Plug and Play to foray into India with innovation center in Hyderabad

Plug and Play LLC, a US-based early-stage investor, accelerator, and corporate innovation platform, will open an innovation center in Hyderabad, India in Q1 2022.

The Hyderabad innovation center will mark the foray of Plug and Play in India adding to the 35 plus office locations it has around the world.

Saeed Amidi — Founder and CEO of Plug and Play said: “Although we’ve had the pleasure of backing Indian startup founders over the years, we hadn’t entered the Indian market for a variety of reasons. Historically we didn’t see much appetite from Indian corporations to be part of a stage-agnostic accelerator to speed their digital transformation initiatives.

“In recent months we have seen leading corporations show great enthusiasm in being part of Plug and Play’s ecosystem in India. Additionally, the startup ecosystem in India has matured a great deal, making it ripe for Plug and Play’s venture arm.

“At present, India is the third in the list of countries having the most unicorns coming in after the U.S. and China but ahead of the U.K. and Germany. The stars seemed to be aligned for Plug and Play’s business model to thrive in the Indian market during the coming years.”

Plug and Play to foray into India with innovation center in Hyderabad. Photo courtesy of StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay.

Plug and Play’s Hyderabad office will be opened virtually on 13 December 2021 after which an in-person closed-door invite-only executive roundtable will be held with the backing of the office of the Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.

KT Rama Rao said: “We are glad that Plug and Play has chosen Hyderabad for its entry into India. Telangana is also moving up the value chain in areas of Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Fintech and we look forward to the collaboration with Plug and Play to play a major role.”

Founding corporate partners of the Hyderabad innovation center will include Stellantis, People Tech, and GMR Group among others. The first accelerator will be launched in Q1 2022 and will focus on mobility, infrastructure, and travel.