IIT Gandhinagar startup Oreejoy wins Boeing BUILD award and ₹10 lakh grant

IIT Gandhinagar startup Oreejoy wins Boeing BUILD national finals

Oreejoy Medtech Private Limited, a spin‑out from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), was announced as the winner of the Boeing BUILD National Finals. The victory comes with a cash award of ₹10 lakh that the team will use to scale its AI‑enabled wearable insole – a compact device that records pressure patterns under the foot and sends the data to a cloud‑based analytics platform.

AI‑powered wearable insole tackles mobility disorders

The core of Oreejoy’s technology is the INSTROLE insole, which embeds a matrix of pressure sensors to capture weight shifts, foot strike and gait dynamics in real time. An edge‑device on the shoe processes the raw signals, then transmits them wirelessly to a mobile or tablet app where users and clinicians can view summaries of walking and balance performance. According to the press release, the system can also deliver personalised sensory cues, a feature already being tested with Parkinson’s patients.

Why the grant matters for Indian health tech

Boeing’s BUILD programme received roughly 2,200 applications from across the country, short‑listing 28 teams for the national finals and selecting seven for the final grant round. Oreejoy’s win highlights the growing strength of India’s AI‑driven healthcare ecosystem, especially in Gujarat, where the startup has been conducting user studies in Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and New Delhi.

Dr Neelesh Sharma, co‑founder and design director, said the goal was to bring gait analysis out of specialised labs. Traditional systems, he noted, cost between ₹25 lakh and ₹65 lakh and require bulky walkways or camera rigs. By contrast, Oreejoy’s insole reduces those costs by roughly 80 per cent, making the technology far more accessible to clinics and even home users.

From prototype to patient impact

Around 300 participants have already taken part in Oreejoy’s pilot studies, ranging from post‑stroke patients to older adults with osteoarthritis. One anecdote highlighted a 75‑year‑old man who, after using the insole, was able to cross a busy hospital road unaided – a small but tangible illustration of the device’s potential to improve daily independence.

Looking ahead

The ₹10 lakh grant will fund further development of AI‑enabled solutions for rehabilitation and, the founders say, may eventually extend to sports‑performance monitoring. With IITGN’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre providing incubator support, Oreejoy is poised to move from research labs to wider commercial deployment, reinforcing India’s reputation for home‑grown tech innovation.

The broader significance

Winning a globally recognised programme like Boeing BUILD sends a strong signal about India’s capacity to nurture deep‑tech startups. It underscores how university‑linked ventures can translate cutting‑edge research into products that address pressing health challenges while creating jobs and strengthening the nation’s innovation pipeline.