NetApp, a global technology enterprise has announced the launch of its fifth cohort of startups as part of Excellerator, the company’s flagship accelerator programme.

The startups were selected based on how their products and solutions could be aligned with NetApp’s business to deliver powerful solutions to customers. The Excellerator programme has mentored 24 startups through its previous four cohorts and is set to accelerate a new batch of data-driven enterprises.

The five startups that have made it to the fifth cohort are CloudSEK, Senseforth.ai, Lightwing, Coralogix and Curl Analytics. In line with NetApp’s expertise, the core technology for all these startups is data, the company said in a statement.

According to NetApp, data is the fuel for Artificial Intelligence (AI), which these startups are employing in fintech, cybersecurity, conversational AI, digital risk management and machine learning-powered log analytics and IoT solutions for industrial automation. NetApp Excellerator’s diverse offerings will help the five startups build a strong technology foundation for their business.

During the four-month programme, each of the selected five startups will receive technical and business mentorship and support to develop market-ready products and solutions, access to NetApp’s technologies, a coworking space, HR, legal and tech support.

Additionally, these startups will be given a networking opportunity with potential investors, partners, and customers. NetApp will also sponsor a proof-of-concept (POC) or offer an equity-free grant of $15,000 to the graduating startups.

Commenting on the impact of the programme, Madhurima Agarwal, Leader, NetApp Excellerator, said, “Our startup accelerator program is attracting new-age disruptive companies from around the world, and that is a proof of the value we have added to our alumni, enabling them to create tangible commercial success with respect to funding, customer acquisitions and successful exits.”

“At present, we are at an inflection point in this accelerator journey, where we will focus on paid proofs-of-concept with select startups, giving them avenues to evaluate themselves and demonstrate the business and technology viability of their product or solution. This will lead to stronger go-to-market opportunities for them,” she added.

Coralogix, an Israel-based startup is also part of this year's accelerator programme, that emphasises Excellerator's global reach and position. The startup brings with it experiences of the thriving start-up community of Israel.

NetApp has formed strategic partnerships with eight select startups from previous cohorts, which include FirstHive, Cardiotrack, ZScore, Scalend, BlobCity, SigTuple, Nanobi and SecurelyShare, to co-develop solutions and go-to-market opportunities.

The current cohort will witness the launch of an evolved model where select startups will build paid POCs with NetApp, which gives the startups a platform to prove the potential of their solutions in the real world.

Deepak Visweswaraiah, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, NetApp India, said,

“Newer problems emerging in the market that requires the ability and agility of solutions. It is exciting to jointly embark on a quest with a diverse set of data-driven startups with unconventional ideas to drive business results for customers."

(Edited by Suman Singh)