AIC RAISE

Choosing the right programme

AIC RAISE runs several tracks side by side, so match your stage to the entry point rather than applying to all of them at once. An idea with little validation fits the Pre-Incubation Program or SparkUp track first; a startup with a working idea and some validation fits the main cohort incubation programme; and a startup that already qualifies under the national Startup India Seed Fund Scheme should apply through that route directly. Students should look at the Student Entrepreneurship Program (college) or the Student Innovator Program (school, ages 10-17) rather than the founder-facing tracks.

How applications work

Each programme has its own apply link on its own page, and a few point to third-party application platforms rather than a form on aicraise.com. Read the specific programme page before applying, since eligibility and sector focus differ between them — for example, the Pre-Incubation Program names deep tech, health, food, green, climate and energy tech as its sector list, while the general cohort programme does not name a fixed sector list.

What they look for

Across programme pages, AIC RAISE repeatedly asks for a clear, specific problem statement, some form of early validation (market research or a proof of concept), and evidence the idea can scale. For programmes with a social or SDG framing, reviewers also weigh potential impact on society or the environment alongside commercial viability. The main incubation programme also states it looks for personal commitment to entrepreneurship and willingness to learn, not just the idea on paper.

Cohorts run close to annually

AIC RAISE's six cohorts since 2019 have each run roughly eight to ten months and recurred close to annually, so if a call looks closed, the next one is usually a matter of timing rather than the programme having ended.

AIC RAISE is an Atal Incubation Centre in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, backed by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog, Government of India. It focuses on mission-driven founders building technology for social and environmental problems, and is reported to be supported by the Rathinam Group of Institutions, on whose Techzone campus in Eachanari it is based.

What they support

AIC RAISE works with founders from idea stage through early revenue. Its programmes name deep tech, health and med tech, food tech, green tech, climate tech and energy tech as sector focuses, and a separate centre inside AIC RAISE works specifically on nanobiotechnology, agri-tech and environmental technology applications. Its published startup list also includes education, mobility, social giving and community platforms, so the sector focus reads broader than the SDG framing alone suggests. Programmes are open to first-time entrepreneurs as well as more experienced founders, and several tracks are aimed specifically at college and school students.

Programmes

The core incubation programme runs as a series of numbered cohorts, each covering mentorship, industry connections, infrastructure support and strategic guidance as founders refine, build, scale and evaluate their venture. Ahead of that sits a nine-week Pre-Incubation Program for founders with an idea that has some early validation (market research or a proof of concept); graduates who complete it can be selected into a further six months of incubation. A separate SparkUp Pre-Incubation Program runs a structured multi-week track covering pitch decks, business models, startup legal basics, market analysis, strategy and funding, aimed at students, recent graduates and working professionals with an early-stage idea.

AIC RAISE also runs funding and fellowship routes tied to national schemes: it disburses seed funding through the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and hosts an Entrepreneur-in-Residence programme under MeitY's GENESIS initiative. For students, there is a Student Entrepreneurship Program for college students building toward a market-ready product, and a Student Innovator Program for school students from sixth standard through high school (ages 10 to 17) working on a social-impact idea, which AIC RAISE says it runs for up to 1,000 students a year through a competitive review process, with the Atal Innovation Mission providing strategic guidance. On the academic side, AIC RAISE hosts an AICTE-approved MBA in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Development, where students build a venture while completing the degree, and it runs Technology, Women and Faculty Entrepreneurship Development Programs (TEDP/WEDP/FDP) aimed at innovators, researchers and technology enthusiasts working on early-stage technology commercialisation.

Facilities and support

The Coimbatore facility includes a Fab Lab and a co-working space. AIC RAISE also runs a named Centre for Nanobiotechnology, led by a nanobiotechnology PhD on its team, working on applications in agri-tech and environmental technology alongside its startup-support role. Support across programmes centres on mentorship, sector connections and, for eligible startups, access to national seed-funding schemes.

Track record

AIC RAISE is unusual in listing its cohort history individually rather than publishing one running total. By its own listing, it has run six numbered cohorts since 2019: 18 startups from August 2019 to May 2020, 9 from June 2020 to February 2021, 9 from February 2021 to December 2021, 14 from January 2022 to September 2022, 13 from December 2022 to August 2023, and 17 from October 2023 to May 2024. Added together that is roughly 80 startups, though this is a tally of the six cohorts rather than a figure AIC RAISE itself states as one number. Its published startup list names ventures across education, accessibility, sustainability, mobility and community platforms.

How to apply

AIC RAISE does not run one single application funnel; each programme (the cohort incubation track, the Pre-Incubation Program, SparkUp, SISFS, the student programmes, and MBA-IEV) has its own route in, and some programmes' apply links sit outside the main site. The general contact route is hello@aicraise.com or by phone, and specific programme pages carry an apply link or a fees page where relevant.