Dr. Shanta Thoutam

Dr. Shanta Thoutam – a Gold Medalist in BTech in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering – has earned MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the New Mexico State University (NMSU), USA. She worked for 5+ years as Analog IC Designer in Austin, Texas, USA. While pursuing her PhD, she had an opportunity to serve the Arrowhead Center, primary economic development arm of NMSU, in various capacities including Technology Commercialization Associate, Commercialization Analyst, Director of Launch Competition, a Proof of Concept Center & a technology commercialization accelerator that created 10 startups and 10+ patents.

For 5+ years, she played akey role in bridging the gap between NMSU and market by successfully advancing technologies emerging from campus to business development settings. She is also one of the Stanford – VentureWell University Innovation Fellows (UIF). For summers of 2015 and 2016, She worked as the Program Director of StartFast Venture Accelerator – Upstate New York’s top 1 accelerator program – and helped 10 startups scale/raise $2+ million.

After living in the USA for 15 years, she accepted the opportunity with T-Hub and relocated back to home with a great zeal to learn, serve, and build the innovation/startup ecosystem of India. As the Vice President of Corporate Innovation & Business Development at T-Hub, she was instrumental in establishing partnerships with new Corporates and retaining old one while spearheading 25+ open innovation programs for Corporates that are scouting for startups working on disruptive technologies emerging in sectors including AgriTech, FinTech, HealthTech, Sustainability, Transportation and Logistics, Smart City etc. Some of the marquee T-Hub Corporate Innovation programs that she led had about 170+ startups graduate with ~$130 Million funds raised cumulatively and 7 of them acquired.

As a women thought leader, she has been instrumental in pushing T-Hub’s brand to the frontier by educating various state government departments and senior bureaucrats, who are responsible for creating innovation clusters in their respective states. With a passion to further serve the State of Telangana, she took charge as an Office on Special Duty for Textiles & Handicrafts with the Government of Telangana to support in promoting its policy and industries establishment. From 1st Sept 2021, she is appointed as the Chief Innovation Officer of the Government of Telangana to foster the innovation and entrepreneurial culture that transform the livelihoods and lives of Grassroot Innovators, Social Innovators, and Women across 33 Districts of Telangana. She presides over several advisory committees and panels that deal with innovation and entrepreneurship. She shares and lives the vision of the Government of Telangana in making Telangana as one of the innovation/startup destinations of the world.