Plug and Play to open largest innovation center in Hyderabad, India

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Dec 09, 2021, 15:32 ET

HYDERABAD, India, Dec. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play LLC, one of the world's largest early-stage investor, accelerator, and corporate innovation platforms globally is opening its India operations in Q1, 2022. Plug and Play currently has over 35 office locations around the globe and will now be adding India to the list.

"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," said Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play.

He continued, "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"

"India has incredible potential. By combining the corporate and startup ecosystems and bringing India's IT know-how to the mix, great things can be built here and be scaled internationally like never before," said Sascha Karimpour, Managing Director at Plug and Play Germany GmbH.

Plug and Play's first Indian office will be opened in Hyderabad during a virtual first event followed by an in-person closed-door invite-only executive roundtable with the support of Telangana IT & Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao's office. K.T. Rama Rao met with Plug and Play's leadership team in Paris in late October to strategize Plug and Play's entry into the Indian market.

"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," said K.T. Rama Rao.

Founding corporate partners will include, but are not limited to, Stellantis, GMR Group and People Tech. The first accelerator will kick off in Q1 of 2022 with a focus on Mobility, Travel and Infrastructure.

Partners will be able to collaborate with global market players. Plug and Play will also help Indian startups with their global expansion ambitions by granting access to the 60+ accelerator programs it runs annually, while also being an entry gate for international startups to connect to India.

The first event, "Inauguration of the Plug and Play Facility: Driving Open Innovation in India with Plug and Play" will be held virtual on December 13, 2021 and is open for anyone interested in joining: https://pnp.tc/event-india

For more information, please contact Jordan Bray, Vice President at Plug and Play: [email protected] and Hannah Boomgaarden, Program Director Plug and Play: [email protected]

SOURCE Plug and Play