Honeywell partners with IISc's SID to fund deep science startups with social impact

According to a media statement issued by Honeywell, its partnership with SID has opened up opportunities to support startup ventures working on science and technology projects not related to the company’s core areas of work but intended to address large, societal problems.

Honeywell’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribution would target needs relating to COVID-19, including building a new class of eco-friendly specialty fluorescent dyes and a rapid point-of-care diagnostics test for use in low resource settings, the statement read.

Talking about the tie-up, Honeywell India's President, Akshay Bellare, said, " As a responsible corporate citizen, we see this partnership as a path to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, driving innovation to solve societal challenges, and opening up pathways for job creation and economic stimulation.”

The Chief Executive of IISc's SID, B. Gurumoorthy, said, " At SID we are well-positioned to nurture and grow startups by providing access to the right technology, lab infrastructure, seed funding, mentoring, and human capital."

"We are hopeful that this collaboration with Honeywell, which is a leading technology company, will encourage more corporates to support technology incubation through CSR funding,” Gurumoorthy added.

Honeywell stated that its funds had been deployed to support six private limited startup companies, including Azooka Labs, Siamaf Healthcare, Protein Design, Mimyk Medical Simulations, HealthSeq Precision Medicine and PathShodh Healthcare, to begin with.

Three of these six startups, which are getting support from Honeywell, are led by women entrepreneurs, the statement said.

Honeywell and SID are currently evaluating a new crop of startups to support, with a vision to help create technologies that solve some of the world’s toughest challenges, the American conglomerate mentioned in the statement.