Himalayan Startup Trek 2023 of IIT Mandi concludes; winners of HST Startup Grand Challenges 2023 declared

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi Catalyst concluded its annual flagship event Himalayan Startup Trek (HST) on Sep 30th, 2023, in association with Climate Change & Clean Energy (C3E) Division of Department of Science and Technology. The 7^th Himalayan Startup Trek (HST) received more than 1500 applications for the HST 2023, signalling HST has become a significant platform for fostering innovation and addressing societal challenges.

A plethora of events for the startup community and student were organised during the HST 2023, which included: Investors’ Den where 25 investors engaged with the startups to fund promising ideas, Mentor Clinics where 30 mentors met with 110 startups to provide feedback on business direction, Master Classes for startups to help them learn the art of building a venture.

3 top startups from each thematic areas were given cash prizes of INR 10 Lacs at the prize distribution function of HST 2023. The winners include:

Theme 1: Human Computer Interaction:

1^st Prize: Arkni PhotoBioLif, Smart Kalam; 2nd Prize: Is Going Online 3D; 3^rd Prize: Easiofy Solutions Pvt. Ltd

Theme 2: Build For Himalayas

Ist Prize: Tech Me Go; 2^nd Prize:  Siachen Naturals Private Limited; 3^rd Prize; Awega Green Technologies LLP

Theme 3: Environment & Sustainability

1^st Prize: Suspol Technologies Pvt. Ltd; 2^nd Prize:  Genexis Biotech Private Limited;3^rd prize: Future Garages

Build Your Own Business (BYOB)

 First Prize: Earth Say -Building smart composting solutions for a greener tomorrow.

 Second Prize: Khwab – Eco friendly Skin and Hair products supporting a social cause.

 Third Prize: DiaCare – Revolutionizing Diabetic Foot ulcer care with AI powered precision.

 Coding Hackathons (Code for Good)

 First Prize: Nirvana;   Second Prize: Aetos Angelos; Third Prize: InspireU ; Fourth Prize: Stellar Nebula

 Gokul Butail, Principal Advisor to Chief Minister – Innovation, Digital Technologies & Governance (Rank of Cabinet Minister) graced the event as the Chief Guest and distributed Cash Prizes worth INR 10 Lakhs to winning startups. The Himalayan Startup Trek is the flagship annual startup event hosted by IIT Mandi Catalyst (Catalyst) to bring together the stakeholders of the Indian Startup Ecosystem and connect them on a single platform. New venturing startups and seasoned mentors get to meet each other and pick each other’s brains that help formulate new relationships and turn ideas and innovations into products and services for the global market.

In a short span of 7 years, Catalyst has incubated 370+ startups and has committed/disbursed more than Rs. 17 Crore funds to startups. Catalyst is currently hosting Nidhi-Seed Support System, Nidhi-Prayas Scheme, and TIDE 2.0 scheme of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that has a national focus. All these schemes provide funding for different stages of startups be it ideation, prototyping or commercialization.