AIC RAISE Business Incubator
AIC RAISE Business Incubator is India's first UN SDG-focused startup incubator, based in Coimbatore at Rathinam Techzone. Backed by AIM/NITI Aayog and established by Rathinam Group of Institutions, it delivers multi-stage incubation, fellowships, and fab lab access to impact-driven founders, student entrepreneurs, and sustainability startups across Tamil Nadu.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersCoimbatore, India
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What AIC RAISE Business Incubator does
AIC RAISE Business Incubator is a non-profit startup incubation center headquartered at Rathinam Techzone in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, positioning itself as India's first United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-focused startup incubator. It was established by Rathinam Group of Institutions and operates under the backing of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the Government of India. The entity serves impact-driven founders, for-profit mission-driven companies, NGOs building technology for social and environmental problems, and student entrepreneurs through a layered program architecture: the Pre-Incubation Program (Sparkup, Startup Ignite 2.0), the core RAISE Incubation Program, the Think RAISE experiential learning track, the IEDC i-Hub academic channel, MBA-IEV, the Raiseup Fellowship, the WISE initiative for women entrepreneurs, and the Sustainovation Challenge. Specialized cohorts include Elderly Care, Impactor, and Sustainability tracks.
Its underlying offering is multi-tiered rather than a single product. Idea-stage work is processed through the Idea Vault, Boss Table, and Home Run Pitch platforms. Full-stack incubation delivers mentorship, co-working space, Fab Lab fabrication facilities, IP support, and a Startup Kit. The incubator activates pipeline through marquee events — AI Day, Coimbatore InnoWeek, TN Startup Growth Conclave, Bharat Pitchathon, and Techstars Startup Weekend — and channels credit-based tooling partnerships with Zoho, Freshworks, HubSpot, Digital Ocean, Airtable, Kaleyra, MSG91, PayU, and CleverTap to portfolio companies at no or subsidized cost. No proprietary AI, software stack, or IP filings were disclosed; the technology footprint is operational tooling for program delivery rather than productized IP.
Revenue mechanics are grant-mediated, not commercial. The organization funds operations through government grants from AIM/NITI Aayog and Tamil Nadu state bodies (TANSEED, SustainTN), deploys seed capital into portfolio companies (e.g., ₹25 Lakh in E-Sandhai in FY 2022-23), and facilitates debt capital from institutional partners (e.g., ₹2 Crore HDFC facility to E-Sandhai in March 2024). Pricing to portfolio startups is not publicly disclosed; services are effectively free or subsidized. Portfolio outcomes through FY 2023-24 include E-Sandhai's ₹10 Crore revenue (6x increase from ₹1.6 Crore the prior year), 100+ staff headcount at E-Sandhai, and multiple TANSEED grant wins (Shopiqo ₹15 Lakh, Grow Your Farms ₹15 Lakh, Stylique AI ₹10 Lakh, IppoPay ₹10 Lakh, Buyofuel ₹10 Lakh), with international acceleration via Canada's Energia Ventures for Solavio Labs.
AIC RAISE Business Incubator firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AIC RAISE Business Incubator
- Legal name
- AIC RAISE Business Incubator
- Website
- https://aicraise.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- AIC RAISE Business Incubator is India's first UN SDG-focused startup incubator, based in Coimbatore at Rathinam Techzone. Backed by AIM/NITI Aayog and established by Rathinam Group of Institutions, it delivers multi-stage incubation, fellowships, and fab lab access to impact-driven founders, student entrepreneurs, and sustainability startups across Tamil Nadu.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AIC RAISE Business Incubator industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Incubation Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Entrepreneurship, Business & Innovation Camps (EDAMALAL)
Keywords
Where AIC RAISE Business Incubator is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Coimbatore
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
AIC RAISE Business Incubator business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Incubation Program Services: AIC RAISE operates as a non-profit innovation center primarily funded by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and the Government of India. Revenue is generated through government grants, seed fund deployments, and potentially nominal program fees for some services.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
AIC RAISE Business Incubator product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AIC RAISE provides structured startup incubation services including pre-incubation and full incubation programs, cohort-based support for sustainability, elderly care and impact-focused ventures, mentorship, co-working space, Fab Lab access, IP support, seed funding facilitation, and connections to investors and government grants. The incubator also runs student entrepreneurship programs through its IEDC Centre, MBA-IEV entrepreneurship education, women's entrepreneur (WISE) initiative, fellowship programs, and a portfolio of ecosystem events for impact-driven founders building technology solutions aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Product overview
AIC RAISE Business Incubator is India’s first UN SDG Startup Incubator, backed by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Government of India. Based in Coimbatore at Rathinam Techzone, it operates as a multi-tiered incubation ecosystem rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include the Pre-Incubation Program (with Sparkup and Startup Ignite 2.0), the main RAISE Incubation Program, and the Think RAISE student program. The IEDC Centre provides a three-stage innovation pipeline through Idea Vault, Boss Table, and Home Run Pitch platforms. Additional programs include Raise ED/MBA-IEV for entrepreneurship education, WISE for women entrepreneurs, Sustainovation Challenge, and Raiseup Fellowship. Support services encompass co-working space, Fab Lab, IP Support, and Startup Kit. The organization also runs a portfolio of events including AI Day, Bharat Pitchathon, and TN Startup Growth Conclave. The ecosystem targets sustainable and social impact startups while nurturing student innovation through bootcamps and maker programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- RAISE Incubation Program
Companies that use AIC RAISE Business Incubator
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AIC RAISE Business Incubator technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AIC RAISE Business Incubator partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ZohocoreZoho partnership provides AIC RAISE startups with free Zoho One credits for one year, offering access to Zoho's suite of business applications including CRM, productivity tools, and enterprise software.
