KOCHI: Maker Village, the largest hardware incubator in the country with Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) facility, will organise the second edition of Hardtech, an exclusive Hardware Startup Conclave in Kochi on April 5 and 6. Technology leaders, entrepreneurs, business leaders, senior government officers and representatives of early-stage venture capital firms will participate in the two-day conclave scheduled to be held at the scaled-up facility at Maker Village in KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, Kalamassery.
The conclave will have focused parallel sessions on creating a vibrant hardware startup ecosystem. Union Defence Production Secretary Ajayakumar, Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Joint Secretary S Gopalakrishnan, Director A K Garg, Ministry of Communications Deputy Director General Kishore Babu YGSC, Belgium Consul General Mark Van de Vreken, Bosch Engineering Vice President Jacob Peter, Brinc Chief Development Officer Yasin Aboudaoud, Texas Instruments India Managing Director Santhosh Kumar, academicians, representatives from Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm, Bosch, Intel, Google and others will participate in the conclave.
Live product showcase by matured hardware startups from across the country who have products anchoring cutting edge technologies will be the highlight of the conclave. The event will coincide with the setting up of advanced prototyping and productisation facilities, commencement of Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Engineering Design and Simulation and the initiation of the operation of International Hardware Accelerator at the Maker Village, said CEO Prasad Balakrishnan Nair.
Many top managers from global technology firms and the leaders who scripted some of the fascinating entrepreneurial stories of the country have agreed to attend. The event would provide a single platform for all the key stakeholders to assess, interact and envision the accelerated growth of the hardware startup ecosystem of the country, he said.