,” revealed Arun.

Over the course of the cohort, NetApp will share their expertise and experience in data management to empower participants and help them build a strong data strategy.

Five of the startups from Cohort 11 are headquartered in the US and Israel, besides being operational in India. The startups are looking forward to scale up with guidance from NetApp. Firefly wants to learn how to build Go-to-Market strategies that enable sales at high scale, alongside working with industry veterans and NetApp leaders. PrivaSapien is keen to be mentored by global tech leaders as part of NetApp ExcellerateHER program. “If I had to pick one key highlight of the NetApp Excellerator program, it would be the program’s emphasis on providing startups with customized mentoring and coaching,” said Squadcast’s founder Amiya Adwitiya. Zluri wishes to gain access to prospects and partners, alongside mentorship to help them meet enterprise standards. For AppSentinels, the involvement of the leadership team has been a huge differentiator. “I am amazed to see the personal time and energy various leaders of NetApp are giving to the program,” said Puneet Tutliani, CEO and Co-founder, AppSentinels. Arun Muthukumar of RAPL noted that since their solution is a B2B Enterprise SaaS solution on cloud, NetApp solutions will go on to play a big role in those areas as they scale.

Guiding the Indian startup ecosystem

Over the years, NetApp has mentored 25 global startups through NetApp Excellerator and 11 women-led deeptech startups through NetApp ExcellerateHER. Their success can be measured through their alumni who have gone on to raise over $300 million collectively, including five startups which raised close to $160 million in 2022 alone. There have also been successful exits by six alumni startups.

NetApp Excellerator was declared to be one of the top five accelerator programmes in India for corporate innovation by NexTT Awards. The award-winning program now includes a proof of concept (PoC) model that provides startups a platform to demonstrate the efficacy of their solutions in the real-world. They work in tandem with NetApp to refine their minimum viable products (MVPs), identify possibilities and additional use cases, which is then used to chalk out their go-to-market strategies. Participating startups can also enjoy access to NetApp products like SPOT that bring in cost-effectiveness in their hybrid cloud environment.

NetApp, a global cloud-led, data-centric software company announced the launch of cohort 11 of its flagship accelerator program – NetApp Excellerator. With Cohort 11, NetApp Excellerator brings to light the growing relevance of India as a technology hub with an increasing number of global startups that are building from India, for the world.

Cohort 11 welcomes six new startups: Zluri, AppSenitels, RapL, PrivaSapiens, Firefly, and Squadcast. They have been selected based on their affinity to data, technology prowess and problem-solving abilities. Five of these startups are headquartered in the US and Israel, besides being operational in India. This cohort represents the deep tech sector across the spectrum in verticals such as cybersecurity, data privacy, SaaS, and IT services- globally. Firefly, which is an Israeli startup is looking to establish operations in India, further validating India’s tech capabilities.

Through the NetApp Excellerator, startups can enjoy access to resources, mentors, and industry experts across geographies to help them gain maximum exposure and knowledge. Through the last six years, NetApp has mentored 25 global startups.

PrivaSapiens, a company that builds privacy technologies and products, will be mentored under NetApp ExcellerateHER – a dedicated initiative that promotes women founders. NetApp has mentored 11 women-led deep tech startups so far.

Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India, said, “To increase the impact of the program, we will be having deeper conversations and longer engagement with startups, facilitating accelerated innovation. With over 45,000 startups and more than 100 unicorns, the Indian startup ecosystem’s journey is one paved on data. A recent NASSCOM report states, data is growing at over 40% CAGR over the last four years. This speaks volumes of the potential and innovation that data-centric startups are bringing to the table. Over the years, we have seen inspiring ideas emerge through every cohort. Our experience and expertise in data services and solutions put us in a unique position to further enable these startups. Collaborative innovation is one of our core values and we are proud to be a part of these startups’ growth journeys.”

The new cohort has been curated to promote increased engagement between startups and their mentors. Over the course of the cohort, NetApp will share their expertise and experience in data management to empower participants and help build a strong data strategy.

Keeping pace with developments in the dynamic technology ecosystem, the NetApp Excellerator program has evolved over the years. With a shared vision, NetApp mentors and leaders, along with startups have made huge strides in transforming the deep-tech industry. Their success can be seen through their alumni who have gone on to raise over 330 Mn USD collectively, including five startups who raised close to 160 Mn USD in 2022 alone.

Having come a long way since its inception in 2017, NetApp Excellerator was declared to be one of the top five accelerator programs in India on corporate innovation by NexTT Awards. The award-winning program now includes a proof of concept (PoC) model that provides startups with a platform to demonstrate the efficacy of their solutions in the real world. They work in tandem with NetApp to refine their minimum viable products (MVPs), and identify possibilities and additional use cases, which are then used to chalk out their go-to-market strategies. Participating startups can also enjoy access to NetApp products like SPOT that bring in cost-effectiveness in their hybrid cloud environment.

INNOVATION, GROWTH, AND MORE: KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM NETAPP EXCELLERATOR’S 10TH DEMO DAY

NetApp recently hosted ‘Upsurge’, its accelerator program’s Demo Day for Cohort 10. The event saw eight startups pitch their innovative solutions and offerings, bringing the total number of startups incubated by the program to 66 since its inception in June 2017.

