Mysuru/Mysore: The team, consisting of Swati Hegde, an 8th semester student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology (VVIET), Mysuru, has emerged  the ‘Grand Prize Winner’ of the Launchpad Global Start-up Business Plan Competition ‘Ground Reality’ held at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad.

Swati Hegde, along with Nihal Konan, Data Analyst COE at Accenture and Shridhar Hegde, 8th Sem, Computer Engineering student of M.S. Ramaiah University, Bengaluru, has started a unique start-up DIA.AI (Digitally Integrated Applied Artificial Intelligence), a HR recruitment platform for diversity hiring, which has won the grand prize winner badge with Rs.1 lakh cash prize and round trip tickets to Singapore. They have also received unlimited working space in Bengaluru from IKEVA.

Initially top 10 start-ups had been shortlisted out of 300+ start-ups from across the globe. Under that, only top six moved to Grand Finale held during February. Top six finalists were DIA.AI, Sporty India, Search Lives, DIME, Green Space Mobility  and Indibots.

DIA.AI is a unique HR  Recruitment platform of Robust Comprehensive Automated Conversational Virtual AI Agents specifically catered for the Blind, Deaf/ Dumb, Physically / Mentally Disabled and the LGBTQ Community for Diversity Hiring in Corporate companies.

The event was judged by 20 Top Investors and Entrepreneurs in India such as Angel Investor Dr. Anirudha Malpani, Malpani Ventures, Almond House Ventures, Pankaj Dubey, MD and Country Head, Polaris India, Dr. Nandita Sethi, Chairwoman, Telangana, Indian Women Network, were few among the panel.