- FreshworkscoreFreshworks partnership offers $4,000 credits across Freshworks suite including Freshsales, Freshdesk, Freshchat, Freshcaller, and other products with white-glove onboarding for AIC RAISE startups.
- Digital OceancoreThrough Hatch program, AIC RAISE startups receive $1,000 worth of Digital Ocean cloud credits for 12 months, plus technical training, mentorship, and access to Hatch community.
- HubSpotcoreHubSpot for Startups program offers up to 90% off software in first year for startups with under $2M funding, providing marketing, sales, and customer service tools.
- Startup ChaupalcoreStartup Chaupal partnership supports the startup ecosystem through networking, mentorship, and growth programs for AIC RAISE incubated companies.
- Fab FoundationcoreFab Foundation partnership provides access to fabrication lab facilities and global Fab Lab network for prototyping and manufacturing support.
- Headstart Network FoundationcoreStrategic partnership for events including Bharat Pitchathon and TANSEED programs. Jointly organizes startup challenges and pitch competitions.
- StartupTNcoreGovernment partner for Tamil Nadu startup ecosystem development. Co-sponsors TANSEED funding program and SustainTN climate initiative.
- Atal Innovation Mission / NITI AayogcorePrimary government backer providing Atal Incubation Centre status, funding support, and national ecosystem connections for UN SDG-focused incubation.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AIC RAISE Business Incubator competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Villgro: Villgro is one of India's oldest social enterprise incubators backing impact startups in healthcare, agriculture, and cleantech — directly comparable as a non-profit, SDG-aligned, founder-supporting incubator with similar portfolio verticals.
- T-Hub: T-Hub is India's largest startup incubator/accelerator based in Hyderabad, offering cohort-based incubation, corporate partnerships, and government ecosystem support — directly comparable to AIC RAISE in mission, structure, and target founder profile.
- IIT Madras Incubation Cell: IIT Madras Incubation Cell is one of India's most prolific university-anchored incubators supporting deep-tech and impact startups with seed funding and lab access — comparable in academic anchoring and the breadth of programs run.
- NSRCEL (IIM Bangalore): NSRCEL is the entrepreneurship and incubation centre at IIM Bangalore, supporting early-stage and social ventures with mentorship and seed support — directly comparable as an academic-anchored, impact-aware Indian incubator.
- CIIE.CO (IIM Ahmedabad): CIIE.CO at IIM Ahmedabad is an early-stage innovation and impact incubator providing seed capital and acceleration to startups — directly comparable in impact orientation, academic anchoring, and seed-stage focus.
- Social Alpha: Social Alpha is an impact-focused venture incubator supporting science and technology-driven startups addressing SDGs — directly comparable in UN SDG focus, mission-driven curation, and seed-stage incubation model.
Broad incumbents
- Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the global benchmark for startup accelerators offering seed funding, mentorship, and demo days — comparable as a structural peer in cohort-based accelerator design, though operating at vastly larger scale and with global reach.
- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): AIM is the parent government program under NITI Aayog that establishes and funds Atal Incubation Centres including AIC RAISE — comparable as the broader ecosystem within which AIC RAISE operates, providing the policy and funding framework.
Regional players
- TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Chennai/Coimbatore: TiE is a global not-for-profit fostering entrepreneurship through mentorship and networks with an active Coimbatore chapter — comparable as a regional ecosystem builder in the same geography providing mentor networks and founder support.
- StartupTN: StartupTN is the Tamil Nadu state government's startup ecosystem body co-sponsoring TANSEED and SustainTN with AIC RAISE — comparable as a regional state-level incubation and funding counterpart in the same Tamil Nadu geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
AIC RAISE Business Incubator social profiles
Digital presenceAIC RAISE Business Incubator financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AIC RAISE Business Incubator leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
AIC RAISE Business Incubator funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AIC RAISE Business Incubator M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AIC RAISE Business Incubator
What does AIC RAISE Business Incubator do?
AIC RAISE provides structured startup incubation services including pre-incubation and full incubation programs, cohort-based support for sustainability, elderly care and impact-focused ventures, mentorship, co-working space, Fab Lab access, IP support, seed funding facilitation, and connections to investors and government grants. The incubator also runs student entrepreneurship programs through its IEDC Centre, MBA-IEV entrepreneurship education, women's entrepreneur (WISE) initiative, fellowship programs, and a portfolio of ecosystem events for impact-driven founders building technology solutions aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Is AIC RAISE Business Incubator a public or private company?
AIC RAISE Business Incubator is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was AIC RAISE Business Incubator founded?
AIC RAISE Business Incubator was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AIC RAISE Business Incubator based?
AIC RAISE Business Incubator is headquartered in Coimbatore, India, in the Asia region.
How does AIC RAISE Business Incubator make money?
One revenue line is on record: incubation Program Services.
Who are AIC RAISE Business Incubator's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Villgro, T-Hub, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, NSRCEL (IIM Bangalore), CIIE.CO (IIM Ahmedabad) and Social Alpha. Broad incumbents are Y Combinator and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). Regional players are TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Chennai/Coimbatore and StartupTN.
Does AIC RAISE Business Incubator have an API?
No public API is recorded for AIC RAISE Business Incubator.
What industry is AIC RAISE Business Incubator in?
AIC RAISE Business Incubator's product category is Business Incubation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated), with a secondary code of EDAMAHAC, Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators. Its NAICS code is 81321.