Stating Asia Pacific to be significant driver of growth for the supplier of technology and services, Bosch had announced an investment in their Asian locations totalling to some 1.2 billion euros. The announcement had come with a specific focus on internet of things, the market for which has grown quite significantly.

Peter Tyroller, Member of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH had stated “The market for the internet of things (IoT) is growing rapidly in Asia Pacific. We forecast that the region as a whole will have the world’s greatest IoT market potential by 2020, at 37 percent.”

Narrowing down their interest on boosting IoT in India, Bosch India came up with its first ever accelerator programme, called ‘discover, nurture and align– DNA with an aim to offer a platform and opportunity to the start-ups to gain access to Bosch’s working environment. The 18-week program is an intense development, mentoring and piloting platform for startups.

“As a technology and solutions leader, Bosch India is looking to partner and collaborate with startups that work on disruptive solutions in the areas of mobility solutions, Smart manufacturing, smart cities, Meditech, Agritech and energy,” said Mr. Manohar Esarapu, head of Bosch India’s Start-Up Alliance program.

Commenting further he stated, “Bosch is also looking to work with start-ups who could help build solutions in enabling technology areas such as, internet of things (IoT), deep learning, analytics, cloud, virtual reality and block chain.” These start-ups would receive personalized mentorship from Bosch experts in areas such as, engineering, scope specific domains, product design, operations, finance and legal among others.

“Through this accelerator program selected start-ups have an opportunity to an investor pitch, and the entire Bosch ecosystem, such as, its customers, suppliers and partners among others,” stated Mr. Manohar.

It comes as an accelerator program unique to India as it is the first-time Bosch would be working with external startups, to mentor and get them investment ready. Not just that, apart from providing disruptive business models, Bosch is also open to partnering with these start-ups to cater to new markets.

Through this model, Bosch intends to gain a strong foothold into India’s booming start-up market. “This program will help Bosch diversify growth into areas beyond mobility solutions,” said Mr. Manohar.

Bosch’s DNA program intends to provide support with scaling, industrialization of products, market reach and design thinking elements. It would enable startups to grow faster.

The partnership would offer technology mentorship and support to the start-ups to acquaint them with the best in class engineering knowhow.