Build what the next century runs on.
Six months, stage-gated, up to five deeptech startups. From a working prototype to a compliance-ready product a contract manufacturer will build.
A prototype that works is the beginning of the problem.
Between the bench and the production line sit quality systems, compliance testing, cost, and a manufacturer who trusts the design. Keystone covers all six tracks, each with a named owner and a stage gate. The full plan, month by month →
Expert mentors
Sales, design-for-manufacturing, electronics and algorithm specialists who have shipped regulated hardware.
Hiring support
Build your founding technical team: role definition, sourcing from the BITS network, interviewing alongside you.
Quality gating
Stage-gated engineering and a quality management system from design controls onward, so the file is audit-ready.
Regulatory and test labs
Consultants for your pathway and accredited labs such as TÜV for the testing between you and a certificate.
Capital and go-to-market
Price discovery with real buyers, fundraising preparation, introductions to the people who procure in your category.
Scalable manufacturing
Preferential contract-manufacturing rates and connects, for example Kaynes, with your design reviewed for their line before handover.
A moving prototype, a real buyer, and a team that learns fast.
For teams past the idea stage, with a BITS Pilani alumnus or alumna among the founders. Two things are scored separately: the idea, and the technology's stage with evidence.
Three steps between the call on 7 November 2026 and the official announcement on 7 January 2027.
Intellectual property stays with the startup. Keystone and its partners take no IP.
Continuation depends on passing engineering and quality gates. How the interview and gates work →
Written application
Twelve short sections; the idea, the tech stage and how the team operates carry the most weight. Attach a deck, a test report if you have one, and a 90-second video of the prototype working.
Voice interview
A spoken conversation built from your answers, with live subtitles: how the team executes, what went wrong, and a sceptical read of your evidence and risks.
Panel
Mentors and partners meet the team. Up to five startups are selected and announced on 7 January; the cohort starts later that month.
The people who coach the cohort and decide selection.
Mentors work with each startup across the six tracks; the jury panel reads applications, sits in the panel interview and selects the cohort. Placeholders below are filled as members confirm.
InnAccel (medical devices), ROH Ventures (defence technology) and Make in India. Partners provide mentors and lab and manufacturing introductions, and read applications.
Ready to apply?
Applications open 7 November. Questions: connect.blr@bits-pilani.ac.in