25 startups keen on signing MoUs with Centres of Excellence: TN govt

As many as 25 startups have evinced interest to sign memorandums of understanding with the Centres of Excellence that were inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin, the Tamil Nadu government said on Sunday.

The startups under the state government's 'Olir' (shine) initiative would be able to grow faster by utilising the state-of-the-art multi-sector Industry 4.0 Centres of Excellence at "optimal costs", said the state goverment. The Centres of Excellence have been established by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN).

Stalin had inaugurated the three Centres of Excellence—Tamil Nadu Smart and Advanced Manufacturing Centre (TANSAM), Tamil Nadu Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing (TANCAM), and Tamil Nadu Advance Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (TAMCOE)—in 2022. These specialised institutions offer startups the know-how to accelerate their design, prototyping and development testing.

Nearly 250 chief executive officers (CEOs) representing companies from various sectors, including advanced manufacturing, robotics, e-commerce, aerospace and defence, agricultural technology, took part at an event held recently.

S Krishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Department, said the intra-connect within government departments and the inter-connect with the private sector have been improving; initiatives such as Olir are expected to carry forward this momentum, resulting in better outcomes for all stakeholders, he said.

TIDCO's Managing Director, Jayashree Muralidharan, stressed the importance of startups to sustain the industrial leadership position of Tamil Nadu.

Startup TN Chief Executive Officer, Sivarajah Ramanathan, said various initiatives of the state government through StartupTN would make Tamil Nadu a global startup destination.

The launch of Olir has received phenomenal response from startups, he said, and expressed the need for exposure visits from such enterprises to the Centres of Excellence.