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.