AWS selects Gen AI startups from India for AWS GenAI Accelerator

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced that seven generative AI startups from India have been selected for the AWS Global Generative AI Accelerator program. The Indian startups—Convrse, House of Models, Neural Garage, Orbo.ai, Phot.ai, Unscript AI, and Zocket—are among the 80 companies chosen worldwide for their innovative use of AI and global growth potential. This marks the highest number of startups from a single country in the Asia-Pacific region selected for the program.

The selected startups will also have the opportunity to participate in AWS's annual event, re:Invent, in Las Vegas. At this global event, they will showcase their AI-driven solutions to a wider audience.

Support Through AWS Generative AI Accelerator

As part of AWS's US$230 million initiative to accelerate AI-driven applications globally, the AWS Generative AI Accelerator program offers startups access to AWS credits, mentorship, and education to enhance their AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities. These startups will have access to AWS services, including AWS Trainium and AWS Inferentia2, designed to provide energy-efficient AI processing. The program also supports the use of Amazon SageMaker, a managed service to help build and train foundation models, and Amazon Bedrock for generative AI applications.

Program Details and NVIDIA Collaboration

The 10-week program connects startups with business and technical mentors tailored to their industry needs. Each startup may receive up to US$1 million in AWS credits to develop and deploy their generative AI solutions. Additionally, participants will benefit from technology sessions provided by program partner NVIDIA, a leader in accelerated computing. 

“We are thrilled to announce the seven Indian startups that have been selected for the AWS global generative AI accelerator program. The Indian cohort represents the highest number of startups selected for the accelerator in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region. The selected startups are at the forefront of tapping into the transformative potential of generative AI to build innovative solutions,” said Amitabh Nagpal, Head, Startup Business Development, AWS India. "At AWS, our $230 million commitment and global expansion of the generative AI accelerator reflects our continued focus on supporting startups to develop, build and scale their unique ideas using generative AI. We are excited to witness the pioneering advancements that the selected startups will bring to solve complex challenges in India and worldwide."

AWS Expands Support for Generative AI Startups in India with GenAI Loft

Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to back generative AI startups in India through various initiatives, including the AWS GenAI Loft. Recently hosted in Bangalore, the GenAI Loft is a collaborative pop-up space aimed at fostering innovation in AI. It provided a platform for participants to gain insights and explore practical applications of generative AI across multiple industries.

Investment Landscape for AI and ML Startups in India

According to PitchBook Data, Inc., 1,813 AI and machine learning companies in India have raised over US$82 billion in funding in 2024. Despite this, only 35% of generative AI companies globally have offices outside their home countries, highlighting the need for further support to help startups expand and achieve their growth potential.

“Asia-Pacific-based generative AI companies have raised over $2.5 billion in 2024, more than the prior three years combined,” said Brendan Burke, Senior Analyst, Emerging Technology Research, PitchBook. “Developers and startups are seizing the opportunity to train custom models based on unique cultural and linguistic data. Additionally, leading AI researchers are working on a diversity of transformer models in multimodal domains including 3D images, interactive media, and synthetic voice. The future of AI applications will rely on specialized model architectures and startups will need world-class cloud infrastructure to fulfill their vision.”