The Tamil Nadu government has floated first of its kind forum to help new EV companies mobilize funds besides encouraging collaboration in research and development to make the state a leader in the space.
The state signed MoUs with Bosch and Mahindra to enable corporate-startup to connect for mentoring and product validation.
The automotive, EV, and smart mobility forum aims at bringing together startups, innovators, corporates, experts, industry bodies, investors, government departments and other stakeholders.
The forum will extend all possible help to EV firms and keep track of their progress, said Sivarajah Ramanathan, mission director and CEO of Startup TN, a body of the state govt to nurture startups.
The forum will support companies working in the electric and smart mobility space to mobilize funds and collaborate in research and development, he added.
He said the startup ecosystem requires niche platforms for every sector to share knowledge and mutually offer technical and business mentoring and support.
To create engagement and connect the relevant domain experts under one umbrella, stakeholders from different institutional structures have been included in the forum.
Vishnu Venugopal, MD & CEO of Guidance, said, “This has been done to improve synergy and bring government organizations and multiple stakeholders under one umbrella. There are large players in the startup ecosystem. Startups are playing an important role in research on batteries and technology such as motors.”
The announcement follows soon after Tamil Nadu witnessed 223 percent growth in electronic exports in the last two years.
The state is currently the leader in electronic exports contributing Rs 44,044 crore in FY23, as per government sources.