Uber today announced ‘Uber Sustainovate’, a Startup Challenge looking for innovative solutions to fast track the adoption of sustainable mobility in India. The competition, in partnership with Startup India and nasscom AI, is design to award startups that produce the best workable ideas that would help accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility in the country.
The winning startup would be awarded a grant of $120,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore), and the top 3 entries would be awarded mentorship sessions with the tech leadership of Uber in India in order to help them sharpen their skills and competencies.
As the leading ridesharing company, Uber is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 and has been continuously working to reduce tailpipe emissions.
With the aim to promote an ecosystem where startups are incentivised to work on emergence of sustainable solutions, Uber Sustainovate will provide a platform for visionary startups that are eager to turn their ambition to action.
Commenting on the startup challenge, Manikandan Thangarathnam, Senior Director of Engineering, and Site Lead for Bangalore, Uber said :
“We have always believed that the energy transition in the mobility sector can only succeed if industry and technology work together. Startups can be the source of new and pathbreaking solutions given the tech talent density that exists in India. Uber Sustainovate is our way to ignite these possibilities as we work together towards building sustainable mobility solutions for India and from India.”
Participating startups would have the option to choose from one of the following four tracks to focus their ideas on:
- Smart infrastructure and charging solutions
- Easy discovery of charging infra – better interoperability
- Making the economics more viable for drivers/commercial fleet owners
- Improving asset utilisation
The startup challenge is open for entries up to 18th October 2023. Registration will be followed by multiple rounds of shortlisting, based on overarching ideas, proof of concept, working prototypes, and overall alignment with Uber’s sustainability mission and values.
The winner will be announced in January 2024, after a final jury round.
Startups passionate about driving change in the mobility sector are encouraged to register online through this link.
Detailed guidelines and submission requirements will be provided to facilitate seamless participation.
About Uber
Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 10 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
About Startup India
Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
Launched on 16th January, 2016, the Startup India Initiative has rolled out several programs with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs, building a robust startup ecosystem and transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers.
These programs are managed by a dedicated Startup India Team, which reports to the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
Currently, there are 99,000+ startups registered with DPIIT as a part of our initiative.
About NASSCOM
nasscom is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India And Comprises over 3000-member companies.
Its membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from startups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Capability Centers to Engineering firms.
Guided by India’s vision to become a leading digital economy globally, nasscom focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation of the industry to emerge as the preferred enabler for global digital transformation.
Its strategic imperatives are to reskill and upskill India’s IT workforce to ensure that talent is future-ready in terms of new-age skills, strengthen the innovation quotient across industry verticals, create new market opportunities – both international and domestic, drive policy advocacy to advance innovation and ease of doing business, and build the industry narrative with focus on Talent, Trust, and Innovation.
And, in everything it does, nasscom will continue to champion the need for diversity and equal opportunity.
