In this image posted on Jan. 8, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Indian AI Start-Ups during a meeting at his residence, in New Delhi
| Photo Credit:
narendramodi.in via PTI Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a roundtable with Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startups at his residence and emphasised the need to ensure that Indian AI models are ethical, unbiased, transparent, and in line with data privacy principles.
The PM also assured full government support for the success of their AI models.
Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, to be held here next month, 12 Indian AI start-ups that have qualified for the AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge at the Summit attended the roundtable and presented their ideas and work, a PMO statement said.
The meeting was attended by CEOs, Heads, and representatives of Indian AI start-ups, including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra, and Zenteiq. Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present at the meeting.
Tech focus
These start-ups are working in a diverse set of areas, including Indian language foundation models, multilingual LLMs, speech-to-text, text-to-audio, and text-to-video; 3D content using generative AI for e-commerce, marketing, and personalised content creation; engineering simulations, material research, and advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making across industries; healthcare diagnostics and medical research, among others.
AI vision
During the meeting, Modi highlighted the importance of AI in transforming society. He noted that India will host the India AI Impact Summit next month, through which the country will play a major role in the technology sector. He highlighted that India is making efforts to bring about a transformation with and leveraging AI, the PMO said.
The PM also emphasised that startups and AI entrepreneurs are the co-architects of India’s future and said that the country has immense capacity for both innovation and large-scale implementation. He added that India should present a unique AI model to the world that reflects the spirit of “Made in India, Made for the World.”
Made India
The world’s trust in India is the country’s biggest strength, he said, adding that startups should also work towards global leadership from India and noting that India can promote affordable AI, inclusive AI, and frugal innovation globally.
He also suggested that Indian AI models should be distinct and should promote local and indigenous content and regional languages.
The AI startups commended India’s strong commitment to advancing the country’s AI ecosystem. They highlighted the rapid growth and vast future potential of the AI sector, noting that the centre of gravity of AI innovation and deployment is beginning to shift towards India.
The leaders said that India now offers a robust and enabling environment for AI development, firmly placing the country on the global AI map, according to the statement.
Published on January 8, 2026