New Delhi, Feb 17: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, today convened policymakers, industry leaders, investors and innovators at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, reinforcing India’s commitment to responsible, scalable and globally competitive artificial intelligence.
As part of the Summit’s programme, the Impact AI PitchFest — supported by the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) — brought together AI founders and leading venture capital investors in a structured platform to accelerate scale-ready innovation.
The Impact AI PitchFest featured presentations by 31 AI-native startups building deployable solutions across enterprise and public-impact sectors.
In a significant announcement at the Summit, 16 IVCA member venture capital funds — 3One4 Capital, 888VC, Accel Ventures, Ankur Capital, Antler, Boundless Ventures, Capital A, Chiratae Ventures, Dallas VC, Inflection Point Ventures, Mount Growth Fund (Kavaach), PeakXV Partners, Piper Serica, Prosus, Seafund, SenseAI — collectively committed ₹500 crore to support high-potential AI startups emerging from and aligned with the platform. The coordinated participation signals strong investor conviction in India’s AI ecosystem and reinforces structured alternate capital backing for scalable innovation.
Setting the broader policy context and underscoring the government’s commitment to responsible and scalable AI deployment, Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and CEO, IndiaAI Mission, said, “India’s approach to artificial intelligence is anchored in real-world deployment, public value and inclusive scale. Through the India AI Impact Summit, we are bringing together innovators, investors and policymakers to ensure that AI solutions are not only cutting-edge, but also aligned with governance priorities and national development objectives. The Impact AI PitchFest reflects the growing maturity of India’s AI ecosystem. It is encouraging to see structured alternate capital participation supporting startups that are building deployable, scalable solutions. Such collaboration between government and industry will be central to strengthening India’s leadership in trusted and responsible AI.”
In a significant signal of long-term confidence in India’s AI ecosystem, a collective of IVCA’s venture capital members announced a ₹500 crore commitment to support high-potential AI startups aligned with the platform’s vision. The commitment is intended to deepen investor engagement with AI-led innovation, enable commercially viable deployment, and align alternate capital with India’s broader digital ambitions.
Reflecting on the depth of innovation and the importance of ecosystem alignment, Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel & Co-Chair, VC Council, IVCA, said, “What we saw at the PitchFest was genuinely exciting. The breadth of applications was striking. Teams tackling everything from recruitment and education to healthcare and defence, all with deployable AI solutions. But more than the sectors, it was the quality of founders that stood out. They’re technically deep and they understand their markets. That balance is what separates companies that will scale from those that won’t. It’s also encouraging to see government convene platforms like this. Bringing policy, investors and entrepreneurs into the same room creates the alignment the ecosystem needs to move faster. That’s why we’re committed to this. India can build world-class AI companies, and what we saw today reinforces that belief.”
Highlighting the scale opportunity for Indian AI founders, Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Peak XV & Surge and Co-Chair, VC Council, IVCA said, “Indian startups will innovate across the AI stack, from applications and tooling, to models and chips. India already has more consumer AI startups than the US and this trend will accelerate over the new several years. India’s AI leadership will come from building population-scale products that solve real needs for 900 million Indians, helping people find jobs, grow income, and build businesses. Platforms like this, where the government and ecosystem come together to support founders early, play an important role in accelerating that journey. The ambition and quality of founders we’re seeing is exceptional, and many of these companies will go on to build globally significant businesses from India.”
Speaking on behalf of the alternate capital ecosystem, Rajat Tandon, President, IVCA, emphasised the importance of institutional alignment between innovation and long-term funding and opined, “India’s AI ecosystem is entering a phase where innovation must be matched with patient capital and structured support. The ₹500 crore commitment by our VC members reflects a shared conviction in the quality and ambition of Indian AI founders. Platforms like the Impact AI PitchFest bring policy, capital and entrepreneurship onto a common platform — and that alignment is essential to building globally competitive AI enterprises from India.”
The India AI Impact Summit continues through the week at Bharat Mandapam, bringing together stakeholders across government, industry, academia and investment communities to shape the next chapter of India’s AI growth story. Within this larger national effort, the Impact AI PitchFest signals that India’s alternate capital ecosystem is prepared to play a proactive and aligned role in enabling responsible, scalable AI innovation.