NetApp has held internal and external collaboration as central to its culture, with the four-month program being one of its critical external collaboration platforms. The flagship startup program NetApp Excellerator is razor-focused on fuelling innovation by partnering with and supporting deep tech B2B startups globally that want to explore NetApp’s hybrid cloud, storage, and data management solutions.

Key highlights

American hybrid cloud data services and data management company, NetApp, has announced that it has hit a milestone with eight startups graduating from the tenth cohort of its flagship accelerator program, the NetApp Excellerator, which took the collective funding of participating startups to the USD 300 million mark.

The Demo Day-10 event saw eight startups EduFuse, Streamingo Solutions, LivNSense, AccuKnox, Rxoom, ShardSecure, Kubermatic, and Subcom, represent solutions including green-tech, kubernetes, computer vision, health-tech, and cloud security.

Of the startups that graduated, LivNSense, EduFuse, and Streamingo Solutions, were mentored as part of the NetApp ExcellerateHER initiative of the NetApp Excellerator program that focuses on mentoring and promoting women-led B2B tech startups. So far, 11 women-led startups have been mentored via NetApp ExcellerateHER.

“Looking back at the last five years, it is incredible how the B2B Tech startup ecosystem has come alive through the NetApp Excellerator program. We are very proud of our mentors, our leaders, and our startups that have shared the vision of making huge strides in the technology landscape. Throughout this journey, we have learnt from and given back, and enabled our customers to accelerate their digital transformation with hybrid-cloud data management software,” said Ravi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India.

With 66 startups in its fold, NetApp Excellerator Demo Day 10 marks five years of the program

The eight graduating startups showcased cutting-edge technology solutions in GreenTech, HealthTech, EdTech, Data Security at the 10th Demo Day event

• Since inception, a collective USD 300 Mn funding raised by participating startups
• Successful exits by six alumni startups
• 11 women-led B2B Tech startups mentored via the NetApp ExcellerateHER initiative

NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global cloud-led, data-centric software company hit a milestone yesterday with eight startups graduating from the tenth cohort of its flagship accelerator program – the NetApp Excellerator. The Demo Day-10 event saw eight startups EduFuse, Streamingo Solutions, LivNSense, AccuKnox, Rxoom, ShardSecure, Kubermatic, and Subcom, represent diverse solutions including green-tech, kubernetes, computer vision, health-tech, and cloud security.

All startups are born in the cloud and bring a unique value to the B2B tech industry. For instance, a startup in the health-tech space, Rxoom, has developed a surgical navigation system that lays new standards for surgeries through increased accuracy, shorter duration, and better outcomes with faster recovery time. Another cohort 10 startup, ShardSecure uses microsharding to shred, mix up and distribute data into multiple cloud locations in a manner that ensures zero data sensitivity. This solution mitigates the risk of cyber-attacks while providing total privacy for cloud-stored or on-prem data.

Of the startups that graduated, LivNSense, EduFuse, and Streamingo Solutions, were mentored as part of the NetApp ExcellerateHER initiative of the NetApp Excellerator program that focuses on mentoring and promoting women-led B2B tech startups. So far, 11 women-led startups have been mentored via NetApp ExcellerateHER.

Speaking to the success of the program, alumni startups have raised over USD 300Mn and six startups have had successful exits in the past five years.

“Looking back at the last five years, it is incredible how the B2B Tech startup ecosystem has come alive through the NetApp Excellerator program. We are very proud of our mentors, our leaders, and our startups that have shared the vision of making huge strides in the technology landscape. Throughout this journey, we have learnt from and given back, and enabled our customers to accelerate their digital transformation with hybrid-cloud data management software,” said Ravi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India.

Recently, the program was featured as one of the top 5 accelerator programs in India on corporate innovation by NexTT Awards. In addition, 13 of these startups are also engaged in proofs of concept (POCs), with NetApp’s backing in funding and technology, while a few others are under exploration.

Through the course of the program, participating startups are assigned senior technologists as mentors. Participating startups also get access to Spotlight, offered via SPOT by NetApp – an innovative cloud-based automation and cost-optimization solution. With this, startups can enjoy savings of up to 73% on their cloud expenses. The next cohort of this program is now open to applications, with a focus on cloud, internet of things (IoT), big data and analytics, machine learning, virtualization, data security, data management, and storage.

NetApp Excellerator announces Cohort 10

NetApp announced the launch of a milestone: the tenth cohort of NetApp Excellerator – its flagship startup accelerator program. With this, the NetApp Excellerator, in just 5 years since its inception, has successfully accelerated the path of over 60 startups operating in the deep tech space.

With Cohort 10, NetApp has onboarded eight new startups that are leveraging cutting-edge tech to solve real-world problems. These startups represent diverse sectors like green-tech, kubernetes, computer vision, health-tech, and cloud security. EduFuse, Streamingo Solutions, LivNSense, AccuKnox, NeuroSAPIR, ShardSecure, Kubermatic, and Subcom form this elite cohort and have been meticulously selected based on their technology prowess and problem-solving ability.

Technology, like all businesses, benefits from diversity. Through NetApp ExcellerateHER, a dedicated initiative that promotes women founders, NetApp has mentored eight women-led deep tech startups so far. Launched in 2020, NetApp ExcellerateHER is seeing a growing interest from tech entrepreneurs both nationally and internationally. The current cohort of ExcellerateHER will see participation from three tech startups – LivNSense, EduFuse, and Streamingo.

