The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of e-commerce and online payments among consumers. They are now exposed to the risk of counterfeit products being sold in the market as a result of the adoption of these technological improvements. From creating innovative solutions to combat counterfeit products to introducing cost-effective ventilator designs and helping in the delivery of essentials through drones, India has witnessed a number of startups deploying cutting-edge technology to solve the alarming problems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are the top four startups that are continuing their fight against the pandemic with novel technologies:
Ennoventure
Ennoventure Inc, based out of the United States and India, is a unique SAAS platform for tracking and authenticating brands across diverse industries like FMCG, Pharmaceuticals, Agro-Chemicals, Luxury Goods. Using proprietary technology patented in the US, Ennoventure encrypts information to be invisible to the naked eye and that stakeholders can scan on their phones to check the authenticity of the product. The company was founded by Shalini V Nair and Padmakumar Nair and was incorporated in Delaware in 2018. Its subsidiary, Ennoventure Technologies, was incorporated in March 2020 to spearhead research and development. The company has its R&D centre located in Bengaluru.
Over the years the company has been striving to leverage technologies such as AI, Cryptography, and Blockchain to develop digital solutions that work towards solving day-to-day counterfeiting problems faced by humankind. The company’s technology Enncrypto was conceived as a software tool that can verify the authenticity of product packages in a non-disruptive manner without changing the company’s package design and printing process. Its encryption technology employs AI, cryptography and blockchain to add an invisible cryptographic code to the packaging that counterfeiters would not be able to access. As an authentication solution, it is more reliable than overt track-and-trace methods which could leave tracking numbers vulnerable to counterfeiters. The cryptographic code is secured by the biometric reference of a company official, making it impossible to copy. It is also cost-efficient, and can be deployed within 48 hours across multiple product package designs without risk of counterfeiting. Everyone in the distribution chain, from the manufacturer to the distributor to the consumer, can scan the product with their smartphone to verify that they are handling a genuine piece. The technology also seeks to inform the customer about the product, such as its composition, date of manufacture, side effects and so on.
Ethereal Machines
Ethereal Machines is a Bengaluru-based startup that manufactures simultaneous 5-Axis CNC Machines to meet the current demand of ventilators or similar products as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Founded by Kaushik Mudda and Navin Jain in 2014, Ethereal Machines develops 3D printing ventilators that are uniquely designed to manage ventilatory needs of two patients with the concept of differential pressure splitting.
Kaushik Mudda and Navin Jain collaborated with a specialised team of doctors led by Dr. Sonal Asthana of Bangalore based Aster Hospitals to develop their CNC Machines that are also equipped to prevent cross-contamination between paired patients. Ethereal won a grant of INR 50 Lakh from the Action Covid-19 Team (ACT), compromising startup investors and VCs.
NeuroTags
NeuroTag was founded in 2017 by Nitin Gupta, Abhishek Agarwal and Yogesh Miharia to provide fool proof anti-counterfeiting solutions. By leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), NeuroTags is helping brands fight the menace of fake products.
Responding to consumer needs, NeuroTags have incorporated a host of technical solutions, such as the collection of offline customer data using incentivisation, paperless warranty processes. NeuroTags is the world’s first embedded QR code oriented, AI driven serialisation technology to solve various market problems. NeuroTags’s AI driven Anti-Counterfeiting Solution prevents goods from being Counterfeited or duplicated. Before buying, customers can verify the authenticity of goods by using their smartphones. Apart from the solution, NeuroTags is offering various solutions like Incentive Programs for consumers/ influencers/ retailers, Paperless Warranty Solution for electronics/ electrical brands.
Dozee
Dozee is created by Turtle Shell Technologies, a Bengaluru-based startup. With an aim to change the entire healthcare paradigm, Dozee monitors and tracks the early signs of numerous diseases before a visit to the hospital. It provides contactless patient monitoring and early warning system for step down ICU and HDU units.
It is a smart health monitoring device that can be easily slipped below one’s mattress to silently track the health condition while they are in deep sleep. It can assess the user’s heart health, sleep condition and stress and notifies a comprehensive analysis on the Dozee app on their phones.With the use of AI-powered system, the application tracks the user’s heartbeat, stress levels, respiration among other things to provide a 360° view of their health.