TBI 2.0 initiative: National Institute of Engineering recognised as Technology Business Incubator

The National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru, has been officially recognised as a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) under the Government of Karnataka’s flagship TBI 2.0 initiative.

Under this recognition, NIE–TBI will receive a support of ₹10 crore from the Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Government of Karnataka, over five years. The incubator will function as a TBI 2.0 Centre, with a strategic focus on agritech, energy, and artificial intelligence (AI), aligned with the objectives of the Karnataka Startup Policy 2022–2027.

The TBI 2.0 initiative was launched to promote research, innovation, and startup activity beyond Bengaluru. As part of the State’s ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ vision, 11 new TBIs are being established across Karnataka, excluding Bengaluru urban district, to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, a press release said.

TBIs are specialised facilities associated with academic, technical, and research institutions that nurture technology-based startups and innovation-driven enterprises. They play a vital role in bridging the gap between research and commercialisation by supporting early-stage startups during their most critical phases through infrastructure, mentoring, funding access, and market linkages, the release said.

Speaking on the occasion, Amjad Husain, CEO and head of the NIE Centre for Innovation and Startups, stated that the NIE-TBI will focus on much-needed agritech and energy solutions, including AI/Machine Learning-enabled mobility and intelligent systems.

“Our vision is to create world-class facilities that drive innovation and commercialisation in critical sectors. The NIE-TBI will establish advanced infrastructure such as an agri-equipment testing facility, advanced manufacturing capabilities, a clean energy laboratory for sustainable fuel technologies including biofuels, a full-fledged solar energy lab, a green hydrogen generation and storage lab, and an AgroDrone-X lab for experimentation and excellence. These initiatives will help bridge the gap between advanced technology and traditional farming practices,” he said.

The proposed centre for agri science and technology aims to transform agriculture through precision farming technologies. AI and Machine Learning-based solutions will enable smart farming, precision irrigation, blockchain-integrated financial systems, and predictive analytics for early detection of crop diseases, benefiting both startups and researchers in the agritech ecosystem.

The existing incubation centre at NIE has already supported and graduated several startups into successful ventures across diverse domains such as blockchain, mobility, artificial intelligence, agritech, renewable energy, sports analytics, cybersecurity, clean technology, drones, and aero sports, the release added.

Mr. Husain further added that NIE-TBI offers a unique value proposition to incubated startups by providing end-to-end support, including product development, mentoring, fundraising assistance, go-to-market strategies, product validation, regulatory guidance, testing, and scale-up support.