Coimbatore in Focus as AIM Plans World-Class Accelerator Centres Across India

India’s startup story has moved far beyond metro cities. From deep-tech labs to defence innovation hubs, a silent transformation is underway — and Coimbatore is positioning itself firmly within that national innovation map.

On Monday, at the 6th Start-up Onboarding and Success Meet held at the Coddissia Trade Fair Complex in Coimbatore, a significant announcement signaled the next phase of India’s innovation journey. The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is planning to establish 15 to 20 world-class startup accelerator centres across the country — and Coimbatore could emerge as one of the beneficiaries, with one or even two such centres coming up with industry support.

The announcement was made by Ashish Pandey, Innovation Lead at Atal Innovation Mission, who outlined AIM’s expanding vision as it completes a decade of operations.

A Decade of AIM: From Tinkering Labs to National Scale

Over the past ten years, AIM has quietly built one of the largest grassroots innovation ecosystems in the country.

Pandey shared that AIM has:

• Established more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across India

• Set up 100 incubation centres

• Supported over 500 startups

• Helped generate more than 40,000 jobs

These numbers reflect more than institutional growth — they represent a systematic effort to democratize innovation beyond Tier 1 cities.

Now, as AIM marks its 10-year milestone, the next chapter is already being drafted.

AIM 2.0: The Shift Towards Scale and Industry Integration

According to Pandey, AIM 2.0 will introduce 12 new programmes focused specifically on scaling startups and strengthening industrial integration.

The emphasis is clear: the goal is no longer just to incubate ideas, but to ensure they scale sustainably and integrate into real-world industry ecosystems.

One of the key concerns highlighted was the relatively low participation of India’s private sector in research and development. Currently, private companies contribute around 37% to innovation and R&D — a figure that trails several developed nations.

To address this gap, AIM has launched the Atal Acceleration Centre for Scale-up of Startups (ACCESS) programme. The initiative aims to deepen private sector involvement and encourage industry-driven innovation.

Another strategic intervention is the Deep Tech Reactor Programme, which will support technologies from seed stage to deployment. This includes:

• Incubation support

• Acceleration pathways

• Policy enablement

The focus here is on deep-tech innovation — an area increasingly critical to India’s global competitiveness.

Coimbatore’s Defence Innovation Edge

While the national roadmap is ambitious, Coimbatore already holds a unique position in the defence innovation landscape.

The CDIIC (CODISSIA Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Centre) stands out as India’s only defence innovation hub where industry capabilities align directly with national security needs.

Ashish Pandey described CDIIC as a space where “industry capabilities meet national security needs,” offering both early-stage and late-stage support to startups.

According to CDIIC Director V Sundaram:

• The hub currently houses 33 startups

• 18 of them have secured iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) recognition

• Startups receive a structured three-year incubation period

• After achieving market maturity, they graduate from the hub

• So far, five startups have successfully exited after completing incubation

This graduation model ensures that CDIIC remains dynamic — continuously onboarding new innovators while helping mature startups transition into the market independently.

At the event, 10 new startups were onboarded, signaling continued momentum.

Codissia President Karthikeyan also confirmed that the dedicated infrastructure for the hub has now been completed — a critical step in strengthening Coimbatore’s role as a defence and industrial innovation cluster.

Why This Matters for India’s Startup Ecosystem

The announcement of 15–20 new world-class accelerator centres marks a shift in India’s startup policy architecture. It reflects a move toward:

• Structured scale-up mechanisms

• Deeper private sector integration

• Focused support for deep-tech and strategic sectors

• Stronger regional innovation hubs beyond metros

If Coimbatore secures one or two of these accelerator centres, it would further reinforce its transformation from a traditional industrial city into a modern innovation hub.

The city already has strong manufacturing depth, MSME presence, and now a functioning defence innovation ecosystem. With AIM 2.0 focusing on scale and industry collaboration, Coimbatore’s positioning appears strategically aligned.

India’s startup ecosystem has matured significantly over the last decade. But the next leap will depend on structured acceleration, industrial partnerships, and global competitiveness in deep-tech and strategic sectors.

The Atal Innovation Mission’s upcoming expansion signals that the focus is shifting from quantity to quality — from launching startups to building globally scalable companies.

As AIM steps into its second decade, cities like Coimbatore may well define how India’s next generation of innovation unfolds.

And if the plans announced at Coddissia materialise, Coimbatore could soon find itself at the heart of India’s next big acceleration wave.