The startup accelerator platform WaveX, under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s WAVES initiative, has announced the launch of seven new incubation centers across India to support startups in the Media, Entertainment, AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics), and XR (Extended Reality) sectors.
The newly established centers will be located at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Delhi, Jammu, Dhenkanal, Kottayam, and Amravati, along with the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata. These centers will complement the existing facility at the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, and are designed to offer uniform access to high-quality infrastructure and mentorship nationwide.
Startups incubating under WaveX will have access to advanced facilities for film production, game development, editing, and testing. The flagship IICT Mumbai incubator is equipped with cutting-edge infrastructure, including an 8K Red Raptor Vista Vision camera, a 4K HDR preview theatre with Dolby Atmos, high-performance workstations, a virtual production stage with LED walls, photogrammetry systems, professional sound and color-mix theatres, 4K HDR edit suites, VR testing kits, and the latest gaming consoles. These facilities enable startups to design, develop, and validate content to global standards.
WaveX provides startups with structured mentorship from industry experts, masterclasses, bootcamps, policy clinics, investor connect sessions, and access to central and state government networks. Partner collaborations with IITs, T-Hub, and other incubators will further enhance learning opportunities and innovation support. Startups will also gain opportunities to collaborate with media units under the Ministry, including Doordarshan, All India Radio, Film and Television Institute of India, Press Information Bureau, Publications Division, New Media Wing, and the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre. Priority may be given to selected startups for outsourced projects by these organizations.
Applications for the upcoming cohort are now open through the WaveX portal, with 15 startups to be selected for each location. The program has been designed to nurture early-stage ventures, particularly in gaming, OTT content, AI-driven content creation, and immersive technologies such as AR, VR, and XR. The incubation model operates in two phases, with the active phase providing intensive support for business modeling, product development, branding, fundraising, and media regulations, while the passive phase offers ongoing mentorship and opportunities for global showcasing.