GJEPC hosted the first JewelStart Industry Innovation Challenge – Demo Day, bringing together industry leaders, startup founders and technology experts to present practical solutions aimed at improving manufacturing, design, inventory management and productivity across India’s gem and jewellery sector. The initiative has been developed in partnership with SINE, IIT Bombay, which served as the programme’s knowledge partner.
Among the dignitaries present at the JewelStart Demo Day were Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC; Shaunak Parikh, Vice Chairman, GJEPC; Anoop Mehta, Convener – Diamond Panel, GJEPC; Ashish Borda, Convener – PMBD, GJEPC; Mittal Doshi, Convener, BITC, GJEPC; Janak Mistry, JewelStart Committee Member; and Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director, GJEPC.
Addressing the gathering virtually, Shri Saket Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India, said: “My congratulations to GJEPC on JewelStart. What I find remarkable is how this began. Not with a scheme or a budget, but with a question. GJEPC asked its own members what problems they face every day, collected nearly a hundred of them, and then went looking for people who could solve them. And they went to IIT Bombay. An industry that has thrived for generations on craftsmanship went to an IIT for answers. That takes both humility and vision.”
He added: “The Government has worked to open markets for this sector through FTAs with the UAE, Australia, Oman and now the UK. But policy can only take a sector so far; market access creates the opportunity. Technology and productivity determine whether we capture it. If the solutions demonstrated today can reach a workshop in Surat, Jaipur or Coimbatore, the impact will be enormous.”
Delivering the inaugural address, Kirit Bhansali, Chairman, GJEPC, said: “For generations, India’s gem and jewellery industry has earned the world’s respect through its craftsmanship, skill and entrepreneurial spirit. To remain a global leader, however, innovation must become as important as tradition. JewelStart was created after listening to our members, identifying their biggest challenges and inviting India’s brightest innovators to develop practical solutions. With more than 125 applications and seven startups selected for our inaugural cohort, this is only the beginning. Our vision is to build a long-term ecosystem where industry, startups, researchers and academia work together to develop technologies that make our businesses smarter, more productive and globally competitive. We believe JewelStart is not just launching new solutions, but creating a movement that will shape the future of India’s gem and jewellery industry.”
The Demo Day featured presentations from seven startups selected to address key operational challenges identified by the industry:
- Carimo Technologies, represented by Dr. Nataraj Paluri, Founder & Director, presented AI-powered predictive maintenance and smart factory monitoring solutions designed to reduce equipment downtime, improve process control and strengthen quality management in jewellery manufacturing.
- Emertech Innovations Pvt. Ltd., represented by Gaurav Somwanshi, Co-Founder & CEO, and Aarti Tiwari, Chief Product Officer, showcased a precious metal inventory intelligence platform that combines traceability, blockchain and AI to provide real-time visibility of precious metal inventory, optimise working capital and improve compliance across jewellery supply chains.
- VoxVertex Solutions, represented by Ronish Sheron, Founder & CEO, demonstrated an operational intelligence platform that uses physics-based AI models to predict machine failures, reduce gold loss, improve maintenance planning and increase manufacturing efficiency.
- FlexMotion Technologies Pvt. Ltd., represented by Ratnesh Bafna, Co-Founder, introduced India’s first micro-precision SLA 3D printer for jewellery prototyping. The technology aims to enable lightweight jewellery manufacturing while reducing material consumption and dependence on conventional casting.
- Merkure Intelligence Pvt. Ltd., represented by Supriya Satam, Founder, and Nitin Bhagat, presented an AI-driven pre-production intelligence platform that evaluates jewellery designs across manufacturing, commercial, legal and structural parameters before prototyping, reducing development time and costly design iterations.
- ToggleArt Design Hive Pvt. Ltd., represented by Reshma Zaveri Parekh, Co-Founder, and Veeral Parekh, Co-Founder, demonstrated an AI-assisted customisation platform that enables jewellery retailers to generate real-time design variations with instant visualisation and pricing, significantly reducing the time required to finalise customised orders.
- Zuve Studio, represented by Prakruti Dangwal, Co-Founder, and Dhruv Chaturvedi, Co-Founder, showcased an AI-powered generative jewellery design platform capable of converting sketches into production-ready jewellery concepts and complete design collections within seconds, helping designers accelerate product development and personalisation.
Following the presentations, GJEPC felicitated all seven startups and recognised SINE, IIT Bombay for its role as technology partner in evaluating applications and mentoring the inaugural cohort.
In his closing remarks, Shaunak Parikh, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, thanked the Government of India, SINE, IIT Bombay, mentors and participating startups, describing JewelStart as the beginning of a larger industry-wide innovation ecosystem that will support the long-term growth and global competitiveness of India’s gem and jewellery sector.