Rohan Mathawan
The first centre of excellence for gaming in India has opened in Hyderabad. The work of the IMAGE centre will focus on gaming as well as VFX, Computer Vision and AI. The centre will also serve as an incubator for industry startups.
This is good news for game developers in India and the millions of gamers who enjoy gaming on a daily basis. Enthusiasts have an appetite for software, apps and gaming sites where they can find the latest multiplayer experiences and search for casino bonus content and live gaming features. Startups can help them to satisfy this appetite by making use of the facilities at IMAGE. The centre, and its partners TVAGA (Telangana VFX, Animation and Gaming Association), Hyderabad Angels, HYSEA, TiE Hyderabad and IIIT- Hyderabad, aim to mentor and support innovative startups within the industry and beyond.
How the new centre benefits Indian startups
The new centre will incubate 25-30 start-ups each year, over the next five years. This will involve an investment of 19. 68 Cr. Startups can currently apply to be approved as an incubator project. The closing date for applications is March 31st, 2020.
The selection process will be stringent but acceptance makes the effort worthwhile for startups. If they are accepted, they will receive a seed fund of Rs. 5 lakhs. The fund is released in stages and the release is dependent on the completion of certain milestones.
Aside from the financial benefits that a startup can receive, they also gain access to state of the art facilities, marketing and mentorship.
Ideal tech ecosystem in Hyderabad
It’s no surprise that Hyderabad was chosen as the location of the new centre. The city is a global centre for information technology. The IT sector in the city includes business processing, entertainment and financial services.
This infrastructure has helped Hyderabad to become recognised as a destination for gaming and AI excellence. For this reason, it makes sense to locate the centre for excellence in the city.
Exciting future for the gaming sector
The creation of the IMAGE centre of excellence is an important factor in the exciting future for the gaming sector in India. The centre, and its partners will provide vital funding, marketing, support and advice for startups that will help take the gaming industry forward over the coming years.
Members of the gaming industry in India are happy to see that the IMAGE centre has become operational. It provides the opportunity for the centre and its partners to have a major impact throughout the industry. The value of the partners is especially interesting.
For instance, as well as providing funding, TVAGA will also help to develop relationships between game development startups and game publishers. HYSEA will help in areas such as product definition and strategy. The state government is also providing support for the centre.
It’s not just gaming that will benefit from all of this support either. The research and innovation that will be supported at the centre have potential uses in many different sectors such as medicine and data security. The opening of the centre is certainly an exciting development for the Indian IT sector overall.