Madhurima Agarwal, Director – Engineering Programs & Leader – NetApp Excellerator, NetApp India, said, “Five years ago, we embarked on a journey to identify like-minded startups and mentor them with our deep expertise in data management. Through the NetApp Excellerator, we have built lasting technology partnerships with over 60 startups while touching the trajectory of hundreds of others. Partnering with these startups is accelerating our customers’ success with well-engineered innovative solutions.”

Commenting on the launch of Cohort 10, Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India, said, “It is now obvious that data is at the core of most modern business value propositions, and it is rapidly accelerating the digital transformation of even the most traditional businesses. This fifth anniversary of the NetApp Excellerator sees us navigating a new generation of startups that are all hybrid multi-cloud enabled and built on data at scale across the world’s most prevalent cloud services.”

Over the years, the NetApp Excellerator program has evolved to become truly global in nature. As a result, the startups have access to resources, mentors, and industry experts across geographies to gain maximum exposure and knowledge. In the last five years, NetApp has mentored 20 global startups. The current cohort includes five global startups from Germany, USA, and Israel.

Since its inception in 2017, the award-winning NetApp Excellerator Program has mentored 60+ startups. Over the years, it has evolved to now provide a proof of concept (PoC) model that gives startups a platform to demonstrate the efficacy of their solutions in the real-world, and work side-by-side with NetApp to refine their minimum viable products (MVPs), identify additional use cases and possibilities, and determine the startups’ go-to-market strategies. Start-ups are also offered access to NetApp products like SPOT to help them thrive in the hybrid cloud environment. With SPOT and its added features, startups – most of whom are cloud natives, can cut their cloud costs to a great extent.

NetApp Excellerator Program cohort 9 helps 8 more startups on their innovation journey

NetApp recently launched cohort 9 of NetApp Excellerator, their flagship startup accelerator program. Validating the success of the program, NetApp shared data about the success of its previous cohorts. Since its inception in 2017, 70% of the graduated startups from the previous eight cohorts have secured additional funding after the successful completion of the program. After successful exits of 50 startups in the last eight cohorts, cohort 9 on boarded eight new startups across high-growth sectors such as retail, e-commerce, edtech, and manufacturing.

Cohort 9 of the NetApp Excellerator program includes Continual Engine, Datamotive, eCommerceInsights, FabrikSpace, FireVisor, Netobjex, Neuropixel, and Spectrum Analysis. Proof of the success of the NetApp Excellerator program is shown by the fact that six NetApp Excellerator alumni—Enclouden, Adya, ArchSaber, AiKaan, Lightwing, and VitaCloud—were acquired by large enterprises like Quantum, Qualys, Sumo Logic Inc, Ether Energy, Harness, and Apollo Telehealth respectively.

Commenting on the launch of the latest cohort, Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India, said, “India’s entrepreneurship sees no limit, and we are increasingly seeing B2B tech startups garnering the attention of global investors. NetApp is glad to have mentored our startup alumni to achieve the business goals they sought initially. Today, with the experience and expertise that NetApp has in deploying best-in-class technology solutions, we are in a unique position to share our insights and market access with these startups. The NetApp Excellerator program helps startups to apply growth-hacking techniques to engage with prospective customers and expand their business.”

With the nature of the NetApp Excellerator program becoming truly global, the startups have access to resources, mentors, and industry experts across geographies. The accelerator program had 11 global startups that were a part of the last eight cohorts. 50% of the startups in the ninth cohort are based in Singapore, the United States, and Canada.

Reiterating its commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs, NetApp ExcellerateHER, a dedicated initiative to promote women founders, has seen a high number of global startups participate in the program. Since its launch last year, NetApp ExcellerateHER has seen five startups with a global footprint—Nife, Tongadive, FireVisor, FireCompass, and eCommerceInsights. Nife and FireVisor are based in Singapore, Tongadive in the UK, FireCompass in the US, and eCommerceInsights in Canada.

Introducing the startups, Madhurima Agarwal, Director of Engineering Programs and Leader of NetApp Excellerator, said, “We are seeing more and more startups that are not only utilizing cutting-edge tech but are meaningfully helping industries adapt and move forward in their digital transformation journey. With the launch of cohort 9, we will continue to enable deep tech startups through our focused and tailored mentorship program. And with NetApp ExcellerateHER, we aim to impact more women entrepreneurs in the deep tech domain.”

“As of today, we have awarded 13 PoCs and we take pride in seeing our alumni’s success. Their enthusiasm and passion inspire us and reaffirm our commitment to providing them mentorship during critical stages of their journeys”, Madhurima concluded.

Since its inception in 2017, the award-winning NetApp Excellerator Program has mentored 58 startups. Over the years, it has evolved to provide a PoC model that gives startups a platform to demonstrate the efficacy of their solutions in the real-world. The startups work side by side with NetApp to refine their minimum viable products (MVPs), identify additional use cases and possibilities, and determine their go-to-market strategies.

NetApp Excellerator Program selects startups that operate in the B2B deep tech domain. Startups can approach the program through an application process, or they can be recommended by alumni networks, partners, and investors. The finalists are chosen by a jury through a rigorous selection process based on the technology at play, the quality of their solutions, and the difference their products can make. Like cohorts 7 and 8, cohort 9 will be run virtually to ensure the health and safety of the participants.

