WaveX launches seven new incubation centres for media and AVGC-XR startups

New Delhi: WaveX, the startup accelerator platform under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s WAVES initiative, has announced the launch of seven new incubation centres across India. 

The move expands the existing facility at the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, and represents the first accelerator-cum-incubator programme dedicated to startups in the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics) and XR (Extended Reality) sectors.

The new centres will be set up at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) campuses in Delhi, Jammu, Dhenkanal (Odisha), Kottayam (Kerala), and Amravati (Maharashtra), as well as at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata.

Startups at these centres will have access to facilities for film production, game development, editing, and testing. The IICT Mumbai campus features advanced infrastructure. This includes an 8K Red Raptor Vista Vision camera, a 4K HDR preview theatre with Dolby Atmos, and high-performance workstations.

There is also a virtual production stage with LED walls, photogrammetry systems, professional sound and colour-mix theatres, 4K HDR edit suites, VR testing kits, and gaming consoles.

The new centres are expected to offer similar resources. This will ensure startups nationwide have consistent access to high-quality incubation, infrastructure, and mentorship.

WaveX participants will also have opportunities for international exposure at global startup events such as VivaTech in Paris and the Game Developers Conference in the United States. 

The programme offers access to co-working spaces, AV and digital labs, high-speed internet, hosting servers, cloud services, sandbox testing for OTT, VFX, VR, gaming, animation, publishing, and post-production, as well as mentorship from industry experts. 

Partnerships with IITs, T-Hub, and other incubators are being developed to broaden learning opportunities and connect startups with a wider innovation ecosystem.

Selected startups may also collaborate with media units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, including Doordarshan, All India Radio, the Press Information Bureau, FTII, the Publications Division, the New Media Wing, and the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre, with some receiving priority in outsourced projects.

Applications for the first cohort are now open through the WaveX dashboard. Fifteen startups will be selected for each centre, with a monthly fee of Rs 8,500 plus GST. Preference will be given to startups operating in the Media-Entertainment and AVGC-XR sectors.