nasscom has announced the selection of 37 innovative Generative AI startups for the second cohort of the Generative AI Foundry program. Chosen from an impressive pool of more than 130 applicants, these startups are pushing the boundaries of Generative Artificial Intelligence in India. Among the chosen startups that include Fluid AI, Sivi, DaveAI, OnFinance and others, 30% of them have women in their founding teams.
The average startup in the cohort is 2 years old and has already raised US$750,000 from institutional investors. These startups offer solutions that generate text, audio, code, video/image, and multimodal output with strong use cases for retail, banking and financial services, healthcare & life sciences, and for various functions of the enterprise.
In a short period of time, the average startup from nasscom’s innaugral Generative AI Foundry program has seen its business grow nearly twice and headcount by 50%. The program startups have collectively raised US$15M from institutional investors, and they poised to raise over US$2 million on an average. With over 40 patents filed and several underway, the startups are generating significant intellectual property from India.
The Generative AI Foundry program, which was initially launched in October 2023, has been actively supporting 26 Generative AI startups that benefited from paid PoCs from enterprises, funding opportunities from investors, affordable access to state-of-the-art GPUs, bootcamps, mentoring and knowledge sessions from subject matter experts. The program is partnered with nearly 60 enterprises and investors such as Capgemini, Chiratae Ventures, Endiya Partners, Google, GitHub, JioGenNext, L&T Technology Services, Microsoft, Pavestone VC, Premji Invest, Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore (SRI-B), Sutherland, _VOIS (Vodafone Intelligent Solutions), and Zee Entertainment.
Ankit Bose, Head of AI, nasscom said, “Homegrown Generative AI startups are revolutionizing industries not only in India but for the world, showcasing India’s rapidly growing expertise in AI on the global stage. nasscom is firmly committed to supporting AI and Generative AI startups in all the ways possible in close collaboration with industry, government, academia and investors.”
As of today, nasscom estimates that more than 200 tech startups are actively innovating and offering Generative AI solutions and services to their customers spread across various industry verticals. As per a nasscom-Zinnov tech startup report, CY2023 saw over $500 million in deeptech funding. However, more concerted efforts to improve collaborative innovation between startups and industry, increasing access to affordable GPUs, the need for patient capital, strong emphasis on applied research, and continuing to building a competent talent pipeline will be the key to augment the growth of the Gen AI start-up ecosystem in India.
