In a significant boost to India’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired an exclusive roundtable with 12 pioneering Indian AI startups at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
The selected startups, all qualifiers under the Foundation Model Pillar of the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026, showcased groundbreaking work spanning healthcare diagnostics, multilingual large language models, engineering simulations, material research, generative 3D content, and advanced data analytics.
The founders and leaders of Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra, and Zenteiq presented their innovations and shared an optimistic vision: the centre of gravity of global AI innovation and deployment is steadily shifting towards India. They praised the government’s strong commitment to building a robust AI ecosystem and highlighted the country’s unique blend of talent, scale, and enabling policies that are placing India firmly on the global AI map.
Prime Minister Modi described the startups and AI entrepreneurs as “co-architects of India’s future” and stressed that India has the rare capacity to combine cutting-edge innovation with massive real-world implementation. He urged the development of distinctly Indian AI models that champion “Made in India, Made for the World” while prioritising local and indigenous content, regional languages, ethics, transparency, unbiased outcomes, and stringent data privacy.
“The world’s trust in India is our biggest strength,” the Prime Minister said, adding that Indian AI can lead globally by offering affordable, inclusive, and frugal solutions. He assured the startups of complete government backing to ensure their models succeed on the world stage.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Shri Jitin Prasada also attended the meeting.
With the India AI Impact Summit 2026 just weeks away, today’s roundtable signals India’s determined push to shape the future of responsible and indigenous artificial intelligence.
