by Suman Gupta
Ignite winners – Enlite and Clairco will have the opportunity to receive strategic funding
Ignite and Accelerate Winners to work with Panasonic to jointly transform Energy Management Solution for commercial spaces
Mumbai, March 29, 2024: Panasonic Life Solutions India (PLSIND), a leading diversified technology company, today announced Enlite and Clairco as the winners of its first cohort of Panasonic Ignition program. Enlite focusing on AI-enabled wireless building management system and Clairco that develops IoT-based smart air purification devices & space optimization solutions will receive strategic funding and an opportunity to work with Panasonic business teams for development and implementation. Ignition program in partnership with 100x.VC is a corporate innovation initiative that was introduced last year to develop solutions for real-life challenges focused around Energy Management Systems for Commercial Spaces. The two Ignition winners will receive Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) funding and business collaborations, while the four Accelerate winners – Sustlabs, Quebec Ventures, Sensiable and Blaze will get an opportunity for business collaborations and get to implement solutions in partnership with Panasonic companies.
The 12 start-ups who were shortlisted last year were SustLabs, MinionLabs, Clairco, Enlite, Zodhya, Living Things, Sensiable, Carbon Minus, Nebeskie, Quebeq Ventures, Blaze and Cymbeline. They pitched their ideas, GTM strategy, commercial plans today to a panel of judges from Panasonic and 100X.VC
Mr. Manish Sharma, Chairman, Panasonic Life Solutions India & South Asia, “India has emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns and Panasonic is looking forward to be part of this journey through our initiatives like Ignition. Panasonic established India Innovation Centre (IIC) in 2017 with an initial investment of Rs 240 crores. The objective of IIC is to drive tech-based innovation and deliver growth for business. Today, we’re pleased to state that the investments are bearing fruits. Miraie – Panasonic’s IoT & AI enabled platform, Miraie Profactory, India’s first Matter-enabled RACs are all a result of timely innovative interventions driven through India Innovation Centre. And I am confident that this strategic endeavour undertaken through the Ignition program will address the larger issue of energy management for commercial spaces.”
Expressing his enthusiasm on the program’s success Mr. Kunio Gohara, Chief Transformation Officer (CTRO) and Head of the CVC office, Panasonic Corporation said, “Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund (PKVF) was established by the Corporation to tackle social and global problems of the world, aimed at enriching, and transforming people’s lives. Panasonic is committed to investing a total of Yen 8 billion (~ INR 450 cr) which will be invested across in the mid to long term, across startups in Japan, Europe and India. It is exciting to meet the young, talented Indian start-ups and witness the innovation first-hand. They are leveraging some of the most advanced new-age technologies in the field of AI, IoT, data analytics to name a few, to solve complex energy management issues. Ignition program in India will definitely set new benchmarks for the world, encouraging start-ups to drive sustainable economic growth.”
Sharing his experience Mr. Manish Misra, Chief Innovation Officer, Panasonic Life Solutions India, said, “Innovation is at the heart of solving customer issues. The ideas shared by Ignite award winners Enlite and Clairco were not only innovative but also unique to provide significant differentiation for B2B customers. We look forward to collaborating with Enlite and Clairco to introduce these game-changing solutions to the market. In addition, the next set of 4 Accelerate award winners: Sustlabs, Quebec Ventures, Sensiable and Blaze will also collaborate with Panasonic business divisions to bring unique energy management offerings. Panasonic will continue to engage with other class of cohort 1 startup based on different business requirements and common synergies.”
“Panasonic Ignition program has been an enriching journey. For last six months, we have been working closely with Panasonic to look for startups who were genuinely interested to solve, real-world problems and we are glad to see the outcomes achieved. Our hearty congratulations to the winners of Ignite and Accelerate awards. We wish them success in their engagements with different teams from Panasonic. Through such corporate initiatives, we can look at bridging the gap between industry and startups. We hope to partner with Panasonic in future editions of Ignition,” said, Mr. Yagnesh Sanghrajka, Founder and CFO at 100X.VC.
