SAP Startup Studio, the start-up accelerator of SAP Labs India, plans to collaborate with its partner ecosystem, inclusive of system integrators (SIs) to create sustained go-to-market opportunities for start-ups in its cohorts.
Justin Paul, Head, SAP Startup Studio and Product Leadership, SAP Labs India, said, “Startup studio for partners is the new approach we are taking up this year. Our intent is to make more strategic collaborations with our system integrator ecosystem in order to create a strong pipeline of go-to-market opportunities. We are already seeing interest from some of the system integrators we work with.”
In a first step to the new approach, SAP Startup Studio, recently partnered with Capgemini in India to help early and growth-stage software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-ups create solutions for customers globally.
“SAP labs will get involved in the co-innovation readiness phase and Capgemini will bring in the go-to-market opportunities. Capgemini will be scouting for specific opportunities across geographies,” Paul said.
Paul said the studio picks the start-ups that are working towards solving the innovation pain points identified by its user research. It looks at solutions that may not be a part of the SAP Portfolio currently so that it can later look at synergising those solutions into the portfolio to create more meaningful business solutions. This year, the studio is looking at startups working in the sectors of – high-tech, CPG, auto, retail and pharma, and life sciences.
The accelerator has moved from a mentorship-driven approach to a co-innovation led go-to-market strategy. “We are collaborating extensively with our top 30 customer accounts in India and have metamorphosed into an open innovation ecosystem,” Paul said.
So far, the SAP Startup Studio has incubated 51 start-ups and has had 15 customer engagements. It has also facilitated external funding of $150 million for start-ups. It is currently working with its sixth cohort of start-ups.
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Published on November 24, 2022
