The Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI (WSAI), IIT Madras has announced a one-week, in-person programme, ‘Building a Successful AI Startup’, aimed at helping students, researchers, aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startups turn artificial intelligence ideas into viable ventures.
The programme will be held on the IIT Madras campus from August 10 to 14, 2026. It is designed to provide hands-on exposure to every stage of building an AI startup—from identifying market opportunities and developing a minimum viable product (MVP) to refining business models, fundraising and pitching to investors.
The curriculum includes classroom sessions, practical exercises, and discussions based on real-world AI startup journeys. Participants will learn about customer discovery, market validation, product-market fit, user acquisition, revenue strategy, fundraising, term sheet negotiations, and scaling AI ventures.
The programme will conclude with a Pitch Day, where participants will present their startup ideas before a panel of investors. The winning team will receive ₹4 lakh to support the development of its AI startup.
The course is open to final-year BTech, MTech and PhD students, faculty members, researchers, engineers, product managers, aspiring entrepreneurs and researchers, engineers, product managers, aspiring entrepreneurs interested in building commercialise AI-driven solutions.
The course will be led by Lakshmi Shankar, general partner, Together Fund and former vice president, Google Search. He has also held leadership roles at Twitter, IBM and EY, and is a Sloan Fellow at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
