LetsVenture Launches LetsAccelerate
- NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant launched the EV Innovation Lab powered by LetsAccelerate on November 12 at LetsIgnite
- STPI DG Omkar Rai launched the LetsAccelerate platform
NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant: “We are proud of what startups are doing in e-mobility” LetsVenture, India's most active and trusted platform for angel investing and startup fundraising, has enabled over INR 600 cr in fundraises for over 220 startups. LetsAccelerate is leveraging this experience to help accelerators and incubators manage their programmes more effectively and subsequently make startups better prepared for fundraising. LetsAccelerate will offer four services to accelerators and incubators:
- Online resources: Frameworks, curriculum, insights and best practices
- Sourcing applications and curating cohort
- Skill-building programmes in the form of boot camps, workshops, online resources
- End-to-end programme management of accelerator or incubation programmes, including assistance in fund-raising for their startups via LetsVenture’s pool of 6,500 angel investors and 300+ VCs
LetsAccelerate will be working closely with incubators and accelerators - both public and private - across India.As a first step in this direction, NITI Aayog CEO, Mr. Amitabh Kant launched LetsAccelerate’s EV Innovation Labs - a comprehensive platform to identify, nurture and fund high-potential startups in the electric vehicle space via deep-engaged mentoring, access to capital and access to industry.[caption id="attachment_58002" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Mr. Amitabh Kant sharing his views on the stage[/caption]“Look at what startups are doing in the e-mobility space, we are proud of them and want to support them. We have created special policy measures by slashing GST on EVs to 5% versus 28% for combustion engines. We’ve created a INR 1.5 lakh tax exemption to encourage consumers to buy vehicles and of course the FAME II scheme to push electric mobility. We will soon be pushing for setting up of bigger factories for battery manufacturing. We are open to listening to new ideas and pushing them. So, I encourage all founders to push the envelope,” Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI AayogMr. Kant also released the ‘EV PitchBook’ by Energy Alternatives Institute (EAI) & LetsVenture that maps the startup and investment landscape for EVs in India.LetsAccelerate is being helmed by startup ecosystem veteran Prajakt Raut (founder of Applyifi). “To foster innovation and accelerate the pace of development of EVs and the supporting infrastructure, we need to bring together experienced mentors, investors, industry and policy makers. EV Innovation Labs will be this connecting point for different stakeholders. It will make the journey easier for startups and innovators in this space. For investors, EV Innovation Labs represents a platform to find the most high-potential market-ready startups,” Prajakt Raut, Managing Partner, LetsAccelerate.[caption id="attachment_58003" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
EV Panel[/caption]On the launch of the LetsAccelerate platform Dr. Omkar Rai, DG, STPI said, “LetsAccelerate will further fuel the narrative of EV startup incubators and accelerators in India by creating the most desired ecosystem to propel the startup movement in the country.” The Software Technology Parks of India is launching a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Autonomous Connected Electric Shared (ACES) Vehicles in Pune in the first quarter of next year in collaboration with Government of Maharashtra, Tata Motors, Kinetic, Visteon, MathWorks India, Intel, College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) and associations like ARAI, SAE-India, TiE-Pune.Speaking at the launch of LetsAccelerate and its first iteration the EV Innovation Lab, Shanti Mohan, co-founder and CEO of LetsVenture said, “Every year LV evaluates thousands of startups and showcases hundreds of startups to investors - this has given us a vantage perspective on what investors are looking for. We have leveraged these insights into LetsAccelerate. This is to help accelerators and incubators make their startups investment ready for angel and early stage investors. The combination of Prajakt’s mentoring experience and LetsVenture’s funding platform makes LetsAccelerate not just unique but also the most comprehensive in helping accelerators deliver exceptional outcomes.”About LetsVentureFounded in 2013 by Shanti Mohan and Sanjay Jha, LetsVenture makes the process of fundraising (early and growth stage) easy, efficient and transparent for both startups and investors. In the last 6 years, LetsVenture has helped 220+ startups raise over INR 600 crore on the platform. Today our marketplace has 6500+ investors from 52 countries and 120+ microfunds. Also, we have 200 institutional investors and 150+ family offices on the platform. LetsVenture works with startups and investors from discovery, personalised connects, syndication and paperwork closure, followed by quarterly portfolio reporting. We also have a SEBI registered Angle AIF with AUM of INR 120 crore. The 41 people LetsVenture team is based in Bangalore and Delhi. LetsVenture is backed by Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Nandan Nilekani, Sharad Sharma, Anupam Mittal, Ratan Tata, Rishad Premji and Mohandas Pai.About Prajakt RautLetsVenture has collaborated with startup ecosystem veteran Prajakt Raut, founder of Applyifi, to lead LetsAccelerate as its Managing Partner. Prajakt is a passionate promoter of entrepreneurship. He has a personal goal to encourage and assist 100,000 people to become entrepreneurs. Previously, Prajakt was the head of operations at Indian Angel Network (IAN), founding member of a leading incubator, and the Asia-Director for TiE. Previously Prajakt had co-founded Orange Cross, a healthcare services company, and was part of the founding team at Idealake Technologies. Prajakt has also spent over 10 years working in leading advertising agencies. Prajakt’s book, ‘Starting Up & Fund Raising’, helps startups understand an investor’s perspective, and helps them improve their odds of getting funded.
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