HITLAB, in association with StartHealth, an initiative of Unitus Seed Fund and part of India's leading impact venture fund investing in early-stage startups innovating for the masses, today announced the 2018 HITLAB World Cup: India. Innovators worldwide are invited to submit their original technology-enabled healthcare solutions and finalists, selected by a panel of healthcare experts, will have the opportunity to make pitches for up to USD $500,000 (INR 3.5 crore) in grants and equity funding. The pitch event will take place during the HITLAB Innovators Summit: India, held on February 10, 2018 at the India Institute of Technology in Delhi.
The HITLAB Innovators Summit offers a series of curated talks, panels, and collaboration opportunities to engage the most creative minds in health and technology. The theme for this year's Summit -- the fourth to be held in India -- is Enabling Inclusive Digital Health Innovation and Diffusion.
"HITLAB World Cup: India empowers innovators to translate ingenious ideas into practicable solutions that have immense potential to improve healthcare design, delivery, and access in India and across the globe. We're very excited to have Unitus Seed Fund partner with us to expand the impact of groundbreaking innovations," said Devmalya Sarkar, Summit Director, HITLAB.
"India ranks sixth among the 50 low-middle income nations in regards to out-of-pocket healthcare spend. Startups are addressing this by building novel solutions to make healthcare more accessible and affordable to millions of Indians for whom it is otherwise out of reach. At Unitus Seed Fund, healthcare continues to be an exciting sector, and we plan to invest in innovative and scalable health-tech businesses over the next three years. We've set aside INR 100 crore for this, and are very excited to partner with HITLAB to find and nurture new-age startups in India's healthcare sector," said Milind Shah, Venture Partner, Unitus Seed Fund.
For more than 15 years, HITLAB has helped leading organizations ideate, create, evaluate, and diffuse technology-based solutions to pressing healthcare challenges. It has hosted the global HITLAB World Cup Challenge since 2006. Last August at the HITLAB World Cup: New York, 146 applications from 15 countries were received. Past innovations have ranged from a tech-enabled dynamic scoliosis brace to a voice-activated blockchain eco-system for diabetic patients and caregivers. Winners have since raised over $50 million in follow-on investment funding and launched commercially viable products that transform lives.
ABOUT HITLAB
HITLAB is an innovation and teaching lab dedicated to improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare worldwide. We help leading organizations ideate, create, evaluate, and diffuse technology-based solutions to pressing healthcare challenges.
Our team of public health professionals, statisticians, clinicians, engineers, economists, strategists, designers, and anthropologists is determined to address healthcare needs across the globe. We work with a wide variety of stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to design and disseminate studies, programs, and products that improve healthcare access and delivery.
About Unitus Seed Fund
Unitus Seed Fund is the leading impact venture fund investing in startups innovating for the masses in India. Unitus Seed Fund invests in sectors including healthcare, education and financial services. Founded in 2012, Unitus Seed Fund is managed by Capria Ventures, which is part of the Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in India and other emerging markets since 2000. Unitus Seed Fund is based in Bangalore and Seattle, and is a member of the Capria Network.
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