- Divanshu Kumar studied Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras from 2014 to 2019 and later pursued a master's in Product Design.
- During his sophomore year, he co-founded Involve, a social enterprise focused on peer-based learning in schools.
- His final-year master's project under Professor Prabhu Rajagopal led to the HomoSEP robot, which was showcased at the IIT Madras Carbon Zero Challenge in 2019.
- He won the Bhagyalakshmi and Krishna Ayengar Prize for the best master's project in sanitation, awarded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Kumar co-founded Solinas Integrity, an IIT Madras-incubated startup, and now serves as its CEO.
- In 2025, he was named to the Forbes India 30 Under 30 list in the Industry and Manufacturing category.
- Forbes India reported that Solinas raised $5 million and is targeting Rs 15 crore in revenue for FY25.
Divanshu Kumar, an IIT Madras alumnus, has transformed a college project into a groundbreaking startup, Solinas Integrity, which focuses on improving sanitation safety in India. The company’s flagship product, the HomoSEP robot, is designed to clean septic tanks and manholes without requiring workers to enter hazardous spaces.13
Kumar, who studied Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras from 2014 to 2019, later pursued a master’s in Product Design. His innovative work on the HomoSEP robot earned him the Bhagyalakshmi and Krishna Ayengar Prize for the best master's project in sanitation, awarded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.4
The HomoSEP robot employs a rotary blade mechanism to break down hard sludge and an integrated suction system to remove the slurry, ensuring safety for sanitation workers. The company has also developed the Endobot for inspecting water and sewer pipelines and offers AI-based data management through Swasth AI.
With a recent funding of $5 million, Solinas is targeting a revenue of ₹15 crore for FY25. Kumar was also recognized in the Forbes India 30 Under 30 list in 2025, highlighting his contributions to the industry and manufacturing sector.67
“Solinas Integrity, incubated at IIT Madras, has raised $5 million and expanded beyond septic tanks with Endobot for pipeline inspection and Swasth AI for data management. Kumar's HomoSEP project won the Bhagyalakshmi and Krishna Ayengar Prize, conferred by PM Modi, and he was named to Forbes India 30 Under 30 in 2025.”
