India Advances $1.2B AI Strategy, Reviews 67 Startup Bids, and Showcases Top 10 Games at WAVES Summit

India is intensifying efforts to advance its artificial intelligence (AI) sector and digital innovation ecosystem, with government initiatives targeting both AI research and creative industries. The Indian government is reviewing 67 bids from startups and research labs seeking funding to develop domestic AI models, as part of a five-year $1.2 billion AI strategy launched last year. This includes making 10,000 GPUs available to researchers and startups, and initial funding for promising projects. Despite India's top ranking in AI skill penetration, the country lags behind the US and China in AI patent filings and overall investment, having attracted only $179.3 million in AI investments in 2024 compared to China's $3.3 billion and the US's $34.2 billion. Sarvam AI, a Bengaluru-based startup, is working on a larger language model after launching its Sarvam 1 model and has raised $40 million from investors including Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed, and Khosla Ventures. Infosys is upskilling its 340,000-plus workforce to support its transition to an 'AI-first' company. Industry leaders and policymakers emphasize the need for larger private sector investment and the development of large language models tailored to Indian languages. The government aims to leverage India's linguistic diversity and tech talent to create scalable AI solutions for sectors such as agriculture, small businesses, education, and governance. In parallel, India is promoting digital creativity through initiatives like the 'Road to Game Jam,' organized under the World Audio-Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) and the Create in India Challenge: Season 1. The event, held in Mumbai from May 1-4, will showcase the Top 10 original game titles selected from over 5,000 registrations across 1,650 colleges and 453 cities, with over 175 teams submitting games. The program, organized by the Game Developer Association of India in collaboration with KGeN, focuses on AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, AR/VR, and Metaverse) and aims to foster innovation and collaboration in the game development sector.