Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Rajith Nair: Digital Radio Broadcasting is being mandated across the globe by all countries including India due to the advantages of multiplying the number of channels, excellent quality Audio for long distance reception and availability of useful data like traffic, news etc. Digital Radio will also play a crucial role in bridging the digital divide in developing countries such as India by providing free access to educational programs and on a large scale deployment. It is also useful in broadcasting emergency warnings in the advent of natural disasters in an automated fashion to all radios including car, desktop and mobile phones when mobile networks may be completely dysfunctional. Also, Digital broadcast Radio is a viable and useful option in rural and remote areas where ensuring internet access may not be that easy.
However, current Digital Radio Broadcast Receiver solutions (DRM/DRM+, DAB/DAB+, HD-Radio, CDR) in the market require dedicated chips to perform complex operations like Demodulation in hardware and hence end solution becomes very costly due to high chip costs. Such high costs prevent swift penetration into emerging and high-volume markets like India, European Union, South Africa, Indonesia where the usage of Digital Broadcast Technology is mandated by the Government as part of shut shutdown of Analog Radio transmission in AM and FM bands.
Inntot was formed with the very idea of breaking the general convention that high quality and cost effectiveness will not go hand in hand. With strong expertise and considerable experience of founders in the area of digital broadcast receiver solutions, Inntot was able to come up with high quality and cost-effective solutions based on the concept of Software Defined Radio with its own patented improvisations. Inntot has 4 granted patents and 4 pending patents. Inntot solution runs on ARM processors and eliminates the need of dedicated radio chips and thereby reducing the Bill of Materials (BoM) cost and product cost significantly. Hence Inntot solution facilitates the availability of the best of next generation technology to common man at very low cost.
Great Companies: What are the various Services provided by Inntot Technologies Pvt Ltd
Rajith Nair: Inntot provides Product/IP based solutions in the area of digital broadcast radio receiver solutions. Inntot has one shop stop solution for digital broadcast radio receiver components for all digital broadcast radio receiver standards which makes the solution universal along with the aspects of high quality and cost effectiveness.
Inntot provides IP enabled engineering services related to productization to its customers - which are mainly Automotive Tier-1 companies whose customers are major car manufacturers. These engineering services include product development, product testing for feature and performance, pre-certification support testing, field testing etc.
Great Companies: What makes Inntot Technologies Pvt Ltd different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Rajith Nair:
Inntot solutions eliminates the need for radio decoding chips which makes the solution attractive in terms of cost (3-12 USD saved per digital radio receiver) and easy maintenance of the solution through software upgrade. Since it is software based, Inntot solution is unaffected by the global shortage of chips and reduces the need to manufacture carbon intensive hardware.
Inntot solution scores over its competitors in terms of performance through its granted patents and provides a huge competitive edge to its customers.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Rajith Nair: Inntot's software based IP solution is a direct competitor of radio chips manufactured by semiconductor giants who are well established in the industry. It has been an amazing journey for Inntot to develop the first product prototype, optimize the solution for the best performance and rope in the major customers who are accustomed to using the solutions of major semiconductor giants. Now, Inntot solution is being used by major customers and is in production for some of the heavy weights in the car manufacturing industry replacing their first generation solution based on the radio chips provided by established semiconductor companies.
For every new customer, Inntot has to get its solution evaluated and validated for its feature and performance and this customer acquisition cycle takes a long time. This process is getting easier as Inntot solution is now in production for some of the major companies.
Building cost intensive testing infrastructure and niche area competency were some of the other challenges faced during product/IP development.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Inntot Technologies Pvt Ltd?
Rajith Nair: Inntot plans to raise the next round of investment with the objective of expanding its solutions globally. Inntot has a vision of becoming market leader for the digital broadcast radio receiver in next 5 years and acquire much of the market in in-car and after-market solutions in the automotive segment along with a substantial presence in the upcoming segments of consumer electronics and smart phones.
Inntot plans to further improvise its IP solutions for providing outstanding performance and further reduced costs.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Rajith Nair: Always dream big, keep attempting with the right intentions and be open for changes ! Success will come to you for sure !
Website : https://www.inntot.com
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