The Qualcomm Design in India Challenge (QDIC) – 2022 is the seventh edition of the initiative by Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd. that was started in 2016 to encourage Indian design houses and product companies to invent useful and innovative hardware product designs incorporating Qualcomm SoCs and technologies. It has been inspired by the tremendous potential of Smart Devices and products that can be built in the domains of Smart Infrastructure, Agriculture Technology, Industrial Automation, Wearables, Medical Technology and Rural IoT. In 2022, the challenge will look to enable 5G use cases and applications as well.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society, we are glad to offer support to India’s technology ecosystem through Qualcomm Design in India Challenge 2022. In its seventh edition, this design challenge continues to spur the domestic hardware ecosystem, which will positively impact the product ecosystem of design and enhance the manufacturing facilities in India.
• Individual startup companies that demonstrate Hardware and Embedded design experience
• HW design proposals must be focused on one of the domains – 5G Applications and NavIC use cases, Smart Infrastructure, Medical Technology and Rural and Industrial IoT – regardless of the form factor of the product.
• HW designs must be based on one of four available platforms. Please see QDIC Terms and Conditions for platform details.
• Only registered companies from India will be considered for further evaluation in accordance with the quality of work submitted. Students do not qualify for this challenge.
• Only one submission per company will be accepted. Multiple proposals from the same company could lead to disqualification.
• Participating companies should have preferably established operations of minimum 6 months in hardware design and solutions.
• The quality of each product design in the focus areas mentioned above with clear HW/SW differentiation will be valued along with creativity and relevance to “community and technology” related demand in India.
Awards:-
1. Grants: All shortlisted startups will get an initial grant of INR 1.6 Lakh at the start of the incubation period. Five months into the incubation, a mid-cycle review will be held and those startups that meet the review requirements would be eligible for an additional grant of INR 1.6 Lakh. In March 2023, a jury pitching session will be held, and one winner and two runner-ups will receive INR 65 Lakhs, INR 50 Lakhs, and INR 35 Lakhs, respectively. All amounts are inclusive of taxes.
2. Patent Filing Incentive: Each shortlisted startup will be eligible for reimbursement of up to INR 1.6 Lakh for a full utility patent application filed with either the US PTO or India PTO in respect of the proposal for QDIC and during the incubation phase of the program (at the prevailing exchange rate). Limited to 2 patent applications per startup. Please see QDIC Terms and Conditions for details.
3. Access to Innovation Commercialization Fund: The Innovation Commercialization Fund (ICF) was launched last year for all QDIC alumni startups and is used for reimbursement towards one of more of the expenses incurred towards taking the product commercial – certification cost, costs incurred towards industrial design and manufacturing cost towards customer orders. In 2022, this fund size will continue to be INR 60 Lakhs. Please see ICF Terms and Conditions for details.
Non-Fiscal Incentives
1. Opportunity to be incubated at NASSCOM CoE for IoT: At its discretion, Qualcomm India can recommend up to 3 shortlisted startups that will be given a combined total of 30 seat-months at a NASSCOM CoE for IoT at no cost to them without having to go through the standard application process.
2. Accelerator Services: The program offers accelerator services, through a partner, to all shortlisted startups at no additional cost. This includes Diagnostic assessments, Workshop interventions on scaling parameters like operations, customers, competition, product, financials, org building, and seeking investments. One-to-one mentorship will also be available to the founders. Startups are expected to travel for these workshops and mentorship sessions at their own cost.
3. Benefits offered by MathWorks®: Through our association with MathWorks, all startups will be eligible for the following benefits for no additional charge:
a. 12 months free software: MATLAB, Simulink, and 100+ add-on products
b. Each startup can avail of up to 10 licenses based on their team size and requirements
c. Full technical support (phone, email, online)
d. Training
i. Free: MATLAB, Simulink and deep learning onramps, online self-paced tutorials
ii. 50% off Training Credits usable for all online and public classes
4. Government connects: Opportunity to connect with MeitY/DPIIT in person; meet and greet sessions would be scheduled. Travel cost is covered by Qualcomm India.
5. Participation at Industry Events: Opportunity to select startups to participate at relevant industry events either hosted by Qualcomm and/or its subsidiaries or those where Qualcomm participates. In the past, these have included Qualcomm’s 5G Summit in Hong Kong, India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi, Meet Taipei Startup Festival, Smart Cities Accelerate San Diego, etc. Typically, airfare and hotel are covered for domestic events and airfare only for international events.
Deadline:- 01-05-2022