The startups that are invited to join the 4-month program will be given technology tools, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities to speed up their development process to maturity. NetApp sponsors the expenses incurred during the PoC process. The program also offers an equity-free grant of US$15,000 to the graduating startups at the end of the program.

Blog Source: Express Computer,CRN,VARINDIA,Digital Terminal,DQ Channels,Business Fast

Focus on equity over equality has encouraged more women in STEM: NetApp’s Madhurima Agarwal

Lack of confidence is a key factor holding women back in their professional journey. Madhurima Agarwal, Director, Engineering Programs and Leader at NetApp, remarked during a fireside chat at the 13th edition of TechSparks, India’s most influential startup-tech conference.

“We (women) are our biggest roadblock. It is a function of us having grown up with certain limitations that every time someone offers an opportunity, we are our first critic and are unsure if we are up to the task. In contrast, a man would jump in and say, ‘I don’t know if I am skilled at it, but I am sure I’ll be able to do it,” she said.

Madhurima, an adviser to several startups, remarked that having a solid role model and support systems can be a powerful vehicle of change.

“Not everything can be achieved alone, and women need the support from their family members, partners, and children to shoulder some of the responsibilities, especially during the pandemic,” Madhurima said.

Focus on equity over equality has yielded promising results to bring more women into the STEM workforce. She believes this will result in more role models at senior levels and “enough hands to pull women through the ranks” those men currently dominate.

As far as organisations are concerned, sensitisation to all genders could be the first step. She said that, at times, women are also capable of internalised bias.

“At NetApp, we had an ‘Unconscious Bias’ training, which helped us discover our biases. I used to take a lot of pride in being a diversity champion, and only after the training, learn I have my own inherent biases. Realising this has helped me move forward towards overcoming them consciously,” she explained.

Championing women entrepreneurship

As an adviser at NetApp AcceleratHer, she says the selection to build a pipeline of solid women entrepreneurs is rigorous. Having walked the difficult and lonely path of entrepreneurship, Madhurima believes she brings empathy to the founders she mentors.

When asked what it would take to encourage and enable women’s entrepreneurship, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities, Madhurima said that the Indian startup ecosystem we see today is different from a few years ago.

“People – investors, government, and customers, came together and developed the ecosystem and consciously decided to take the risk. We should do the same,” she said.

Blog Source: Yourstory

How FireCompass is Shaping the Future of Security Testing

With the volume of attacks on enterprises increasing by the day, it is no longer sufficient to do occasional or manual penetration testing. Organizations usually test “some” of their assets “some of the time,” whereas hackers are attacking “all of the assets” all of the time. Today, it’s quite common for enterprises to be attacked thousands or even millions of times a day. Red Teaming and Blue Teaming exercises, and frequent audits help check the risk profile of an organization. However, new techniques like Continuous Automated Red Teaming (CART) and Attack Surface Management (ASM) have proven to be more effective in blocking attacks. A Bangalore and Boston-based startup named FireCompass, which was part of the NetApp Excellerator Cohort 8, is helping organizations with continuous testing. FireCompass is included in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Security Operations, 2021. Apart from Autonomous Penetration Testing and Red Teaming, FireCompass is also mentioned in the EASM market within the Hype Cycle report. FireCompass also received similar recognitions from IDC and RSA.

By Brian Pereira, Editor-in-Chief, CISO MAG

FireCompass was founded in 2019, and its offices are located in Bengaluru, Boston, and New York. Its co-founders are Bikash Barai, Priyanka Aash, and Paul Dibello. They have yet to publicly announce their recent funding series.

The Indian co-founders met at IIT Kharagpur (as students) and their idea took root there, with the launch of their first venture. Bikash Barai, Co-founder of FireCompass spoke to CISO MAG and revealed how the company was founded, and its journey through the years.

Automating Ethical Hacking

“In those days, hacking was about people writing scripts, and it was more of a manual process. Few people were into hacking, so this activity was confined to small groups,” said an amused Barai. “And we launched a company with the vision to automate ethical hacking. After we built this automated ethical hacking product, we began receiving awards from Intel, UC Berkeley, Homeland Security, U.S. Navy, etc. So, we got a lot of recognition. But we faced a challenge; we noticed that not too many people were buying our product. We realized that it was much ahead of the times in terms of automating ethical hacking. And this was two decades ago.”

The irony was that the product was receiving many awards, but there were few customers for it. So, the co-founders reached out to the alumni for advice. The response they received gave them a business idea.

“An alumni member said, I would love to buy this product, but I don’t have anyone to run it for me,” said Barai. “So, we thought, why not we run it for you. Instead of giving away the product, we can host it and run the product for our customers. And that’s how it became a SaaS offering. In fact, we were one of the first SaaS companies from India.”

That move paid off, and the response improved. The company raised a round of funding from IDG Ventures. It grew steadily soon after and bagged 100 global customers. Cigital then acquired it. The co-founders continued to run the business, which continued to grow. Barai informed us that 18 out of the top 20 U.S. banks were using its products and services. Eventually, Cigital was acquired by Synopsis. Their product became the engine for Synopsis’ cloud-based testing. And that was the first innings for FireCompass and its co-founders.

The Next Phase

After spending two years at Synopsis, they were again bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and started thinking about their next product. What was the next problem to solve?

