IICT Mumbai and WaveX launch Media Tech Incubator for AVGC-XR startups

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) in Mumbai, in collaboration with WaveX, the startup accelerator programme of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has launched a dedicated Media Tech Startup Incubator to support ventures in the media and entertainment sector. The incubator will focus on startups in the AVGC-XR space, which includes audio, visual, comics, gaming, and extended reality.

The programme will provide structured mentorship, infrastructure, strategic guidance, and testing opportunities through partnerships with government media units to help startups scale and commercialise their offerings.

The incubator will operate in two phases. The Active Phase offers intensive support in business modelling, product development, pitching, branding, fundraising, and media regulations, along with sandbox testing in OTT, VFX, VR, gaming, animation, publishing, and post-production. The Passive Phase focuses on global showcases through Waves Bazaar, lighter mentorship, investor engagement, and connections with industry associations.

Facilities for participants include co-working spaces, AV and digital labs, hosting servers, high-speed LAN and Wi-Fi, AWS and Google Cloud credits, and India AI compute services in the near future. The programme will also feature masterclasses by global leaders from Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, alongside bootcamps, policy clinics, and investor connect sessions.

WaveX will oversee the programme governance, with quarterly reviews under the Ministry of I&B. The first batch will select 15 startups to operate from the IICT campus, with a fee of Rs 8,500 plus GST per month. Applications are open until September 7, 2025, and interested startups can apply online through the Waves Bazaar portal.