CIE at IIIT Hyderabad & Arka Media Works Launches MediaTech Startup Accelerator

- Discover and accelerate startups in Virtual Production, Web 3.0 (Blockchain, Metaverse) & Journalism segments

- Focus on DeepTech startups leveraging AI, CV & NLP led solutions

- Will be run jointly with Arka Media Works, with Shobu Yarlagadda as Chief Mentor

- INR 40 lakhs seed fund, strategy mentoring, media market access and research support to startups

HYDERABAD, India, Feb. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After running multiple successful accelerator programs in the DeepTech and MedTech spaces and supporting over 380+ startups, The Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT Hyderabad along with Arka Media Works, the new age production house which produced movies like Bahubali have launched the Media-Tech Accelerator.

The accelerator programs are designed to discover, nurture and scale start-ups developing innovative solutions and AI applications in areas of Virtual Production, Web 3.0 (Blockchain, Metaverse), Media and Journalism.

"Movie production in India now leverages many of the latest technologies available globally. This accelerator will support Indian innovators and startups in creating new technology-driven solutions for the media and entertainment sector. The possibilities are immense. I'm looking forward to this exciting program," said Shobu Yarlagadda, Co-Founder & CEO at Arka Media Works.

The programs help startups to leverage cutting-edge research work at IIITH, provides domain mentoring, market access, seed fund and customer connections to help startups achieve their respective goals in the program timespan. Cohorts will be led by key mentors including Prof. Ramesh Loganathan (Professor & Head of CIE at IIIT Hyderabad) and Mr. Shobu Yarlagadda (Co-Founder & CEO of Arka Media Works) as Chief Mentors. This initiative is also supported by the DST, Government of India.

New media is a convergence of digital production, including AI-powered journalism, with emerging virtual worlds, such as the metaverse. AI-powered automatic editing, automatic dubbing, Lip Sync for movies, Computational Cinematography, Decentralized web, NFTs and News Analytics, Immersive and Interactive Mediums for Storytelling, and much more. It's no wonder that these businesses are seeing an increase in opportunities to grow, whether by entering new markets or expanding in existing ones.

"In recent years, research in AI and other emerging technologies have made great strides making many challenging MediaTech solutions possible. Using computer vision AI for editing, using language technologies for evaluating scripts, using speech technologies for realistic dubbing, blockchain powering metaverse solutions and more."

"Several research areas of AI and emerging technologies have made great progress. Enabling these from India is the focus of this accelerator," says Ramesh Loganathan, Professor, Head of CIE at IIIT Hyderabad

About CIE IIIT Hyderabad:

CIE at  IIIT Hyderabad is a technology incubator which was setup in 2008, which has since grown to be one of the largest academic incubator in the country. The centre has very active programs across the spectrum of a start-up journey. CIE IIITH, with a research-led innovation as its primary mandate, focuses on amplifying technology and IP by creating research collaboration and co-creation models for start-ups to work with research groups at IIITH. With over 13+ years of rich experience in seeding, nurturing and growing deep-tech start-ups in emerging segments like med tech, tech4social, visual informatics, data engineering, machine learning, language technologies, gaming and robotics, CIE IIITH has housed over 380+ start-ups, that have raised about 200 Cr funding and created over 2000 jobs. CIE IIITH has been an ecosystem enabler fostering communities that create and scale emerging technology solutions, innovations and start-ups.

About Arka Media Works:

A new age production house, Arka Mediaworks is a leading name in motion picture production, television programming and syndication, and digital content distribution. Founded by Shobu Yarlagadda, and Prasad Devineni in 2001, Arka Mediaworks has produced the sensational, blockbuster movie Bahubali and several other movies and television shows across languages and channels. Their clients include some of the nation's largest TV channels, distributors and advertisers. Acknowledging the infinite possibilities, Arka Mediaworks passionately explores uncharted territory when it comes to the vision, scale and potential of a project. Committed to leaving an indelible mark on the Indian Film and Television Industry.

About IIIT Hyderabad: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research with great social impact. Some of its research domains include Visual Information Technologies, Human Language Technologies, Data Engineering, VLSI and Embedded Systems, Computer Architecture, Wireless Communications, Algorithms and Information Security, Robotics, Building Science, Earthquake Engineering, Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics, IT in Agriculture and e-Governance.

Website: www.iiit.ac.in

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