“We noticed something very interesting, and very strange. We saw a top financial services company getting breached because they had an open database without any password. And we were very intrigued because we knew that this particular company is highly mature. They have the best tools and the best folks working for them. We wondered why they missed that. Moreover, many other such companies were getting breached. We noticed the same pattern – they were getting breached because of some very simple stuff. And once we dived deeper, we noticed that this particular database that they were using, which got compromised, was made online by the marketing team, without the knowledge of the central IT.”

Well, doesn’t this problem sound familiar? They call it shadow IT. Business units helping themselves to cloud services or creating their own products without the approval of the IT team. That’s a recipe for a security disaster.

“This new problem was not there a decade ago (before the cloud era). And you have to blame it on rapid cloud adoption, digital transformation, distributed teams, and agile teams who have got this autonomy to create things on their own. Ten years ago (before cloud), anything that had to go online had to go through IT; you did not get access to a public IP easily. But today, anybody can spin up a new asset (virtual machine), there can be new API integrations, and many new applications getting created,” said Barai.

This was clearly a problem to be addressed, and an opportunity for Barai and his company. The second problem was the limitation of the first-generation testing tools.

First generations tools or Testing 1.0 Tools could only test known systems. One had to input the IP addresses or the application URLs to test assets. So, in plain speak, these tools can’t test what they can’t see. If you do not have complete visibility of all your assets, you can’t test them.

And then there was another problem with testing, or rather, the shoddy manner in which organizations were testing their assets.

The Need for Continuous Testing

“Red teaming or penetration testing exercises are done intermittently, a few times a year. And not all the assets were tested. So, organizations are testing some of the assets some of the time, whereas hackers, the ransomware guys, the nation state actors — they’re attacking all the assets all of the time,” said Barai.

To add to that, there is inadequate cybersecurity talent in the industry. Organizations cannot scale up their testing or do continuous testing just by hiring more people.

“We believe Testing 2.0 is the future of testing, where we are continuously discovering all our assets. And we are continuously testing all our assets. So, testing has to move from that point in time to continuous. Continuous discovery of assets and continuous testing has to be automated. And it has to be continuous,” said Barai.

And it is with that vision that they founded FireCompass.

How Continuous Testing Guards Against Attacks

FireCompass offers solutions for Continuous Automated Red Teaming (CART), External Attack Surface Management (EASM) & Ransomware Attack Surface Testing (RAST). It enables organizations to map out their digital attack surface, including shadow IT blind spots, by continuously discovering, indexing, and monitoring the web. The platform then automatically launches safe multi-stage attacks, mimicking a real attacker, to help identify attack paths before hackers do, continuously and proactively providing security. And that’s how continuous testing makes an organization more secure.

The Attack & Recon Platform of FireCompass continuously indexes and monitors the deep, dark and surface webs using nation-state grade reconnaissance techniques. The platform automatically discovers an organization’s external attack surface and launches multi-stage safe attacks, mimicking a real attacker, to help identify and prioritize vulnerabilities that are most likely to be attacked.

“We first go and index the entire internet, and we index the deep dark surface web, collect all that data and put it into a big data platform. And then, we analyze that data automatically using various algorithms. From absolutely zero knowledge, we build the hackers’ view of the attack surface or the map of the attack surface of all these organizations, and we do it on a near real-time basis,” informed Barai.

FireCompass is continuously monitoring its customers’ assets and discovering their attack surface. They look for new assets that are going online, such as databases or VMs, new open ports, new APIs, etc.

“We mimic various threat actors and do a mock ransomware attack or other types of attacks on an organization. This is a red teaming and pen test exercise. Finally, we give real-time alerts,” said Barai.

So, this goes much beyond offering reports, as we saw in first-generation testing. This is really the future of testing.

NetApp Excellerator Program

NetApp, a global cloud-led, data-centric software company, announced the graduation of its eighth cohort of the flagship startup accelerator program, NetApp Excellerator, on July 23. The eight business-to-business (B2B) tech startups, which all share a focus on deep tech, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud, and data, graduated via a virtual demo day event yesterday.

Since its inception in 2017, the award-winning NetApp Excellerator program has received over 1,700 applications.

FireCompass was one of the eight startups in the eight cohort. Speaking about his experience in the program, Barai said, “The global exposure that you can get and the access to such great minds and their knowledge within NetApp, is very special. The knowledge that you can gain from the experts at NetApp is immense. The team has been very supportive and helps you come out of the program as a better & more efficient version of you. One of the key highlights of the program that we were personally excited about was the joint GTM opportunity along with NetApp. This program introduces us to their experts globally in NetApp and getting their help to create a strong combined GTM is very exciting for us.  Also, the paid proof of concept, which was an integral part of the program, helped in fine-tuning the offerings.”

Blog Source: CISOMAG

3 Steps To STEM The Gender Gap

With the world is reeling under the pressure of sustaining and growing in the ‘next normal’, future of work for women in technology is an even more important discussion to have.

Of the 40 per cent of women graduates in STEM, a mere 14 per cent actually end up pursuing a career in the field. Despite this statistic, India is writing for herself an extensive list of women who have made a notable impact on the industry and the economy.

According to NASSCOM, the Indian workforce has seen a 10 per cent rise in the number of women in technology over the last decade. Overall, women constitute around 35 per cent of the workforce currently. One could say that women STEM professionals in the country are crossing the hurdles and are fighting the good fight. But the more important question is – what is causing a leaky funnel when it comes to women graduates choosing STEM careers. What are the major roadblocks? What steps do we need to take to make the funnel watertight?

