Success Stories of BIG Grantees at Venture Center
Every entrepreneur has a unique story & journey & there’s something to learn from everyone! If you’re an entrepreneur interested in applying for BIRAC’s BIG funds, check out these stories where we ask past BIG grantees about their experience, what they managed to do with the funds, how their venture has grown since then, and tips for aspiring applicants.
PadCare Labs
Founders: Ajinkya Dhariya, Aasawari Kane, Shriniwas Adhe
Ajinkya Dhariya founded PadCare Labs to address the environmental and health challenges of soiled sanitary napkin disposal. Utilizing a patented 5D process—Disinfection, Deodorization, Decolorization, Disintegration, and Deactivation—PadCare hygienically recycles napkins into reusable materials like cellulose and plastic. The company's innovative menstrual hygiene management service, supported by strategic partnerships, offers discreet disposal and comprehensive recycling, significantly reducing landfill waste and promoting safety and health of rag pickers.
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Indius Medical
Founders: Aditya Ingalhalikar
Aditya Ingalhalikar founded Indius Medical Solutions to produce affordable, high-quality spinal implants in India. Leveraging his experience in a US start-up, Indius focuses on innovative designs, like pediatric screws with adult load-bearing capacity. The company balances cost and quality, competing with multinational firms. Based in Pune and Dallas, Indius has received US FDA approval and aims to address the $14 billion global spinal implant market, with pediatric implants in advanced R&D stages.
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Dee Dee Labs
Founders: Pratik Bhalerao
DeeDee Labs, co-founded by Pratik Bhalerao, is pioneering a non-invasive, multi-grasp myoelectric prosthetic arm to restore function for amputees. Leveraging grants and tinkering lab resources at Venture Center, they have developed advanced EMG and EEG sensor technology, culminating in the first commercial delivery of their Bionic arm in September 2023. They now serve end users directly and through prosthetists, hospitals, and trauma centers.
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Serigen Mediproducts
Founders: Anuya Nisal, Swati Shukla, Premnath V
Serigen, driven by research at CSIR-NCL, pioneers silk-based biomedical solutions. Utilizing silk's versatile properties, Serigen addresses orthopedic and wound care challenges with innovative, effective, and biocompatible products, backed by international patents and successful animal studies. Their portfolio includes scaffolds for bone regeneration, Seriderm for wound care, and Serimat for soft tissue regeneration.
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Actorius Innovations
Founders: Jayant Khandare, Aravindan Vasudevan
Actorius has developed OncoDiscover, a diagnostic kit that not only identifies circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with high accuracy but also determines their origin organ. While tests for CTC detection are available globally, they are prohibitively expensive, often costing around $2,600. Actorius’ Oncodiscover is priced at ₹15,000 (about $190), making advanced diagnostics accessible to a broader segment of the Indian population. Actorius is India’s first and the world’s second company to get a license for making the kit for the diagnosis.
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Jeevtronics
Founders: Aniruddha Atre, Ashish Gawade
Ashish Gawade and Aniruddha Atre founded Jeevtronics to create the world’s first hand-cranked defibrillators, inspired by C.K. Prahlad's vision for bottom-of-the-pyramid innovations. Their defibrillator, the first-of-its-kind in the world, generates 2000 V in 10 seconds using a hand crank, and is particularly helpful in saving patients of sudden cardiac arrests in areas with unreliable electricity. Launched in 2019, Jeevtronics’ device has been enhancing emergency care accessibility in tier 2 to tier 4 towns.
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