Developed by Noida-based SanchiConnect, the platform connects startups, incubators, mentors and investors across Uttar Pradesh on a single digital layer, and is designed to scale to the 70+ incubators supported by the University
Marking a significant milestone in Uttar Pradesh's journey towards building one of the most connected startup ecosystems in the country, the Innovation Hub at Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) has launched a state-wide digital ecosystem platform at its flagship event, UP Startup Samvad 3.0. Developed by Noida-based SanchiConnect, the platform brings startups, incubators, investors, mentors and innovation stakeholders onto a single connected system. Thirty-five incubators have already been onboarded, with the platform built to scale to the more than 70 incubators supported by the University across Uttar Pradesh.
The launch was held in the presence of Smt. Anandiben Patel, Hon'ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh; Prof. Jai Prakash Pandey, Vice Chancellor, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University; Shri Deepak Bagla, Managing Director, Atal Innovation Mission; Shri Mahip Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Innovation Hub; and over 100 dignitaries from government, industry, and the investment community.
Digital infrastructure for the Country's Third-largest Startup Ecosystem
Uttar Pradesh is today the third-largest startup ecosystem in the country and among its fastest growing, with startups now active across most of its districts and a rising share of the national total. That growth has been matched by a sharp scaling up of state support. The Government of Uttar Pradesh has recently revamped its startup policy with a ₹1,000 crore Fund of Funds to strengthen startup financing, alongside an expanded corpus fund for startup and incubator grants, seed capital and Centres of Excellence, and a district-level expansion of incubation infrastructure on a hub-and-spoke model.
The new platform “ecosystem.ihub.up” is intended to give the state's policy push a delivery layer from university: a shared digital foundation on which capital, mentorship and market opportunities can be discovered and routed to the university supported incubators across state, rather than remaining concentrated in a handful of cities. For the state, it also creates a single measurable view of who is building what, and where.
Turning Global Interest into Market Access for State Startups
Uttar Pradesh has also been actively hosting large-scale business and investment events and bringing global firms into the state, building a widening pool of market, partnership and investment opportunities for local enterprises. The platform gives that inbound interest a structured entry point, allowing visiting corporates, investors and delegations to discover, filter and engage with startups from across Uttar Pradesh through a single verified system instead of relying on ad-hoc introductions.
What The Platform Does
The platform has been designed as an integrated, single-layer digital system connecting startups, incubators, mentors, investors and innovation stakeholders across Uttar Pradesh. Rather than functioning as a tool for any one incubator, it gives the state's ecosystem a shared foundation for discovery, collaboration and governance allowing incubators to see and support one another, and enabling startups to be discovered by mentors and investors beyond their immediate city or network.
A Proven, Repeatable Model for State Ecosystem Platforms
A central highlight of the showcase was the pace of execution behind the deployment. Standing up a platform capable of onboarding 35 incubators, along with the startups, mentors and investors linked to them, in three weeks positions the launch as a notable technology and execution milestone.
It is also the second state-level ecosystem platform Sanchi Connect has delivered. Earlier in August the company worked on Tripura Digital Innovation Platform for the state's innovation ecosystem, in partnership with a state PSU, an engagement that established the operating model now being applied in Uttar Pradesh: rapid onboarding of incubators and stakeholders, government-grade process and reporting discipline, and a platform that state agencies can run as their own.
Voices From The Launch
Shri Mahip Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Innovation Hub, AKTU, said:
"Uttar Pradesh has no shortage of talent or ideas, what it has needed is a way for its startups, investors and markets to find each other. Our priority with this platform is to build a genuine investment and market access layer for the state's startups. A founder in any district should be able to get in front of the right investor, the right corporate buyer and the right mentor, regardless of where they are based. This gives incubators and innovation centres across the state a shared foundation to make that happen at scale, and on an ongoing basis."
Dr. Sunil K. Shekhawat, Co-Founder and CEO, SanchiConnect, said:
"Three weeks is a tight timeline for infrastructure meant to serve an entire state's startup ecosystem, but it is also proof that this kind of ecosystem-building can be done with urgency rather than treated as a years-long exercise. This platform will mainstream startups from cities like Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Agra, Jhansi and beyond, allowing them to leverage the mentor and investor base concentrated in Lucknow and Noida. Having built and deployed comparable state platforms, our focus here is the same: geography should stop being the reason a founder misses out on a mentor, an investor or an opportunity."
What Comes Next
With 35 incubators onboarded and the wider University network to follow, the immediate priority is deepening engagement across the platform, ensuring the connections it enables between startups, mentors, investors and institutions translate into active collaboration, investment conversations and market linkages. The showcase reaffirmed a shared commitment among the state's government, academic institutions and ecosystem partners to build a more accessible, connected and data-driven startup ecosystem - one where a founder's location matters less than the strength of the network available to them.
New Delhi, 16 September 2026
