Global technology giant Google has announced the selection of 20 Indian AI startups for its 2026 Google for Startups Accelerator programme, marking the 10th anniversary of its accelerator initiatives.
The IndiaAI Mission, under MeitY, has selected 10 Indian AI startups for its Global Acceleration Programme, aimed at fostering international growth and innovation.
Accel and Google's AI Futures Fund have announced the five startups selected for the 2026 Atoms AI Cohort, focusing on enterprise, voice, and industrial AI solutions, with each startup receiving significant investment and resources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a roundtable with AI startup CEOs and held bilateral meetings with global leaders at the India AI Impact Summit, focusing on AI's potential across sectors and international cooperation.
Info Edge, the parent company of naukri.com, has invested over 1,000 crore in more than 50 artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-tech startups since 2020, demonstrating its commitment to fostering India's emerging technology ecosystem.
Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam launched two indigenous large language models (LLMs) specifically trained on Indian languages on Wednesday.
Azim Premji's private investment firm, Premji Invest, has quietly built a formidable portfolio of 11 AI startups, primarily in the US, with a combined valuation of $43 billion. The firm has participated in 19 funding rounds since 2021, with a notable focus on US-based companies, many of which were founded by Indian entrepreneurs.
A report by policy think tank The Dialogue reveals that India's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is primarily constrained by a shortage of skilled talent and a lack of data standardisation, rather than market concentration. The study, which surveyed 308 stakeholders, found that talent availability and data usability are major concerns, with a significant reliance on open-source AI models.
A delegation of Indian startup founders and leaders visited the UK to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence and technology, aiming to strengthen the India-UK innovation corridor.
'In India, the GenAI startup ecosystem is unfolding with remarkable speed, signalling a new era of technological advancement and investment opportunities.'
SpaceX and Tesla are jointly investing USD 16.8 billion to construct 'Terafab', an advanced AI semiconductor complex in Grimes County, Texas. This massive facility aims to address the global chip supply shortage, create thousands of jobs, and produce AI chips for Elon Musk's various ventures, including Tesla's robots and SpaceX's orbital data centres. The project is supported by a USD 30 million grant from the Texas government.
Bajaj Finserv announced a strategic initiative to invest up to Rs 2,000 crore in artificial intelligence and technology-led startups over the next five years, along with a collaboration with IIT-Bombay for joint research.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met with AI major Anthropic to discuss a long-term partnership aimed at accelerating AI adoption across governance, education, healthcare, research, and the state's startup ecosystem. The collaboration focuses on deploying AI solutions responsibly, ensuring data privacy, and developing AI-focused skilling programmes and an AI University.
Cars24 has announced the launch of its AI Labs, backed by a USD 20 million investment, to foster AI innovation and support startups in the field.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly increasing the demand for flexible office spaces in India, as enterprises prioritise agility, speed-to-market, and struggle with forecasting workforce requirements. AI-native startups are a primary driver, while established companies are adopting 'core-plus-flex' strategies to balance stability with adaptability.
Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) plans to generate 2,000 crore in value by implementing artificial intelligence-driven solutions across its mining and manufacturing operations. This initiative is part of a broader industry trend to adopt digital technologies for cost reduction, margin improvement, and enhanced environmental and social governance.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced the establishment of India's first government-driven Artificial Intelligence University and an AI Hub in Bengaluru. This initiative aims to position Karnataka as a global leader in responsible AI innovation, fostering talent, research, and collaboration. The state seeks to become an AI-native state, leveraging AI to improve governance and daily life across various sectors.
The aim is to win over the country's enterprises, developers and startups as AI systems shift from answering questions to autonomously executing tasks.
The technology startup ecosystem in India attracted $7.2 billion in funding during the first half of calendar year 2026, marking a 12 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase. However, even as funding increased, deal count fell sharply, according to a report by market intelligence platform Tracxn.
Sarvam AI, an Indian full-stack sovereign artificial intelligence company, has achieved unicorn status after raising $234 million in a Series B funding round led by HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners, with HCLTech acquiring a 10.46 per cent stake.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini met with a World Bank delegation to discuss advancing Artificial Intelligence, digital governance, and skill development in the state. The discussions focused on leveraging technology to enhance citizen services, with plans to showcase Haryana's AI Sandbox globally and develop a dedicated AI model for the state.
