Time’s right for hardware, deep tech companies to step out of campus, says Solinas Integrity CEO Divanshu Kumar

The company bagged the top honours in the
Best on Campus category at the recently concluded
Economic Times Startup Awards 2022.

Hardware and deep tech startups can have an enormous impact in terms of sustainability and the environment, Kumar said, adding that there was huge scope for companies to innovate in this space as cities grow and look for more efficient ways to operate.

Solinas, which recently closed a seed round of Rs 4.5 crore, has focused on scaling up its pipeline inspection and condition assessment tool, as well as on the problem of manual scavenging. Some of the investors in the funding round included 8x Ventures, Lister Ventures, and Kotta Enterprises of Weizmann Group.

The startup has developed a robot that cleans septic tanks. The idea occurred during the final year of a project that Kumar worked on at IIT Madras (IITM) along with Professor Prabhu Rajagopal. Seeing the plight of manual scavengers, they decided to develop a robot, and in 10 months, they were able to design and develop a prototype that won the best master’s project at the institute. Aside of Kumar, Bhavesh Narayani, Moinak B, and Linda Jasline who are cofounders of Solinas, Rajagopal and Krishnan Balasubramanian have been designated as non-executive founders of the startup.

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Solinas’ solution goes inside the pipeline network and pinpoints the problem, its cause, and solution, reducing the need for manual intervention. Over the next year, the focus will be on building city-wise pipeline dashboards which will help officials map the pipeline network, he said.

“We are looking to hire software talent as well as business development executives who can take our products to various governments and industries as we grow to cities in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana,” said Kumar.

Amid a funding winter and widespread layoffs, Kumar said he remains optimistic about the possibility of growth for young companies.

“While the layoffs are unfortunate, it’s also a reality check and a learning lesson for younger companies like ours on what to do and what not to do,” Kumar told ET. “For instance, there is a lot more focus now on unit economics which wasn’t such an area of focus earlier for budding startups. I’m very hopeful that despite the funding winter, good businesses will be built, and people will continue to take risks.”

Institutes need to support budding entrepreneurs through time-off options, by leveraging alumni, and providing funding for students to try out entrepreneurial ideas, Kumar said.