Update: The post has been updated after the receiving the response from Jaarvis Accelerator
After two and half years of operations in India, Hong Kong-based startup accelerator Jaarvis has shut down its operations in the country, according to the ET report.
However, Jaspal Sarai, Founder, Jaarvis Accelerator has denied such reports and said that the accelerator is still operational with significant changes to the [conventional] accelerator model.
Jaarvis, a global technology company was launched in the country as an accelerator in Gurugram, spread over a 20,600 sq feet space – having the capacity to accommodate 40-50 startups.
Started its India operations with 5 startups including Spotwrks, Promon.in, Donna Dialer, and EduRev, Jaarvis Accelerator aimed to offer mentorship, capital, seed funding, tech, infrastructural support to startups.
Also Read: T-Hub partners Microsoft to launch its first accelerator, eyes to attract growth stage startupst
The accelerator closed its India operations effective January 2018. Additionally, Saumyajit Guha, who was responsible for managing investments and creating new revenue channels for the accelerator in India, also left the accelerator in October 2017, added the report.
The firm claims to have accelerated nearly 13-14 startups in the space of IoT (Internet of Things), robotics, online-to-offline, fintech, mobility, and other emerging technologies.
Also Read: Facebook sees huge potential in Indian startups, to invest more in 2018
As part of the six-month accelerator programme, selected startups would get the aforementioned facilities, besides funding of up to $50,000 in lieu of 10-12% stake.
Out of the graduated startups from the accelerator, 7-8 received funding, added Guha.
Its portfolio companies include Arbunize, Comparometer, DesignDodo, Drinks on Me, Edurev, Psychd, R2 Robotronics, Sniffer, Spotwrks, Extra Carbon, iManageMyHotel, and PromOn.
Led by Nikunj Jain, Jaarvis is a technology company having offices in Hong-Kong, Australia, and India. It is primarily focused on the use of technology to build online businesses.
Accelerators have a bumpy ride in India
Unlike West, accelerator culture has failed to make a dent in Indian startup ecosystem. While Y Combinator, TechStars, 500 Startups have reflected a profound impact on early-stage startups in the US, none of the local incubators are even remotely as vigorous as them.
So far, a majority of accelerators in India are either dead or merely surviving. India’s oldest accelerator The Morpheus ceased its operation in early 2014.
The accelerator ecosystem in India has grown rapidly in the 2012-14 period. The total number of accelerators reached to 140 in 2016. About 56 accelerators were added alone in 2016. However, very few independent (except GSF and a few others) accelerators managed to justify their relevance.