Indian startup funding plummeted by 43 per cent year-on-year to $7.81 billion between March 1 and June 15, 2026, largely due to the West Asia conflict, which has amplified global risk perceptions, tightened liquidity, and led to rupee depreciation, making global investors cautious.
HCLTech, India's third-largest IT services company, announced plans to establish a global technology centre and an AI-optimised data centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with a total investment of approximately Rs 15,000 crore, marking its entry into the AI infrastructure business.
Estonian tech startups in AI, cybersecurity, defence, and medicine are showing interest in collaborating with India, aiming to tap into its vast market. Latitude59, a prominent startup conference, is considering hosting a networking event in India next year to foster these partnerships.
Advanced Impactor. an AI-powered platform, aims to modernise cricket coaching with real-time performance analytics.
IIT Ropar's ANNAM.AI, in collaboration with Syngenta and Google, has launched 'HACK CORE 2026', a national AI hackathon. It invites innovators to develop AI-driven solutions for critical agricultural challenges like crop health, pest management, and climate-resilient farming, offering significant prizes and mentorship.
Anthropic has introduced Rupee-denominated pricing for its Claude AI assistant in India, making its Pro and Max plans more accessible to one of its largest user communities. This move, alongside the opening of its Bengaluru office and increased revenue, highlights Anthropic's growing focus on the Indian market, a sentiment echoed by rival OpenAI.
Country's startups are carving a unique path by prioritising local, application-led innovation over the global pursuit of scale.
As NSRCEL enters its next phase, the incubator plans to focus on AI, deep technology and global partnerships as it looks to expand its reach.
The ACSEL Technology Forum, a Karnataka government Centre of Excellence in AI, has launched Tathyakosh.in, a digital public good designed to make India's extensive public data more accessible. This platform consolidates over 1.5 million datasets from 458 sources, addressing the challenge of fragmented data discovery across various government and research portals. It aims to benefit researchers, startups, and technology teams in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and financial inclusion by providing a structured and discoverable data infrastructure.
NITI Aayog member Abhay Karandikar stated that the US government's new export controls, which led AI giant Anthropic to take its latest models offline, underscore the critical need for India to achieve self-reliance in technology development, particularly in AI infrastructure and hardware.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announced the company's intention to invest an additional USD 13 billion in India by 2030, focusing on expanding AI and cloud infrastructure.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is set to explore the use of AI, predictive analytics, and robotic inspection technologies to detect water theft, reduce leakages, and improve operational efficiency across Bengaluru's water distribution network.
Info Edge (India), the company behind Naukri.com, has seen its startup investment portfolio, spanning AI, deeptech, and consumer tech, grow to Rs 41,300 crore from an investment of Rs 4,900 crore since 2007. This significant valuation increase comes despite headwinds in its core recruitment business, which has been impacted by weak hiring trends and IT sector uncertainty.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani predicts that large corporations in India will lose jobs due to automation and AI, while millions of small businesses will drive future employment growth. He advocates for deregulation, simplified business interfaces, and digital platforms to support small entrepreneurs and a gig economy workforce.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has signed an MoU with the Drone Federation of India (DFI) to enhance its counter-drone capabilities. This partnership aims to strengthen security at vital installations like airports, nuclear facilities, and oil refineries by fostering engagement with Indian drone startups and technology companies for capacity building, research, and operational readiness against aerial threats.
As AI enters astrology apps and predictions, technology is becoming a new interface for humanity's oldest questions about uncertainty and the future.
An Indian AI Research Organisation official says India has adopted a balanced and pragmatic approach to AI regulation, avoiding the extremes of the US and EU models.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced an additional USD 13 billion investment in India, bringing the company's total capital commitment to USD 48 billion by 2030. This significant investment will primarily focus on expanding AI and cloud infrastructure, supporting job creation, boosting e-commerce exports, and digitising small businesses, aligning with India's growing digital economy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, highlighted technology and innovation as central to India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. He called for India to lead in emerging technologies like AI, quantum computing, and space, announcing a massive AI skilling initiative for one crore youth. Modi stressed the importance of becoming a global innovation hub, bolstering energy security with nuclear power, and strengthening cybersecurity.
