Welcome to Waves Logo

Waves Startup Accelerator

Where Ideas Find Momentum
Powering the Next Wave of Media & Entertainment

About Us

WaveX is the dedicated startup accelerator platform under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting's WAVES initiative, focused on fostering innovation in the media, entertainment, and language technology ecosystem. Launched to support India's next generation of creative and technology-driven startups, WaveX serves as a bridge between innovators, government institutions, and industry leaders.

At the WAVES Summit held in Mumbai in May 2025, WaveX enabled pitching opportunities for over 30 high-potential startups, facilitating direct engagement with government agencies and leading industry players such as Microsoft, Lumikai, and Google. Additionally, nearly 100 startups were provided exhibition booths to showcase their products, solutions, and capabilities to a national and global audience.

WaveX continues to support breakthrough ideas through focused hackathons, structured incubation programs, mentorship, and integration with national platforms. To ensure a strong and seamless incubation ecosystem, WaveX has partnered with T-Hub Hyderabad and IIT Delhi, operating across nine incubation centres in India: IICT Mumbai, FTII Pune, SRFTI Kolkata, IIMC Delhi, IIMC Aizawl, IIMC Amravati, IIMC Dhenkanal, IIMC Kottayam, and IIMC Jammu.

Advantages of coming to Waves Logo

Opportunity To Raise Money

Showcase your startup, impress top investors, and secure your investment

Elite Exposure

Be among the top startups selected to pitch directly to leading VC's and renowned celebrity angel investors.

Valuable Networking

Connect with a dynamic community, a strong knowledge pool, and strategic industry leaders at Waves25.

Enhanced Brand Visibility

Boost your startup's profile with prominent logo placement on the WAVES website.

Testimonials

Start-Ups

Our Organiser

Our Partners

Frequently Asked Questions

WAVEX Live is a live pitching session for startups in the AVGC-XR sector, focusing on the Media and Entertainment industry. It provides early-stage startups an opportunity to pitch to angel investors and VCs for upto Pre-Series A funding.

WAVEX Live is organized by IAMAI in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with the WAVES platform facilitating the event.

WAVEX Live focuses on startups in Animation, Gaming, Comics, AR/VR/XR, Generative AI, Broadcasting, Radio, Advertising, Social Media, Film, Music, and Emerging Technology.

Startups must be registered in India, incorporated on or after Jan 01, 2016, and in the bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed, or Pre-A funding stage.

Startups can apply by filling out the online registration form available on the WAVEX website before the application deadline.

Applicants must submit a attached applcation form along with pitch deck, business plan, and other details to get a chance to get to evaluaiton stage of the investment pitches

  • Open Arena Pitching : Startups pitch in front of the available VCs and Angels
  • Pitches in front of Celebrity Angel Investors

No, participation does not guarantee funding. WAVEX only facilitates investor-startup interactions. All investments are subject to due diligence and investor decisions.

Investors include top VCs, angel investors, and industry leaders and a few known celebrity angel investors.

No, all travel, accommodation, and setup-related expenses must be borne by the applicant.

Your data may be shared with the following people and organisations, and only for the reasons listed:

1. NFDC's evaluation panel and jury members, to assess your application. They are bound by confidentiality obligations.

2. Named investor and mentor partners of WaveX - including Sony India, JioStar, Microsoft India, KPMG India, Lumikai, and MPL - but only if you tick the optional investor-sharing consent box on the application form. If you do not tick that box, your data is not shared with them.

3. Government bodies such as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, where required by law.

4. Technical service providers who run and maintain this platform, each bound by a data agreement with NFDC.

Your data is never sold. It is never used for advertising. It is never shared with any organisation not listed above.

The full list of our investor and mentor partners is published at https://wavex.wavesbazaar.com/ .
For questions about your data, write to: wavex-mib@gov.in

Startups retain ownership of their materials. However, WAVEX has the right to use submitted materials for evaluation, promotion, and event facilitation.

NFDC may amend the WaveX Terms of Use from time to time.

If the change is significant - for example, if we alter how your data is used, who we share it with, or what rights you have - we will notify you by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect. You will be asked to give fresh consent before the change applies to your data. If you do not wish to accept the change, you may withdraw from the programme without any penalty, and your data will be deleted on request.

If the change is minor - such as a correction to wording or an update to contact details - we will publish a notice on this website 14 days before it takes effect.

Continued use of this platform does not mean you have accepted any change to how your data is processed. Only your active consent counts.