Two segments of women are seen to be facing drawbacks in pursuing their dreams. The first segment consists of those who get deprived of primary education which is well known, but quite surprisingly, the other segment consists of highly qualified women professionals.

Bringing about a mindset change

While a few women have broken stereotypes to emerge as impactful leaders, technology continues to be a male-dominated space. There are multiple factors that lead to the low conversion of women STEM graduates rising to senior leadership roles.

Diversity, inclusion, and belonging at corporations are taking on a new meaning today. Companies across the globe are waking up to the significance of diversity in bringing better business results, as well as creating an inspiring workplace for more women to join STEM professions. Continuing with this approach, a mindset change is on the cards. First and foremost is educating hiring managers to conduct interviews using structured processes and tools to rule out bias. The same goes for identifying women with talent, encouraging them to take bigger positions and risks. Championing and rewarding those who champion the advancement of women is another strategy to boost gender diversity. Senior management has to become aggressive in personally championing diversity as a key business and cultural priority.

Being primary caregivers, women handle multiple obligations at home as well. This work-life integration requires a balance to curb women from dropping out. Offering policies beyond the de-reguier flexible working hours can prove crucial in retaining women technologists in mid-career and senior level positions.

Tailored mentoring and counselling programs

Mentoring and counselling programs can go a long way in reversing the drain. Many women, though qualified for STEM careers, drop out owing to family duties and commitments. Interventions at critical junctures to encourage women to stay on- like post a marriage/ maternity break are crucial. This dilemma of having to ‘choose’ between two states of womanhood and professional, causes a confidence gap in women technologists, or at the least, slows them down. Women tend to become less confident than their male peers. This humility may lead them to take gaps in career or growth. This is where mentoring – and even sponsorship can come in. Women role models as mentors can also create the necessary bridge for many women technologists to embrace their potential.

Women-led conferences, that are gaining popularity, serve as an avenue for aspiring female techies to learn from leaders in their fields of interest.

Startups as a potential opportunity

There were approximately 297 women tech entrepreneurs running 285 tech start-ups in India in 2020. Yet, Indian start-ups with at least one woman founder accounted for just 5.77 per cent of the total start-up investments in India for the period between January 2018 to June 2020.

These numbers call for a consolidated effort from tech companies and the government to introduce and execute favourable policies for women-led enterprises. This will bring in a heterogeneous mix of ideas, leading to better and faster innovation, empathetic leadership, allowing organizations to perform better overall, which in turn translates into job growth, increased profits, investment, and a direct impact on the progress of our economy.

Following the success of its startup program, the NetApp Excellerator, NetApp launched a targeted program for women entrepreneurs, NetApp ExcellerateHER, in July 2020. Now over 40 per cent of the startups in this program are led by women founders.

Implications of women in STEM

With the world is reeling under the pressure of sustaining and growing in the ‘next normal’, future of work for women in technology is an even more important discussion to have.

Organisations are prioritizing diversity hiring programs like never. Inducting more women on interview panels can improve the diverse talent pool. Since the inequity in senior leadership positions is starker, it is essential to empower more women to take up executive positions for achieving sustainable business growth.

Women must do their part, too and stop selling themselves short. We must take ownership, create our own brand, inspire others around us, take risks, and pave the path for those who follow.

Blog Source: BW Education

NetApp Excellerator’s eighth Demo Day puts focus on the unrestrained spirit of startups

July 2021 saw eight startups graduating from the eighth cohort of the NetApp Excellerator, NetApp’s four-month-long global accelerator programme for B2B startups. With this, the total number of startups incubated by the programme since its inception in 2017 touched 50.

Key highlights from Demo Day

The latest cohort of eight startups to graduate from the programme included B2B-location engine Data Sutram, cybersecurity startup FireCompass, AI-focused Metabob, digitisation provider Maxbyte, enterprise application Nife, no-code data platform Snapblocs, HR tech startup State of Mind, and health-tech startup Tongadive. As a proof of the growing global reach of the accelerator programme, cohort 8 witnessed participation from five startups headquartered in the USA, the UK, and Singapore. These global startups were mentored by tech leaders from NetApp India, which has further cemented NetApp Bengaluru as a hotbed of innovation and technology growth for globally relevant solutions.

A key highlight of cohort 8 was that 40+ percent of the startups were led by women founders. Tongadive, Nife, and FireCompass were supported under the NetApp ExcellerateHER, a NetApp Excellerator sub-initiative dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs leading disruptive B2B technology startups.

The Demo Day also saw Data Sutram being recognized for the best growth strategy, Metabob for the most innovative product, and FireCompass with the Investors’ Choice Award.

Senior NetApp leaders who have mentored these startups closely vouch for their caliber and the impact they are likely to have on addressing business challenges. “The cloud has a lot of moving parts and it is easy to get lost when you are trying to assemble a solution. This is where startups like Snapblocs add value by making it seamless for businesses to deploy cloud solutions,” shared Sisir Shekhar, Principal Engineer, Cloud Volumes SDE, NetApp and Mentor, Snapblocs. Talking about Data Sutram, Vivek Prakash, Director Software Engineering, NetApp, shared, “90 percent of data critical for a business’ success lies outside the company. Data Sutram enables businesses to address that challenge by leveraging actionable location-based insights from external data.”

