Nasscom, the apex body for the IT industry,announced the selection of 37 Generative AI (GenAI) startups for the second cohort of its 'Generative AI Foundry' program. Notably, 30 percent of these startups have women in their founding teams. Among the chosen startups are Fluid AI, Sivi, DaveAI, and OnFinance, each poised to drive innovation in the GenAI space.

The selected startups, averaging two years of age, have collectively raised approximately $750,000 from institutional investors. Ankit Bose, Head of AI at Nasscom, highlighted the global impact of these homegrown GenAI startups, noting their role in showcasing India's expanding expertise in AI.

Out of more than 130 applicants, these startups were chosen for their pioneering work in generating text, audio, code, video/image, and multimodal outputs. Their solutions are geared towards various sectors, including retail, banking and financial services, healthcare and life sciences, and diverse enterprise functions.

The 'Generative AI Foundry' program, which began in October 2023, has already supported 26 startups. The initiative has partnered with nearly 60 enterprises and investors, contributing to a significant increase in business growth and a 50 percent rise in headcount. Collectively, the startups in the program have raised $15 million, with projections indicating an average fundraising of over $2 million per startup.

The program has resulted in over 40 patents filed and several more in progress, marking a significant contribution to India's intellectual property landscape. Nasscom reported that over 200 tech startups are actively innovating with Generative AI solutions across various industry verticals.

According to a recent Nasscom-Zinnov report, deeptech funding exceeded $500 million in 2023. To further advance the GenAI startup ecosystem in India, the industry body emphasized the need for enhanced collaborative innovation, improved access to affordable GPUs, patient capital, applied research, and the development of a skilled talent pipeline.