The race began with two favourites—Qure.ai, a healthcare startup which uses artificial intelligence to interpret radiology images, and Log 9 Materials, a company that is developing battery and fuel cell technologies.
The jury deliberated on their respective technologies, potential for disruption and economic value add.
Finally, it was Log 9 Materials’ turn to shine, even though the jury pointed out that Qure.ai had an edge in terms of commercialisation and its global footprint.
“This is a very special moment for me as we’ve won in the innovation category and that’s what we really stand for. The idea at Log 9 is we’re building technologies from the ground up for what the Indian population or the market requires. Getting this award in the innovation category strengthens our confidence and thought process at Log 9,” said cofounder and CEO Akshay Singhal.
Log 9 Materials started off as a material sciences company with expertise in manufacturing graphene and carbon nanomaterials but pivoted to productise its own research and zeroed in on developing lithium-ion battery and aluminium fuel-cell technologies.
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“What Log 9 Materials is doing, if it works at scale, has the potential to likely transform the energy and automobile sectors. This company is at the leading edge of a potentially disruptive technology, and that’s the reason they’re the winners of the Top Innovator category,” said GV Ravishankar, managing director of Sequoia Capital India and one of the jury members.
Ravishankar recused himself from participating in the voting process as Sequoia’s Surge accelerator programme is an investor in Log 9 Materials, while Sequoia Capital is also an investor in Qure.ai.
Log 9 has successfully demonstrated its technology to fast-charge electric vehicles—
cutting the time taken to charge EVs to just 15 minutes—in pilots with leading e-commerce and logistics majors such as Amazon, Shadowfax, Porter and Flipkart.
It is now working to commercialise its quick-charge lithium-ion battery technology along with two- and three-wheeler manufacturers such as Omega Seiki in India.
In August,
Amara Raja Batteries picked up a 11.36% stake in the startup for Rs 37 crore, potentially securing a deal to become Log 9’s primary manufacturing partner.
Log 9 is also developing aluminium fuel cell technology to enable long-range electric mobility using hydrogen as a fuel but says this will become commercially viable only in the next 2-3 years.
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Other Contenders
Qure.ai | Prashant Warier & Pooja Rao
ET TechQure.ai uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse images like X-rays and CT scans to detect diseases like lung cancer, tuberculosis and Covid-19 early. It is expanding its portfolio to go deeper into areas like lung and neuroimaging. The company recently launched a brain MRI product.
EPNS (Ethereum Push Notification Service) | Harsh Rajat & Richa Joshi
ET TechEPNS is building a notification layer for Web 3.0. It sends a DeFi (decentralised finance) notification protocol (smart contract), which any dApps or services can use to send notifications to the wallet addresses of Ethereum. Users also earn from receiving the notifications.
Skyroot Aerospace | Pawan Kumar Chandana & Naga Bharath Daka
ET TechSkyroot Aerospace is a space-tech startup that is looking to build small and affordable satellite launch vehicles. Last year, it became
the first private Indian firm to test-fire a solid propulsion rocket engine. It is planning to launch its first satellite into orbit in the third quarter of 2022.
Steradian Semiconductors |
Gireesh Rajendran, Ashish Lachhwani, Rakesh Kumar, Alok Joshi & Apu Sivadas
ET TechA fabless semiconductor company that has developed 4D imaging radar sensors for use in autonomous vehicles, among other use cases. Founded by former Texas Instruments and Qualcomm executives, the company is expecting to deploy its sensors in production vehicles within two years. Its customers include OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and robo-taxi providers.
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