Hyderabad, India – 29th June 2026: SIG Tattva, the Corporate Venture Capital and Innovation arm of Somany Impresa Group, in partnership with Pontaq Ventures, successfully conducted a two-day Founder Immersion & Start-up Workshop on June 24th & 25th June, 2026, at the manufacturing facilities of AGI Greenpac Limited, one of the Group companies of Somany Impresa Group and India’s leading glass packaging manufacturer. The program brought together start-up founders, investors, and industry leaders to strengthen collaboration between start-ups and the manufacturing ecosystem through an immersive shop-floor visit on Day 1 and a start-up-focused workshop on Day 2, fostering knowledge exchange, industry insights, and opportunities for innovation-led partnerships.
The workshop brought together 8 carefully selected deep-tech start-up founders from Pontaq’s portfolio for an immersive, outcome-oriented engagement with the manufacturing operations of SIG Tattva and AGI Greenpac.
Unlike conventional start-up showcases or what the industry privately calls ‘innovation theatre’, this was a structured workshopping model: founders walked the shop floor, observed live manufacturing processes firsthand, co-developed solutions alongside department heads, and presented a pilot project to the C-suite for evaluation. This is widely regarded as a first-of-its-kind model for AGI Greenpac and among the few such initiatives in India’s manufacturing ecosystem, where a manufacturing company has moved beyond pitch-deck-based start-up engagement to structured, outcome-driven, merit-based collaboration on the factory floor.
The two-day programme was structured for maximum immersion and outcomes. On Day 1, founders participated in introductory sessions with leadership teams from AGI Greenpac, SIG Tattva, and Pontaq, followed by guided factory walkthroughs led by department heads who briefed them on live operational challenges.
The start-up founders then worked independently and collaboratively before presenting their solutions to AGI Greenpac and SIG Tattva’s C-suite. Their presentation was followed by a detailed Q&A to establish the viability of solutions proposed. The programme concluded with the evaluation and awarding of PoC pilot engagements assessed on merit, milestone readiness, and potential for full-scale commercial deployment.
The 8 participating start-ups were shortlisted from a pool of over 20, drawn from Pontaq’s portfolio of approximately 180 start-ups, and selected based on thesis alignment with AGI Greenpac’s manufacturing-tech priorities spanning AI/ML, industrial automation, robotics, energy management, quality inspection, emissions control, supply chain traceability, and cybersecurity.
The participating start-ups and their founders were:
- Novorbis Itus — Harsh Neekhra (Founder & CEO). Patented industrial emission control and pollution reduction systems for manufacturing environments.
- Kredily — Devendra Khandegar (Founder & CEO). AI-driven HRMS platform; brings deep fintech and investment expertise to operational efficiency challenges.
- Cairovision — Vedpal Singh / VP Singh (Founder). AI and computer vision-powered video analytics solutions for industrial sectors including manufacturing, energy, and logistics.
- mSense AI — Surekha Gupta (Co-founder & CBO) and Shiv Shankar Maurya (Co-founder & CEO). AI-powered quality inspection through computer vision and acoustic intelligence for manufacturing lines.
- Maxbyte Technologies — Ramshankar C.S. (Co-founder & CEO). Industry 4.0 and digital transformation solutions covering industrial automation, robotics, and decarbonisation.
- Presage Insights — Atul Sharma (Co-founder). AI and IoT-powered predictive maintenance and asset performance management to reduce industrial downtime.
- Goat Robotics — Muthu Vangaliappan (Co-founder & CEO) and Mugesh S (Co-founder & MD). Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for industrial applications and intralogistics.
- Borlaug Web Services — Ayon Hazra (Founder & CEO). Blockchain-based supply chain transparency, carbon accounting, and sustainability traceability solutions.
The two-day workshop culminated in the awarding of PoC engagements worth INR 75 Lakhs to 5 deep-tech start-ups, spanning AMRs, computer vision, emission control, predictive maintenance, and logistics.
This workshop is the first in what AGI Greenpac and SIG Tattva intend to build as an ongoing, repeatable open innovation programme extending beyond Pontaq to include other leading VC funds.
Shashvat Somany, Founder, SIG Tattva, said: “The future of innovation lies in breaking down the barriers between start-ups and industry. For too long, founders have been expected to solve industrial challenges without direct access to the environments where those challenges exist. My vision is to democratise start-ups access to the shop floor, where the action really takes place. ‘Floor to Future’ is India’s first initiative to create a platform where start-ups, operators, and business leaders collaborate closely. This is the exact kind of structured, outcome-driven collaboration that accelerates successful pilots and drives long-term value creation for both start-ups and corporates. Through this initiative, we aim to bridge that gap by opening up SIG’s manufacturing ecosystem to entrepreneurs.”
Sriharsha Bandaluppi, Head, SIG Tattva, said: ” As an operator-led venture platform, our focus is on creating pathways from innovation to implementation. We believe this model can redefine corporate-start-up collaboration—moving away from superficial conversations and pitch decks toward real problem-solving, real pilots, and real outcomes. In the first chapter of ‘Floor to Future,’ we partnered with Pontaq bringing founders on the shop floor. What differentiated this workshop was the depth of execution, interactions with functional leaders to understand bottlenecks firsthand, and co-created solutions grounded in operational realities. Through this initiative, we aren’t just talking about the future of industry—we are building a repeatable model that transforms innovation from conversation into execution.”
Mr. Rajesh Khosla, CEO, AGI Greenpac Limited, said: “At AGI Greenpac, operational excellence and continuous innovation remain central to our growth strategy. As India’s leading glass packaging manufacturer, we see immense value in bringing external innovation into our manufacturing ecosystem. This workshop provided an opportunity for our teams to engage with entrepreneurs bringing fresh perspectives and emerging technologies to solve real business challenges. We are excited by the quality of ideas generated and look forward to exploring opportunities that can create tangible value for our operations, customers, and industry.”
Mr. Prem Barthasarathy, Founder & Managing Partner, Pontaq VC, said: “Large industrial conglomerates do not look for isolated point solutions; they seek integrated solutions that can improve quality, enhance productivity, increase revenues, and reduce costs across the value chain. Yet, for start-ups, breaking into large enterprises and securing pilot opportunities typically takes between 8 and 18 months. Through ‘Floor to Future’, we are fundamentally changing this dynamic. By bringing founders directly onto the shop floor alongside operational and business leaders, start-ups gain first-hand insight into real-world challenges while enterprises gain access to cutting-edge innovation. What is particularly exciting is that potential proof-of-concepts emerged within just 48 hours of engagement. This demonstrates that when industry and innovation come together in the right environment, the path from conversation to execution can be dramatically shortened.”
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