Day 40 of 100 · AI

Mad Street Den

A neuroscientist and a designer built computer vision for retail from a campus research park.

Started atIIT Madras Research Park
Founded2013
FoundersAshwini Asokan & Anand Chandrasekaran
CountryIndia

How it started

They chose Chennai and a campus ecosystem over Silicon Valley and scaled globally from there.

The lesson for your campus You do not need to move to a startup hub. Build one where you are.

Why every campus needs an Innovation-Hub

Why we are telling this story

The next company on a list like this one has not been founded yet. Right now it is a student in a lecture hall with an idea nobody has asked about, and no room to build it in. Innovation-Hub is that room: a permanent space inside your institution where students from every department explore, experiment, collaborate and prototype.

See how to start one on your campus →

Ask the Founder

Pick a question — or write your own — and get a grounded answer about how Mad Street Den was actually built.

Opens ChatGPT in a new tab with your question ready. Answers are generated by AI from publicly reported information — they are not statements by the founders. Always check anything important against an original source.

← Day 39: Lyft (Zimride) Day 41: Napster →

The next one comes from your campus

Innovation should not be an annual event. It should be a permanent room where students are allowed to build. Bring an Innovation-Hub to your institution.

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