Deloitte's GRAVITY Challenge welcomes Indian innovators in its sixth edition

• Inviting innovators to solve real-world problems using space technology
• A six-month programme featuring four phases − recruit, innovate, collaborate, and scale
• Challenge champion to work with the challenge provider, along with data and technology enablers, to roll-out a pilot programme

National, 26 September 2023: India's commitment to advancing its capabilities in space exploration, exemplified by missions such as Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan 3, reflects a nation poised for growth and innovation. In line with this trajectory, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP announced the expansion of its flagship space and geospatial intelligence innovation programme “GRAVITY Challenge” to India for the first time. The programme is open to entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups, established businesses or university groups to harness the potential of space-related innovations to address real-world challenges.

GRAVITY Challenge 06 offers a pivotal opportunity for players in the NewSpace ecosystem in India to tap into this burgeoning industry. Participation in the GRAVITY Challenge offers exposure to a diverse range of global challenges and provides a unique opportunity for Indian start-ups to transform their innovative solutions into viable business ventures. By engaging with a global community of space technology experts and enthusiasts, Indian innovators can leverage insights, networks, and resources to propel their projects to new heights.
 

From mitigating biosecurity threats and unlocking the potential of vineyards to elevating infrastructure care and maintenance, round 06 features challenges from eight organisations from across the globe in sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, telecommunications, utilities, and government.
 

Sharing his views on the GRAVITY Challenge, Sreeram Ananthasayanam, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, said, "The space industry operates on a global scale and thrives on robust international collaborations. It has the potential to transform every industry and address some of the world's most pressing challenges from monitoring the condition of crops and tracking extreme weather events to measuring air pollution and elevating infrastructure, space can unlock solutions to some most pressing challenges. With India's NewSpace industry poised for unprecedented growth, Deloitte’s GRAVITY Challenge 06 becomes a pivotal opportunity for Indian players. It is a unique programme that brings together innovators to leverage space technology for transformative solutions through working with a network of experts across the world. For India, with its burgeoning capabilities and aspirations, the Challenge presents a golden opportunity to harness the power of space technology and drive positive change in both local and global contexts.”
 

In the spirit of fostering global collaboration, Byron Riessen, Deloitte Global Lead Partner for GRAVITY Challenge, added, "India's space tech community is renowned for its ingenuity and innovation. As Deloitte’s GRAVITY challenge expands its reach, I am excited to invite Indian innovators to join us on this incredible journey. There is a need for space tech innovators from across the world to collaborate in tackling pressing issues collectively. With India’s participation, I am confident that it will play a prominent role in driving the next generation of space innovation."
 

Deloitte’s GRAVITY Challenge, now in its sixth round, has gone global with participation from 14 countries, including the UK, the US, Germany, France, and Japan. Since its 2019 launch, GRAVITY supported more than 1,000 space tech innovators, accelerating the development of over 250 business proposals and leading to 25 commercial agreements. It offers a multifaceted approach, providing real-world applications, expert mentorship, unparalleled access to data and technology, and intellectual property ownership. Using space-derived data and geospatial intelligence, innovators can drive meaningful advancements across sectors such as agriculture, transport, telecommunications, utilities, and government. Successful teams will work on their solutions and with challenger organisations until 4 March 2024. Challenge Champions, winning teams, will be announced on 26 March 2024.
 

The application window is open now and will close on 10 October 2023, at 23:59 UTC. To explore the challenges and apply for round 06 of the GRAVITY Challenge, visit https://gravitychallenge.space/ .
 

To learn more about each challenge, watch videos on the website.
 

GRAVITY 06 Challenges

About Deloitte’s GRAVITY Challenge

Deloitte’s GRAVITY Challenge is a global space and geospatial intelligence innovation programme connecting public and private organisations facing real business challenges with innovators who can solve them, using space-enabled data, technology, and capability. Founded in 2019, GRAVITY has supported 45 organisations in Australia, the UK, Japan, Canada, and Germany, discovering the opportunities space can bring to their most pressing problems. Space tech and data science innovators from Australia, Japan, the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, India and the Czech Republic are invited to participate.

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