Kanpur: Four startups working in the fields of artificial intelligence, sustainable agriculture, design innovation and social entrepreneurship were honoured with Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards during the 41st convocation ceremony of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU) on Thursday.The Best Student Startup Award was presented to Shivendra Pratap Singh for developing AI- and IoT-based technologies that simplify the operation of household devices, enhance security and enable seamless automation for homes and businesses.The Best Sustainability Startup Award was conferred on Ankush Saxena for developing a solar-powered automated drip irrigation system designed to promote sustainable irrigation and water conservation. The startup aims to encourage water conservation, renewable energy and climate-resilient infrastructure through indigenous innovation and advanced technology.The Best Women-Led Startup Award went to Vatsala Shukla, who established a bootstrapped boutique design studio that generated Rs 8 lakh in revenue during its first year of operations. Her venture provides design and branding services to founders and emerging businesses in India as well as overseas, helping it establish an early global presence.The Best Social Entrepreneur Startup Award was presented to Amarendra Kumar Singh Sengar. His startup developed a proprietary AI operating layer (Camera OS) for existing CCTV infrastructure by integrating advanced technologies such as computer vision, Vision Language Models (VLMs), Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI agents. The platform enables businesses to generate SKU-level demand analytics without installing additional hardware, allowing them to make more accurate, data-driven decisions.
