Pune: AI Grants India (AIGI), India’s first AI-focused non-profit organisation, today announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to support early-stage founders across India through the NVIDIA Inception program for startups.
The AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration aims to accelerate India’s artificial intelligence startup ecosystem by supporting up to 500 new AI startups and enabling over 10,000 entrepreneurs over the next 12 months through the NVIDIA Inception program.
Announced in New Delhi on February 18, 2026, the AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration will provide founders with access to advanced AI tools, computing infrastructure, technical training, and mentorship to help teams move from concept to product faster.
The initiative will also offer free access to state-of-the-art AI models and enablement programming designed to accelerate early-stage innovation.
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Co-founded by Bhasker (Bosky) Kode and Vaibhav Domkundwar, AIGI provides inference, infrastructure, grants, and resources to unlock India’s next generation of AI builders.
The AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration aims to remove one of the biggest barriers faced by founders – paid model access – by offering instant access to the latest AI models for developers building projects, prototypes, and products.
As part of the initiative, founders will gain entry into NVIDIA Inception, a free global program supporting AI startups through guidance on AI technologies, access to developer tools and training, preferred pricing on NVIDIA hardware and software, partner offers, and exposure to venture capital networks.
The AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration is designed to be stage-agnostic, supporting startups at any level of development.
AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception Collaboration: Founder Enablement and Infrastructure Support
Over the next 12–18 months, AIGI’s programming under the AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration will focus on enabling founders at scale through expanded AI model access, hosting credits, mentorship office hours, partner workshops, grants, and fellowships aimed at accelerating technical validation and productisation for AI-first teams.
The initiative will also provide onboarding support for startups entering NVIDIA Inception, access to accelerated computing resources for select teams, and opportunities to engage with NVIDIA’s broader developer ecosystem.
The announcement aligns with momentum surrounding the India–AI Impact Summit 2026 hosted under the IndiaAI Mission by the Government of India.
“India’s next wave of AI innovation will be built by early teams that have the technical depth to execute, but need faster access to the right tooling, mentorship and ecosystem pathways. This collaboration is designed to help more founders move from idea to product – at national scale,” said Bhasker (Bosky) Kode, Co-founder, AI Grants India.
“India’s AI startup ecosystem is primed for acceleration, driven by exceptional technical talent and global ambition,” said Tobias Halloran, director of EMEAI startups and venture capital at NVIDIA.
“NVIDIA is accelerating this momentum by giving founders direct access to accelerated computing, scalable AI infrastructure, and programs like NVIDIA Inception and the Inception VC Alliance – helping startups scale faster and build for global markets.”
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Growing AI Startup Ecosystem
In recent months, AI Grants India has enabled more than 1,500 active builders and supported over 100 idea-stage AI startups.
The organisation has facilitated more than one billion tokens across platforms such as OpenAI and Anthropic, while partnering with institutions including Indian Institutes of Technology, BITS Pilani, IIIT Hyderabad, and Network School.
Startups such as Mindloop, Pulse, Mixio, Embedr, Kenesis, Zuve Studio, and 45D AI have emerged from AI Grants India’s ecosystem.
The AI Grants India NVIDIA Inception collaboration is expected to further accelerate the growth of AI-first startups in India by combining infrastructure access, ecosystem connections, and founder-focused programming.
