3D PRINTING CLUB SASTRA

What 3D PRINTING CLUB SASTRA does

3D Printing Club SASTRA, operating under the formal names SASTRA TBI and FIRST (Foundation for Innovation & Research at SASTRA Technology Business Incubator), is a non-profit university-affiliated technology business incubator established on March 28, 2018 at SASTRA Deemed University in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It was created in partnership with India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) and NITI Aayog to convert early-stage technology ideas into investable startups across five declared thrust areas: 3D Printing, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), Robotics, and Drones. The incubator serves early-stage founders — typically students, researchers, and first-time entrepreneurs — by providing subsidized infrastructure, mentorship, and access to government seed funding.

The core physical infrastructure is the differentiating asset: the organization claims the largest 3D printing cluster in an Indian academic institution, with 32+ machines spanning FDM (Stratasys F370, Makerbot, Ultimaker), SLA/Resin (Formlabs Form 2, Stratasys Objet260 Connex3, Envisiontec Vida), and metal additive (Aurora Labs S-Titanium Pro). Adjacent facilities include IoT labs with Libelium, Raspberry Pi, and Arduino kits, a VR development room with HTC Vive and Oculus hardware, and a drone/UAV training facility operated in partnership with Aerostat. The incubator supports approximately 60+ current incubatees through co-working space, lab access, and mentorship from 13+ industry veterans drawn from Tata, TCS, IBM, WIPRO, PayPal India, City Union Bank, and TVS Sons, each with 20–30+ years of experience. It also runs dedicated training programs including a UAV Pilot Training program and a SASTRA STEM CSR program that targets K-12 schools.

The business model is non-commercial and grant-funded. The incubator does not charge incubatees for core services; instead, capital flows from DST and NITI Aayog as anchor government grants, supplemented by routed funding through NIDHI-PRAYAS (up to Rs 10 lakh for prototyping), NIDHI-EIR (Rs 10,000–30,000 monthly stipend for entrepreneurs-in-residence), SISFS, BIRAC, and the EDII Tamil Nadu Innovation Voucher Programme. Pricing is therefore not a market mechanism — allocation is competitive and merit-based against government scheme criteria. Distribution is direct and campus-anchored in Thanjavur, supplemented by an online unified application platform (unifiedplatform.sastratbi.in) and a YouTube channel used for webinar-based outreach. Performance is measured by funded startups, awards won, patents filed, and jobs created rather than top-line revenue.

Name

3D PRINTING CLUB SASTRA

Legal name

FIRST - Foundation for Innovation & Research at SASTRA Technology Business Incubator

Website

https://sastratbi.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SASTRA TBI (FIRST) is a non-profit technology business incubator at SASTRA Deemed University in Thanjavur, India, providing infrastructure, mentorship, and government-backed funding to 60+ early-stage startups in 3D Printing, IoT, VR, Robotics, and Drones since 2018.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Thanjavur

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Grant Funding: SASTRA TBI operates primarily as a government-funded technology business incubator supported by DST (Department of Science and Technology) and NITI Aayog. The incubator does not generate commercial revenue but distributes government grants to startups through programs like NIDHI-PRAYAS (up to Rs 10 lakhs for prototype development) and NIDHI-EIR (Rs 10,000-30,000 monthly stipend for entrepreneurs-in-residence).
2. Incubation Services: Provides co-working space, laboratory infrastructure, mentorship, and business development support to incubatees at no direct cost. Revenue is indirect through job creation, successful startup exits, and economic impact metrics that justify continued government funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SASTRA TBI is a non-profit university technology business incubator that provides co-working space, specialized laboratory infrastructure (3D Printing, IoT, VR, Robotics, Drones), mentorship, and facilitation of government grant funding (NIDHI-PRAYAS, NIDHI-EIR, SISFS, BIRAC, EDII TN IVP) to incubating startups. It runs three incubation tracks—Student, Faculty, and Technopreneur—targeting early-stage technology ventures, and supports them with infrastructure access, industry mentorship, business development assistance, and connections to investors and government ecosystem partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student Incubation Program Incubation track for undergraduate and postgraduate students from SASTRA University and partner institutions providing co-working space, lab access (3D Printing, IoT, VR, Robotics, Drones), mentorship, and eligibility pathways to government funding programs. Designed for students seeking to convert academic projects into viable startups.
• Faculty Incubation Program Incubation track for academic faculty members seeking to commercialize research innovations or lead technology ventures. Provides infrastructure access, mentorship, IP and business support, and connection to government funding programs.
• Technopreneur Incubation Program Incubation track for experienced technology professionals and industry experts building deep-technology startups in 3D Printing, IoT, VR, Robotics, and Drones. Provides specialized lab access, mentorship, and ecosystem connections.
• NIDHI-PRAYAS Grant Program Government grant program (Department of Science and Technology) administered through SASTRA TBI providing up to Rs 10 lakhs for individual innovators or startups to convert ideas into prototypes. Maximum project duration of 18 months, with final amount subject to approval by the Monitoring Committee. Available to incubatees of approved TBI.
• NIDHI-EIR Stipend Program Government program providing monthly stipend of Rs 10,000–30,000 for 12 months to aspiring entrepreneurs pursuing technology business ideas. Discontinued if recipient raises external funding. Designed as subsistence support during the entrepreneur-in-residence phase.
• SISFS Seed Fund Scheme Seed funding scheme under Startup India (DPIIT) facilitated through SASTRA TBI for DPIIT-recognized startups, providing early-stage capital to support proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization.
• Industry Mentorship Network Network of 13+ mentors with 20–30+ years of industry experience across IT, finance, HR, IP, and marketing domains, providing one-to-one guidance to incubatees in areas including business model development, fundraising strategy, regulatory compliance, and domain-specific expertise. Mentors include executives from Tata, IBM, WIPRO, TCS, MyCFO, and academic institutions.
• SASTRA STEM CSR Program K-12 STEM education outreach program providing comprehensive kits and training to government and private schools across Tamil Nadu. Builds long-term brand awareness and founder pipeline by introducing students to 3D Printing, robotics, and related technologies.
• Technology Training Workshops Hands-on technology training workshops covering 3D Printing (designing, slicing, basics), UAV/drone pilot training (Aerostat-certified, 5-day program covering simulation and quadcopter building), Blockchain (cryptography, blocks, transactions), SOLIDWORKS 3D modeling (with CSWA certification exam preparation), and Google Cloud Study Jams (Associate Cloud Engineer Certification at Coursera). Designed for engineering students and prospective incubatees.

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Startup IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortal providing SISFS (Startup India Seed Fund Scheme) application platform. SASTRA TBI is an approved incubator for disbursing seed funds to DPIIT-recognized startups.
• TCS (Tata Consultancy Services)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior VP Mr. Regu Ayyasamy serves on SASTRA TBI Governing Body, providing industry perspective and potential corporate partnership pathways.
• PayPal IndiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Director Dr. V. Chandramouliswaran on Governing Body, contributing payment and fintech ecosystem expertise.
• TVS SonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO & MD Mr. G. Srinivasa Raghavan on Governing Body, providing manufacturing and automotive industry connections.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SastraTbi
• Facebookfacebook.com/sastratbi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3d-printing-club-sastra
• Instagraminstagram.com/sastratbi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3D PRINTING CLUB SASTRA