Boeing announced seven teams comprising university students and early-stage start-up entrepreneurs as winners of the fourth edition of the Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program 2024-25.

The seven winning teams are Thrustworks Dynetics, Nexus Power, Extrive Innovations, Qualivon Technologies, Rapha Bionics, HyPrix Aviation, and Trishul Space. These winners will be further supported by Boeing and their respective incubator partners over the next few months to help develop their ideas into market-ready and viable business solutions. Each of these winning teams will receive INR 10 lakh as a financial grant that will sponsor their ideas in the aerospace and defence, technology, social impact, and sustainability sectors.

Dana Deasy, chief information digital officer and senior vice president, Information Technology & Data Analytics, The Boeing Company; Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India and South Asia; Stacie Sire, vice president and managing director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) and chief engineer, Boeing India; other Boeing global and India leaders, and Boeing’s incubator partners were present at the finale held yesterday at the BIETC campus, Bengaluru.

“Over the years, BUILD has evolved into a platform that reflects the aspirations of India's burgeoning startup ecosystem. By nurturing entrepreneurs and startup talent, the program is building a pipeline of innovators and providing mentorship and resources to create solutions that address real business problems," said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India and South Asia. "I congratulate the winners and participants, and I want to thank our incubator partners and industry stakeholders who have been instrumental in bringing BUILD this far," Gupte added.

In its fourth edition now, BUILD continues to partner with seven incubators, namely, Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) – IIT Mumbai, Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) – IIT Delhi, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center – IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Foundation for Science Innovation and Development – IISC Bengaluru, T-Hub Hyderabad, and KIIT Bhubaneshwar – Technology and Business Incubator (TBI). Applicants are invited nationwide to submit ideas in the fields of aerospace and defence, technology start-ups, social impact, and sustainability.

Stacie Sire, VP, MD, BIETC, and chief engineer, Boeing India, said, “BUILD is a space where ideas are shaped into solutions through mentorship and access to the Boeing knowledge pool. Aspirants directly interact with Boeing engineers and technologists, which helps translate early-stage concepts into viable and scalable solutions.”

In 2024, BUILD attracted the highest number of entries to date, with over 2,000 ideas submitted by more than 2,700 students and start-up participants applying from tier 1, 2, and 3 cities across India. Following a stringent evaluation process, 75 shortlisted teams entered the regional boot camp, of which regional and national finalists received guidance from start-up ecosystem experts, incubator partners, and Boeing engineers to incubate ideas.

Over the years, Boeing India has supported skill development and capability building in the country through other programs as well, such as the HorizonX India Innovation Challenge, Accelerated Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Apprenticeship, and the ongoing National Aeromodelling Competition with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).