Kochi, Kerala · Engineer · Entrepreneur · Mentor
Founder and Managing Director of Amara Raja Design Alpha. For four decades he has worked on taking ideas from the research lab to products on the market: in photonics, healthcare and electronics, and through the startups he mentors.
01 · About
Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair is an electrical engineer, photonics technologist, entrepreneur and author based in Kochi, Kerala, India. He is the founder and Managing Director of Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd., a product design and engineering company that has supported more than 30 deep-tech startups. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, was Global Chief Technology Officer of the NeST Group, chaired the IEEE India Council in 2021–22, and wrote Product Sense: Engineering Your Ideas into Reality (Notion Press, 2024).
Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair is an alumnus of the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay, where he earned his PhD. He began his career at TIFR and then at SAMEER, the R&D laboratory of India's Ministry of Information Technology. There he set up the Design and Engineering Centre in Integrated Optics (DECIO), which was regarded as the country's leading integrated-optics laboratory in the 1990s.
In 1999 he joined SFO Technologies, the technology arm of the NeST Group. He built its optical passive and active design and volume-manufacturing capability and rose to Global Chief Technology Officer, leading the group's technology strategy.
At 50 he became a founder himself. He started Innobreeze Technologies to develop affordable healthcare devices, then Biophoton Technologies, and in 2017 Design Alpha, a product design company for deep-science startups. After a strategic investment by Amara Raja Electronics in 2023, Design Alpha became Amara Raja Design Alpha, where he serves as Managing Director.
He has more than 100 publications, 18 patents and over 200 technical reports. He has given hundreds of invited talks to students and engineers, and he is especially committed to linking academia with industry and to mentoring young entrepreneurs.
02 · Journey
R&D laboratory of the Department of Information Technology, Government of India. Established the Design and Engineering Centre in Integrated Optics (DECIO), with design CAD, clean room and precision fibre-alignment facilities.
Deputy General Manager, then Director & Head of the NeST R&D Centre. Built the photonics design and volume-manufacturing facilities that grew into a global photonics business.
Led technology strategy and innovation across the group's electronics, fibre-optic, RF and special-purpose systems businesses.
Incubated at KINFRA Biotechnology Park, Kochi. Developed BreezeScan, a non-invasive, optical-fibre-based oral cancer screening device (later merged with Biophoton Technologies).
Biophotonics healthcare products, including phototherapy systems (fibre-blanket and LED), vein viewers, optical sanitisation devices and patient nerve-monitoring systems.
A product design company for deep-science and engineering startups, recognised as an R&D facility by DSIR.
After Amara Raja Electronics' strategic investment, Design Alpha was renamed Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd.
03 · Amara Raja Design Alpha
Infopark Phase 2, Kakkanad, Kochi
Design Alpha started in 2017 to give deep-tech founders the engineering expertise that hardware products need. It has supported more than 30 early-stage startups on the journey from lab to market, working in sectors such as healthcare, environment, agriculture, defence and transportation.
In July 2023, Amara Raja Electronics Ltd., part of the Amara Raja Group, made a strategic investment in the company, and it became Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd. It now offers end-to-end product development, from custom design and engineering to turnkey volume manufacturing and lifecycle management.
04 · The book
Engineering Your Ideas into Reality
A practical guide to hardware product development, from the first idea through design, prototyping and manufacturing to a product that is ready for market. It pairs theory with lessons learned in practice: the common pitfalls, how to innovate around them, and the mindset that technology startups need.
Prescribed as a textbook at APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala
05 · Innovation
A portable, non-invasive device that screens for oral cancer by analysing light reflected from tissue through an optical-fibre probe. The screening takes about two minutes. It won first rank at the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme 2014 and was among the top three innovations picked for commercial potential at TiE Silicon Valley.
The Economic Times coverage →Biophotonics healthcare products: advanced phototherapy systems (fibre-blanket and LED), vein viewers, optical sanitisation devices and patient nerve-monitoring systems.
At SAMEER he built an integrated-optics laboratory. At NeST he set up clean-room, die-bonding, laser-welding and precision-alignment facilities for optical active and passive products sold to customers around the world.
06 · IEEE
IEEE Senior Member · Kerala Section
An IEEE member for about 30 years, he helped found the IEEE Kochi Subsection and chaired it for three consecutive terms. He went on to chair the Kerala Section and then the IEEE India Council. He now champions entrepreneurship across IEEE Region 10 (Asia Pacific).
07 · Recognition
08 · FAQ
Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair is an electrical engineer, photonics technologist, entrepreneur and author based in Kochi, Kerala, India. He is the founder and Managing Director of Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd., a product design and engineering company that has supported more than 30 deep-tech startups. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, was Global Chief Technology Officer of the NeST Group, chaired the IEEE India Council in 2021–22, and wrote Product Sense: Engineering Your Ideas into Reality (Notion Press, 2024).
Product Sense: Engineering Your Ideas into Reality (Notion Press, 2024) by Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair is a practical guide to hardware product development. It follows a product from the first idea through design, prototyping and manufacturing to market readiness, and pairs theory with practical lessons on common pitfalls and the mindset technology startups need. It is prescribed as a textbook at APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala. The paperback ISBN is 979-8-89277-847-3, and it is also available as an eBook.
Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd. is a product design and engineering company at Infopark, Kakkanad, Kochi. Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair founded it as Design Alpha in 2017 to help deep-tech hardware startups, and it is recognised as an R&D facility by DSIR. It has supported more than 30 early-stage startups. In July 2023 Amara Raja Electronics Ltd. made a strategic investment and the company was renamed Amara Raja Design Alpha. Dr. Nair is its Managing Director.
Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair is an IEEE Senior Member and has been an IEEE member for about 30 years. He was Founder Vice Chair (2012) and then Chair (2013–15) of the IEEE Kochi Subsection, Chair of the IEEE Kerala Section (2016–17), Chair of the IEEE India Council (2021–22) and its Immediate Past Chair (2023). In 2024–25 he chairs the IEEE Region 10 Ad Hoc Committee on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. He received a First Rank Gold Medal in his Master of Technology.
He founded Innobreeze Technologies in 2010, which developed the BreezeScan oral cancer screening device; Biophoton Technologies in 2014, which makes biophotonics healthcare products; and Design Alpha in 2017, now Amara Raja Design Alpha Pvt. Ltd.
BreezeScan is a portable, non-invasive oral cancer screening device developed by Innobreeze Technologies, the company Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair founded. It analyses light reflected from tissue through an optical-fibre probe, and a screening takes about two minutes. It won first rank at the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme in 2014.
His awards include the IEEE India Council Chair Lifetime Achievement Award (2024), the IEEE Kerala Section Outstanding Industry Contribution Award (2023), the DST–Lockheed Martin India Innovation Award (Rank 1, 2014), the IETE B.V. Baliga Award (2005) and the IETE CEOT Award for Opto-electronics (2002). He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Optical Society of India (2021) and a Fellow of IETE.
The best way to reach Dr. K.R. Suresh Nair about product design partnerships, mentoring, speaking or the book is through LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/suresh-nair-5b708123.
09 · Contact
For product design partnerships, mentoring, speaking or the book, the best way to reach Dr. Nair is on LinkedIn.