Nasscom Selects 26 Startups for Generative AI Foundry Program
In a move to support and empower domestic tech startups in the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, Nasscom, the apex body of the IT industry, has announced the selection of 26 startups for its inaugural ‘Generative AI Foundry’ programme. The 12-month programme, in partnership with over 30 organizations from the industry and investor community, aims to provide a platform for these startups to thrive. As part of the initiative, select partners are expected to invest up to $25 million in the most promising startups.
Nasscom has also revealed that investors will extend their support in various forms, thus catalyzing growth and innovation. Debjani Ghosh, President of Nasscom, emphasized the need for rigorous assessment of sustainable whitespace opportunities in different sectors and the importance of inviting patient capital and facilitating compute capabilities at scale to unlock the full potential of generative AI startups.
Out of more than 70 applicants, the 26 startups were carefully chosen. On average, these startups are two years old and have already raised half a million dollars from institutional investors. They offer innovative solutions that generate text, audio, code, video/image, and multimodal output, with strong use cases in retail, media and entertainment, banking and financial services, and various enterprise functions.
The programme has garnered support from notable partners such as Anthill Ventures, Broadridge, Capgemini, Centific, Chiratae Ventures, Cigniti, eClerx, Endiya Partners, GitHub, Jio GenNext, MathWorks, Microsoft, Pavestone VC, Premji Invest, Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore (SRI-B), Silverneedle Ventures, Sutherland, and VOIS (Vodafone Intelligent Solutions).
During the first six months of the programme, startups will participate in intensive boot camps and mentoring sessions led industry experts and investor mentors. They will also have access to cutting-edge technology stacks and GPU compute nodes, enabling them to accelerate their AI projects.
The Telangana government has collaborated as the state partner for the programme, offering startups the opportunity to work on impactful business-to-government (B2G) use cases.
The Indian Generative AI landscape currently consists of over 60 startups dedicated to offering solutions and services across various industry verticals. The sector has already received over $590 million in funding, with 2022 being the year with the highest funding inflow, according to Nasscom. This highlights the growing importance and potential of AI in India’s tech ecosystem.
Nasscom’s Generative AI Foundry programme is expected to be a significant catalyst for the development and growth of AI startups in India, positioning them for both local and global success.