The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at IIIT Hyderabad has selected five deep-tech start-ups from more than 110 applications for its six-month Avishkar Venture Studio Summer Cohort 2026. They will receive research support, mentoring, investor access and seed funding of up to Rs 10 lakh. The programme began on July 31 after 20 start-ups in deeptech, medtech, mobility and mediatech pitched before faculty, investors, entrepreneurs and industry experts. Entries were assessed on innovation, market potential, scalability, execution capability and founder strength. The ventures were Comply Ark Solution Private Limited, L2 Aero, Mimansa Play, SentraAuth Technologies and Stylique AI Private Limited, known as Yoko Styles. Their work covers DPDPA compliance, subsurface detection, speech development for children, behavioural biometric authentication and AI-based fashion design.

Amgen today announced the launch of the first Amgen Scholars Program in India at the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad), bringing the globally respected undergraduate summer research program to India for the first time. Supported through a two-year commitment from Amgen through summer 2027, the program reflects the company’s long-standing commitment to advancing science education and inspiring future innovators. The inaugural cohort comprises 10 undergraduate scholars, including students from India, Vietnam, Qatar, and Dubai, creating opportunities for scientific collaboration and exchange across Asia. As part of the intensive two-month residential research experience, students will explore artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in fundamental sciences, drug design and discovery, healthcare, cheminformatics, genomics and related areas alongside faculty mentors at IIIT Hyderabad.

India’s semiconductor push has gathered pace in recent years, but according to IIIT Hyderabad Director Prof Sandeep K Shukla, IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti has been working towards indigenous processor design long before it became a national priority. “Prof Kamakoti started working on the SHAKTI processor – which is a RISC-V architecture-based processor, back in the early 2000s, and I recall that his team worked with Bluespec Inc to write the micro-architectural specification of the processor in Bluespec language,” Prof Shukla told India Today. Reflecting on Prof Kamakoti’s role in taking the project from the laboratory to the wider ecosystem, Prof Shukla said SHAKTI represents more than a successful processor project. Rather, he said, it demonstrates how long-term academic research can eventually translate into real-world impact. “Prof V Kamakoti’s role is a good case study in how long-horizon academic research reaches deployment,” he said.