Enabling unrestrained growth

In addition to business and technical mentorship, these startups from a diverse set of technology areas received access to customers, technology, business support services, connect with ecosystem enablers as well as paid PoCs. “Through our association with NetApp Excellerator, we have been able to expand the geographical footprint of the product outside the Indian market and increase our product development speed by 5x,” shared Manoj Kumar, Founder and CEO, State of Mind. Talking about NetApp ExcellerateHER, Nida Sahar, Founder, Nife, shared, “NetApp ExcellerateHER equates us with other counterparts in the ecosystem and gives us the same provision and privileges. NetApp also customised the programme in a way it made sense for us to address the strategic challenges we were facing.”

Blog Source: Yourstory

Forging partnerships and collaborations between start-ups and corporates to unlock potential

In more recent times, business ecosystems have been benefitting from partnerships and collaborations between these two different genres of business. There is a clear realization that the time is right for captains of industry to welcome smaller yet disruptive market players to the fold and collaborate rather than compete with them to meet unified long-term goals.

To better understand various issues around these potentially win-win partnerships, Network18 in collaboration with NetApp initiated a roundtable discussion on the changing paradigm of corporate innovation and how start-ups can be a key contributor. Moderated by Paromita Chatterjee, Senior Journalist, the participants comprised leading players from across the spectrum, including Parag Dhol, Managing Director, Inventus India; Monish Darda, Co-founder & CTO, Icertis; Ankit Maheshwari, Founding Member and President – Engineering & India Operations, Innovaccer and Madhurima Agarwal – Director, Engineering Programs & Head, NetApp Excellerator.

While collaborations between large corporates and start-ups are not new and have been formed in the past as well, over the last year and a half, the pace of acceleration of mergers and acquisitions and partnerships has become much faster. Representing a company that has a bird’s eye view of the industry and has been an active player in building bridges between start-ups and corporates, Parag Dhol explained why the current, post-pandemic era is a crucial time to focus on such collaborations. “Digitization has received a fillip due to what is happening around us and since the last 15-18 months, the speed at which businesses have had to adjust is much faster than ever before. Other trends that are coming together centre around the development of a multitude of technologies, such as cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, etc. I would say that with all these things coming together into the mix, it is not too hot or too cold…it’s just right. That’s the situation today and it’s the right time for start-ups and corporates to be talking to each other.”

Madhurima Agarwal agreed that the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and those who were thinking of moving ahead on their tech agendas have really pressed the accelerator on it. She went on to elaborate on how these collaborations become win-win situations that benefit both parties, like a symbiotic relationship. “With start-ups and corporates coming together, it is great for the ecosystem, as a whole, because start-ups bring new thinking and innovation to the table while enterprises bring skill, credibility, scale and stability, which is very important, especially in sectors like banking and healthcare, where any disruption in services can be catastrophic. When these two join hands, they can provide innovative solutions which works best,” she stated.

Moving beyond the benefits of partnerships for progress, the panellists shared their experiences on the possible challenges and roadblocks that such collaborations could entail and how these could be addressed.

As a start-up that has reached unicorn status, Monish Darda recounted, “It goes without saying that openness on both sides is a prerequisite. Having a good fit of cultures and values is also important as that leads to openness and honesty and ensures a strong buy-in to how business will be done. Most importantly, a collaboration makes sense when it ensures that it all accrues to a bigger whole, where one plus one becomes four and not just two; in case of the latter, the two entities would have been as well off on their own.”

Ankit Maheshwari, also from a start-up turned unicorn, added, “Matching the speed of innovation and change between the two collaborators is usually a challenge because typically, start-ups are in the habit of moving fast while corporates tend to avoid moving too fast.” In terms of the pace of agility, both the corporate and the start-up may have to meet midway; start-ups must appreciate why corporates move at their pace and corporates must realise that things can move much faster and make some effort towards accelerating the pace. Beyond the pace of agility, sometimes it is the specific areas that need agility which must become the focus. “That’s where start-ups like us come in; we can give corporates the speed to market and agility that they may not have expertise in or may not be investing in,” suggested Monish Darda.

Another challenge Ankit Maheshwari highlighted was with respect to the tech pieces of both parties involved. “Unless the start-up and large corporate complement each other in the tech and innovation space, it becomes difficult. However, if these challenges are mitigated, partnerships can go a lot further.”

Finally, it all boils down to the intention of both parties to work towards solving problems together. NetApp’s Madhurima Agarwal said, “Acknowledging the challenges that exist is the first step to overcoming them.” Elaborating on her company’s process for collaboration she added, “The next step is to proactively build in processes and create a mindset to overcome challenges. NetApp Excellerator is a programme which has sponsorship at the highest levels at the organisation and at the global level too. A lot of time is spent selecting start-ups to ensure that the alignment is right. We are very cognisant of the fact that any start-ups that we decided to work with is looking for the same things from us as we are willing to offer. Once there is clear communication and expectation setting in terms of achievable and timelines, it becomes easier to move forward, avoiding common pitfalls.”

Within the ‘Don’t compete, collaborate and complement’ scenario, she offered insights on knowing when to encourage a collaboration. “When a disruptive change is being contemplated by a large company, it helps to do a landscape study and if something very innovative is being done by a smaller company or start-up, partnering with it could save time. Costs will automatically be saved on account of the time saving,” she said.

After the panellists shared their unique hands-on experiences with respect to collaborating for progress, she concluded, “Everyone is dreaming bigger and NetApp is part of that same fabric. This is a great time to be an entrepreneur and the trend towards greater collaboration is only going to increase, going forward.”

