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Majority of people in developing countries live in semi-urban and rural areas, where banking access is still limited. Though the concept of personal banking has undergone major transformation with the introduction of Core Banking and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), the impact in non-urban locations has been limited. Vortex Engineering Pvt Ltd, a company headquartered at Chennai, aims to address this gap by providing ATMs and associated technologies for the rural/semi-urban areas. The products and solutions are specially designed to suit conditions unique to this segment – erratic power supply, tough working environment, lesser literacy levels of end users, etc. Vortex is the pioneer and leading provider of innovative low power consuming ATMs specially designed for this segment. Built on years of R & D in collaboration with IIT Madras, with a focus on rural needs, Vortex is now changing the face of banking with its Gramateller ATMs. Vortex is led by entrepreneurs and IIT alumni, V Vijay Babu (CEO) and L Kannan (founder & CTO). Vortex benefits from the presence of luminaries like Ray Stata (Founder & Chairman, Analog Devices Inc), Jean-Philippe De Schrevel (Chairman, Oasis Fund), Arun Diaz (Management Consultant; formerly Head – Programme & Change Management, Standard Chartered Bank), et al on its board. Vortex’s innovative ATM portfolio comprises Gramateller Indi ATM, Gramateller Duo ATM, and solar power options for both these models. Additionally, the company provides related software solutions to help banks roll out end-to-end ATM services. The company has filed 5 patents in the domain of ATM technology and design. Vortex has successfully deployed ATMs with leading banks across most states of India, especially in small towns and villages (hitherto seen as unviable for ATMs) as the first ATM in that locality. Recently Vortex has also started making inroads into other Asian and African markets. The company has been selected as one among the 10 start-ups that will change your life by TIME magazine, is one among 31 visionary companies selected as Technology Pioneers 2011 by World Economic Forum, and was a finalist of the Wall Street Journal Asia Innovation Awards 2010.