Kerala Startup Mission has launched BRIDGE, a first of its kind corporate-start-up convergence programme to help large corporates and SMEs adopt, invest in and acquire innovative startup technologies.
Applications are now open for the first cohort of BRIDGE, expanded as Business Revolution through Innovation, Digital Growth & Enterprise. The programme is open to corporates and SMEs with annual revenues of ₹50 crore and above.
The initiative seeks to address the gap between India’s start-up ecosystem and its industrial and business sectors by enabling structured collaboration, faster technology adoption and new growth opportunities.
Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM said BRIDGE will create a structured pathway for collaboration between start-ups and established businesses, with measurable outcomes, fixed timelines and end-to-end partnership support.
Enable enterprises
By bringing together innovation and industry, BRIDGE aims to enable enterprises to access emerging technologies while helping start-ups scale through market opportunities, he said.
Over the next three years, BRIDGE aims to facilitate more than 500 corporate-start-up partnerships, over 100 technology adoptions and more than ₹250 crore in corporate investments into curated technology-first start-ups through the programme ecosystem.
Participating businesses can adopt start-up-built technologies, invest in start-ups aligned with their sectors, acquire technologies or startups, and scale operations without building extensive in-house R&D capabilities from scratch.
The programme will focus on sectors including manufacturing, logistics, retail, BFSI, healthcare, agri-tech, professional services and other technology-led industries.
BRIDGE will include demo days, pilot frameworks, AI-assisted investment matchmaking, transaction support for pilots, investments and acquisitions, and access to a cohort of corporate and SME leaders.