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WaveX, the dedicated startup accelerator 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 Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics (AVGC) and Extended Reality (XR) sectors.
The new centers will operate from premier media institutions including the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) campuses in Delhi, Jammu, Dhenkanal, Kottayam and Amravati; the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune; and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. They join the flagship facility at the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, which houses world-class infrastructure for film, gaming, and immersive media.
With the rollout, participating startups will gain access to advanced production and testing facilities such as 8K Red Raptor cameras, Dolby Atmos-enabled theatres, virtual production stages, photogrammetry systems, VR kits, edit suites, and high-performance workstations. Startups can also tap into global exposure through events like VivaTech in Paris and the Game Developers Conference in the US.
Each incubation center will provide co-working spaces, AV/digital labs, cloud credits, and sandbox testing across OTT, VFX, VR, gaming and publishing. Structured mentorship, policy clinics, investor connects and industry advisory sessions will be integral to the program.
WaveX is also building collaborations with IITs, T-Hub and established incubators to expand learning opportunities and connect startups with wider innovation ecosystems. Startups will additionally have pathways to work with media units under the Ministry of I&B, including Doordarshan, All India Radio, and the Press Information Bureau.
WaveX’s two-phase model includes an “active” incubation phase focusing on business building, product development, and fundraising, followed by a “passive” phase with global showcasing and ongoing mentorship. Unlike traditional incubators, WaveX emphasizes nurturing early-stage ideas that often remain “unreal” during development in the creative technologies space.