Honeywell India boosts innovation by funding deep science start-ups through partnership with IISc

Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the philanthropic arm of Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON), in partnership with the Foundation for Science, Innovation and Development (FSID), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), renowned for its cutting-edge deep sciences research, has extended research and financial support to 37 Indian start-ups, extending capital worth ₹9 crores over the last four years. With an intensive focus on agri-tech, clean-tech, health-tech and green-tech, Honeywell has extended funding worth ₹2.4 crores in FY23-24 to eight start-ups and five entrepreneurship-in-residence programs (EIRs), and further plans to on-board 10 new start-ups in the current fiscal. According to the release, through this collaboration, Honeywell provides seed funding and essential research support to start-ups in the realm of deep science focusing on addressing environmental, agricultural and health challenges. Over the years, the synergy between Honeywell and IISc has been highly sought after, it has helped to extend access to state-of-the-art facilities, connect with industry stakeholders & government bodies, global network of High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs), Angels, Venture Capitalists (VCs) as well as Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. In FY23-24, Honeywell and IISc’s collaborative benefits were extended to health/med-tech companies like Papyrus Diagnostics Private Limited, Akumen Artificial Intelligence, Hoyasan Labs Pvt Ltd, Cellsion Technologies Pvt Ltd and Easescan MedTech Private Limited; and to agri-tech companies like Kaiza Tech and Green Collar Agritech; as well clean-tech start-up Mushloop Pvt Ltd. Ashish Modi, president, of Honeywell India, said, “Our core focus is not just to extend financial support but also to encourage deep science/tech research which fuels the innovative prowess of these businesses. Over the past 4 years, we have worked with over 40 start-ups and will be on-boarding another 10 in the upcoming financial year. Together, with IISc, we are cultivating a fertile ecosystem for these companies, making a tangible impact on society.” An exemplary start-up supported by Honeywell and IISc is ‘AI Highway,’ offering cost-effective cardiac disease screening systems leveraging advanced signal processing and AI capabilities that can screen, detect and predict cardio-respiratory disorders. Dfine Bio Innovations Pvt ltd is a Medtech start-up supported by Honeywell grant. The start-up has developed an indigenously built hemostatis system named FibriTimer Zeta-1 (a first by any Indian Company). Zeta – 1 uses the patented dual technology and helps clinicians in understanding the defects in humans for bleeding and thrombosis events.