CORPORATE COLLABORATION: HDFC ERGO – IIT Bombay-HDFC ERGO Innovation Lab Enters Next Phase of Growth
IIT Bombay formally inaugurated the HDFC ERGO General Insurance – IITB (HE-IITB) Innovation Lab at its newly dedicated space at the Rahul Bajaj Technology Innovation Centre (RBTIC), IIT Bombay.
Launched in 2021, the HE-IITB Innovation Lab enters its next phase of growth with this move. The Lab has been a hub of cutting-edge research, fostering ideation, enabling scalable innovation, and strengthening industry-academia collaboration to address societal challenges. The Lab is going beyond insurance to fund and develop solutions for real-life issues such as needleless drug delivery systems, urban flood monitoring, and mental health platforms. This is a key milestone in the Lab’s efforts to accelerate innovation from campus to industry.
Commenting on the milestone, Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said, “At IIT Bombay, we believe that true innovation happens at the intersection of bold ideas, groundbreaking research, and purposeful collaboration. The HE-IITB Innovation Lab embodies this spirit. With HDFC ERGO as our committed partner, this Lab is not just a physical space; it is a launchpad for next-generation technologies that address real-world challenges. From generative AI to climate resilience, health tech to insurance innovation, this is where breakthroughs will be born. I have no doubt that what begins here will ripple far beyond our campus, creating impact across industries and society.”
With a sharp focus on emerging and high-impact domains such as Generative AI, finance and fintech, health and medical technology, climate change, and insurance technologies, the Lab is well-positioned to accelerate interdisciplinary innovation that matters.
Some key projects include:
- Platform for mental health management
- Needleless Drug Delivery System
- Urban Flood Monitoring
- Low-cost telematics device
- Insurance Terminologies
With 3 projects nearing patent readiness and 2 moving into commercial channels, the Lab is steadily shaping research outcomes into solutions that matter — market-ready, scalable, and impactful.
“Our partnership with IIT Bombay marks a significant step towards HDFC ERGO’s journey to address some of the real-life challenges of the citizens with innovative solutions. We have been connecting with customers from diverse backgrounds of society and providing them with need-based insurance solutions since over past two decades. By combining our industry expertise with the intellectual depth of IIT Bombay, we aim to drive actionable insights and innovation that address real-world challenges, offer hyper-personalised experiences to customers and become a part of their everyday life, and thus set new benchmarks for the future of insurance in Bharat,” said Mr. Anuj Tyagi, MD and CEO, HDFC ERGO General Insurance.
The event brought together distinguished leaders and collaborators who have played a pivotal role in shaping the Lab’s journey and vision.
From HDFC ERGO General Insurance, the leadership team comprised of:
- Mr. Anuj Tyagi, Director and CEO
- Mr. Parthanil Ghosh, Executive Director
- Mr. Sriram Naganathan, President and Chief Technology Officer
Apart from Prof. Kedare, the IIT Bombay leadership included:
- Prof. Milind Atrey, Deputy Director, Academics, Research and Translation
- Prof. Ravindra Gudi, Former Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations
- Mr. Ravishankar Gedela, CEO, Development and Relations Foundation
- Prof. Snehal Awate, Principal-In-Charge, HE-IITB Innovation Lab
The formal inauguration of the HE-IITB Innovation Lab at RBTIC underscores IIT Bombay’s commitment to building bridges between academia and industry, where intellectual capital and real-world application converge. With HDFC ERGO as a visionary partner, the Lab exemplifies how purposeful corporate collaborations can amplify the impact of academic research, creating solutions that not only advance technology but also transform lives. As the Lab steps into its next phase, it stands as a model of how IIT Bombay’s spirit of innovation, when coupled with industry’s drive to scale and implement, can shape the future of India and beyond.