UC Berkeley launches a medtech accelerator in Bangalore

The University of California, Berkeley has partnered with startup incubator IKP Eden to launch an accelerator for medtech startups in Bangalore. The program will select 15 seed-funded startups for each batch that are looking to scale their products and raise series A funding, as first reported by ET.

The accelerator is identifying startups that can solve medical problems in rural India and also have the potential to be a global product. Between January and February 2018, the medtech accelerator will fly down the top four to five startups to the university's campus and arrange meetings with Silicon Valley investors for a demo day that would be followed with series A funding round.

Manav Subodh, a senior fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and the head of the newly-launched medtech accelerator, said, “We have narrowed down on startups across a wide range of applications from a player that has created a wearable device for monitoring high-risk pregnancy to a chip medical device for early detection of cancer. I am unable to disclose the finalized startup names due to NDA clauses at the moment.”

The 18-week long accelerator program has already finalized 11 startups out of 250 participants.