Eight Entrepreneurs in India Selected for Premier Social Innovation Accelerator, Set for September 3-4 in Chennai
Eight Entrepreneurs in India Selected for Premier Social Innovation Accelerator, Set for September 3-4 in Chennai
2026 ASME ISHOW India ventures provide innovative solutions to address agricultural, healthcare, hearing, and water challenges
NEW YORK (August 26, 2026) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional ventures for the 2026 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight social ventures from throughout India will pitch their innovative solutions and participate in an extensive design and engineering review with judges Thursday, September 3, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Hall 2 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. These eight ventures will vie for three spots in the 2026 ISHOW cohort offering a share of $30,000 in grant awards and technical support to help bring their impactful innovations to market. All ventures will display their product prototypes at a showcase on Friday, September 4, in Hall 2, and the three ventures advancing to the cohort will be announced at an awards ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m local time as part of ASME’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) India.
The ISHOW India ventures’ innovations provide affordable, sustainable hardware technology solutions to agricultural, healthcare, hearing, and water challenges. They are:
“The innovations showcased at ISHOW India demonstrate how engineering can improve lives in practical and meaningful ways,” said Avni Malhotra, deputy director of ASME Foundation India. “From healthcare and accessibility to agriculture and clean water, these entrepreneurs are tackling some of society's most pressing challenges through hardware innovation. Through ISHOW, ASME Foundation India is proud to support a pipeline of innovators who are not only building products but creating solutions with the potential to deliver lasting social impact.”
The 2026 ISHOW cohort will be invited to participate in the annual ISHOW Bootcamp in the winter to receive an extensive and customized design and engineering review by experts curated to guide them as they scale to market. They will also receive design services to support their product development. They become part of the ISHOW alumni network, an international community of hardware innovators and stakeholders with exclusive access to experts and resources.
The ASME ISHOW Africa and ISHOW Americas virtual awards event took place August 11. Ventures selected as awardees at each regional event will join the ISHOW 2026 cohort.
ASME is grateful to its implementation partners around the globe, including The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW and a multi-year strategic investment in ASME to support the hardware impact innovation system. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.
About ASME ISHOW
The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. ASME annually matches up to 30 carefully selected innovators/ventures with appropriate engineering experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. To date, ASME has provided support to over 250 startups from more than 35 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address key issues related to clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
ASME ISHOW judges and facilitators include experts in research, sustainability, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy, representing industry, nonprofit organizations, and academia. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s five key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, implementation strategy, and impact. For more information, visit https://www.thisishardware.org.
Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including GenH, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.
@ASMEISHOW #ASMEISHOW26 #innovation #socialventures #ThisIsHardware
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org.
About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life. For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.
Media Contact:
Monica Shovlin
shovlinm@asme.org
+1 541-554-3796
On-site Media Contact:
Hena Jafri
Senior Manager – Marketing and Communications
ASME India
JafriH@asme.org
NEW YORK (August 26, 2026) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional ventures for the 2026 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight social ventures from throughout India will pitch their innovative solutions and participate in an extensive design and engineering review with judges Thursday, September 3, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Hall 2 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. These eight ventures will vie for three spots in the 2026 ISHOW cohort offering a share of $30,000 in grant awards and technical support to help bring their impactful innovations to market. All ventures will display their product prototypes at a showcase on Friday, September 4, in Hall 2, and the three ventures advancing to the cohort will be announced at an awards ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m local time as part of ASME’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) India.
The ISHOW India ventures’ innovations provide affordable, sustainable hardware technology solutions to agricultural, healthcare, hearing, and water challenges. They are:
- Bhujal Private Limited (Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India) for its “Bhujal” solution – a groundwater monitoring system designed to support real-time measurement and management of groundwater resources
- Coexin Technologies Healthcare Private Limited (Kozhikode, Kerala, India) for its “Standardised Cognitive Testing and Exercising Electronic Instruments” – cognitive assessment and rehabilitation tools designed to support the evaluation and improvement of cognitive and motor functions
- Glovatrix Private Limited (Pune, Maharashtra, India) for its “Fifth Sense” device – a wearable glove system that translates Indian Sign Language into speech and text to support communication between deaf and hearing individuals
- Grafito Innovations Private Limited (Kochi, Kerala, India) for its “Grafito Automated Vegetable Grafting Robot” – a robotic system designed to automate vegetable seedling grafting in nursery and growing operations
- Honnavar Techsolutions (Honnavar, Karnataka, India) for its “Tactile Watch” – a wearable assistive device that detects environmental sounds and provides tactile and visual alerts for individuals with profound hearing loss
- Navmarg Research and Innovation (Manipal, Karnataka, India) for its “METAL — Magnetic Separation Technology for Arsenic Removal” – a water treatment technology designed to remove arsenic from groundwater using magnetic separation
- Ripple Healthcare Private Limited (Gurugram, Haryana, India) for its “HIPPRO – Intelligent Wearable Hip Protection Belt” – a wearable hip protection device designed to reduce hip injuries from falls among older adults
- Techknights Edutech Private Limited (Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, India) for its “VARDAAN” technology – a rehabilitation exoskeleton designed to support mobility and walking assistance for individuals with spinal cord injuries, stroke, and other mobility impairments.
“The innovations showcased at ISHOW India demonstrate how engineering can improve lives in practical and meaningful ways,” said Avni Malhotra, deputy director of ASME Foundation India. “From healthcare and accessibility to agriculture and clean water, these entrepreneurs are tackling some of society's most pressing challenges through hardware innovation. Through ISHOW, ASME Foundation India is proud to support a pipeline of innovators who are not only building products but creating solutions with the potential to deliver lasting social impact.”
The 2026 ISHOW cohort will be invited to participate in the annual ISHOW Bootcamp in the winter to receive an extensive and customized design and engineering review by experts curated to guide them as they scale to market. They will also receive design services to support their product development. They become part of the ISHOW alumni network, an international community of hardware innovators and stakeholders with exclusive access to experts and resources.
The ASME ISHOW Africa and ISHOW Americas virtual awards event took place August 11. Ventures selected as awardees at each regional event will join the ISHOW 2026 cohort.
ASME is grateful to its implementation partners around the globe, including The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW and a multi-year strategic investment in ASME to support the hardware impact innovation system. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.
About ASME ISHOW
The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. ASME annually matches up to 30 carefully selected innovators/ventures with appropriate engineering experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. To date, ASME has provided support to over 250 startups from more than 35 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address key issues related to clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
ASME ISHOW judges and facilitators include experts in research, sustainability, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy, representing industry, nonprofit organizations, and academia. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s five key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, implementation strategy, and impact. For more information, visit https://www.thisishardware.org.
Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including GenH, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.
@ASMEISHOW #ASMEISHOW26 #innovation #socialventures #ThisIsHardware
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org.
About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life. For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.
###
Media Contact:
Monica Shovlin
shovlinm@asme.org
+1 541-554-3796
On-site Media Contact:
Hena Jafri
Senior Manager – Marketing and Communications
ASME India
JafriH@asme.org
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