ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) is the venture capital unit of ABB Group. ATV partners with breakthrough technology companies aligned with ABB’s goal to write the future of industrial digitalization and has invested nearly $200 million globally into start-ups spanning a range of sectors including robotics, drones, industrial IoT, AI/machine learning, cybersecurity and distributed energy.

A few ways for startups to engage with ABB are:

• Business led start-up collaboration facilitated by ATV
• ABB’s Synerleap accelerator programs
• Pitchfests, Hackathons and tech challenges

The Synerleap accelerator was created by ABB in Sweden, and is now being extended to other ABB centers around the world. Startups selected to this program have access to ABB mentors, labs and equipment through our Corporate Research organizations in various locations. ABB recently opened an AI Accelerator based in Berlin.

Discovering potential startups in India through active engagement:

ATV organized ABB’s first Startup Pitch-fest in India at ABB’s Ability Innovation Center in Bangalore to expose ABB business units to interesting startups and technology. Innovative ideas presented by startups at the event ranged from technologies that enable real-time meetings in 3D to professional drones that collect next level big data. The eight dynamic entrepreneurs were invited to the event had seven minutes to pitch their ideas to a group of ABB experts. The ideas were evaluated on criteria including novelty, originality and feasibility.

While a competitive event, the Pitch-fest was also about encouraging the spirit of innovation, collaboration and partnership, and developing relationships.

ATV is currently coordinating five different start-ups which are collaborating with ABB business units in India. They are in areas including AR/VR, Machine Learning, IoT, Data Analytics, and 3D printing technology areas.

They also include names like Climate Connect, a well- known start-up specializing in the energy management through AI and analytics software. Such partnerships, help the start-ups will have access to ABB’s domain experts, Industry experience, products & systems, as well as real customer pilots. ABB adds value to our customers through new business models and technologies that the startup brings to the table.

ABB Technology Ventures investments in India:  Stellapps and improving India’s dairy production.

Start-ups are leading the way in transforming new sectors of the industry by building automated tools that leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced analytics. One of them is Stellapps Technologies, whose solution tracks milk quality in the dairy supply chain, thereby improving milk production. The Bengaluru-based company’s offering is being used by more than 750,000 small farmers daily, in India’s rural areas. It has recently raised funding from ABB Technology Ventures.

IoT offerings in the dairy sector cover the entire value chain from milk production to payments. Farmers can track a cow’s health and yield through a wearable sensor—something akin to a Fitbit for cows—and measure important parameters such as milk quantity and yield. Using this data, farmers will receive immediate feedback, which they can then compare with their peers to improve productivity and boost incomes.

Today, India’s $120 billion dairy market, of which the organized sector accounts for $70 billion, is bigger than that of the European Union and the US.  Unlike the West, milk producers in India remain largely unorganized, which results in inconsistent quality and composition of milk. They lack granular, actionable data to improve their operations. In the world’s largest market for milk, dairy farmers—who own just two cows on an average—have struggled to improve their productivity.

To make this possible, Stellapps has entered into a strategic collaboration with ABB, the world’s leading robotics and Automation Company, through an equity investment. Stellapps will have access to ABB’s pioneering technologies, including ABB Ability-powered operations management, which will help it scale faster during this phase of accelerating growth. Implementing this technology at scale has the potential to bring about a second white revolution in India, and empower small farmers and consumers with data that was never available before.

ABB’s advanced automation has for example ensured uninterrupted processing of more than a billion liters of milk at Amul, the world’s largest dairy cooperative.