Blog Source: Forbes

How new-age mentorship can bridge the skills gap in India

India is one of the youngest countries in the world with one of the largest workforces in the world. With nearly 500 million people of working age, the domestic labour market is second only to China’s and far bigger than that of the United States and the European Union. Our demographic dividend is skewed towards an under-35 population, with millions of students graduating from colleges every year and entering the workforce. But, according to the latest India Skills Report (ISR), not even half the Indian graduates are employable as they lack professional skills. In 2021, only 45.9 percent of the graduates were found to be employable, a decline from 46.21 percent in 2020 and 47.38 percent in 2019.

Although the pandemic-induced lockdown might be responsible for this decline to some extent, there are several other factors that might have contributed, including lack of accessibility to knowledge, certifications, increase in population size, advances in technology, among others.

For the crores of youths who’re entering the workforce, learning the tricks of the trade – for whatever endeavour they want to pursue – is critical. To meet this requirement, India needs a collective effort that is backed by its sharpest brains. The gap is wide and the need for experienced mentors to come forward and invest their time in nurturing talent, has never been as pressing.

Mentoring has changed the game for job seekers

The concept of mentoring is one of the oldest forms of training, where a seasoned employee takes the younger one under their wing. Although the in-house approach of inviting mentors from within the organisations is still common, a new wave of mentorship is now emerging, where one can be mentored by anyone, from anywhere, and even by many people.

Today, as more people work or study from home, mentor-led and career-focused partnerships are exactly what today’s job seekers need. Mentors can profoundly boost a mentee’s career path by offering them a wealth of knowledge, experience, and guidance that can help them navigate through challenging times, such as the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

A recent survey by Springboard showed that 62.7 percent of professionals preferred to take an upskilling program that gives them access to a mentor, while 87.9 percent of the respondents thought that access to a seasoned mentor can profoundly boost their shot at success and career trajectory. Also, 79.4 percent felt that one of the best ways to transition to a new position in a different industry is with the help of a mentor.

From more optimism and new perspectives to improved communication and unbiased feedback to increased confidence, mentorship offers tremendous value to mentees. They get the benefit of talking to someone who really cares about their career growth and professional development.

Today, with the advent of “reverse mentoring”, mentees can also give back to the mentor, who might not always be digitally savvy, by sharing hacks, shortcuts or tutorials on the latest digital tools and applications and help them manage their social media presence.

New-age mentorship is just a click away

Although nothing beats face-to-face mentoring, many companies are now finding ways to take mentoring to the next level with technology. Thanks to the acceleration of adoption of digital tools due to the pandemic, mentoring sessions can now be conducted from the comfort of your homes, without the pressure or distraction of external factors. In other words, digital mentorship creates a safe space for meaningful conversations about career development and personal growth.

The digital age has also enabled mentors and mentees to connect beyond geographies, in real-time, rather than wait for the next day to talk about how to navigate a challenging situation.

For a country with a massive young workforce as India’s, upskilling at scale is required not just to secure a job, but also for professional growth and keeping up with the times. The million-dollar question is how we can harness the power of mentoring to boost the morale of India’s youth while improving employment outcomes? Well, we better put our thinking caps on and get the answer fast!

Blog Source: Yourstory

Cohort 8 alumni BrainSightAI raises USD750,000 in seed Round

Bengaluru-based, BrainSightAI – a deep-tech neuroscience start-up, has raised USD750,000 in a seed round led by Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India, with participation from Entrepreneur First, Info Edge Ventures, and IKP Knowledge Park.

Bengaluru-based, BrainSightAI – a deep-tech neuroscience start-up, has raised USD750,000 in a seed round led by Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India, with participation from Entrepreneur First, Info Edge Ventures, and IKP Knowledge Park.

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Founded by Laina Emmanuel and Dr Rimjhim Agrawal, the company plans to leverage the capital to enable greater precision in diagnosing and treating neuro-oncological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

“Neuro disorders, such as oncologic, trauma and psychiatric, are the third-leading contributors to the global disease burden. To be able to address these potentially life-threatening disorders better, the healthcare industry needs tools to predict outcomes earlier, discover new clinical and drug indications, and better understand drug and therapy responses. Such intuitive tools weren’t possible earlier. However, that is changing now. We are now at an inflexion point, where, with data, lots of computing power, and artificial intelligence, we can cloud-enable complex neuroscience-based workflows. Now, doctors and researchers can focus on asking questions and not on the mechanics of answering questions,” said Laina Emmanuel, Co-founder and CEO, BrainSightAI.

In June 2021, the company was selected as one of the 20 start-ups from 500 applicants to the MedTech Innovator APAC 2021 Accelerator program.

“BrainSight is not just improving MRI imaging, but based on Dr Rimjhim’s research at NIMHANs, leapfrogging the true potential of this modality to operate at the cutting edge of science, technology, and impact. BrainSight’s platform has the potential to change the global clinical paradigm for neurosurgery and neuropsychiatry, and we are excited to partner with Laina and Rimjhim on this journey”, commented Akshat Shah and Sandeep Singhal of Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India.

It has also won the BIRAC BIG 15 grant from the Government of India in January 2020 for conducting clinical studies to investigate alteration in brain function in Dementia.

Blog Source: AnalyticsIndia,Entrepreneur, Dataquest