Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to be held in India next month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent roundtable with AI startups has sent a strong signal on the future direction of artificial intelligence development in India. 12 Indian AI start-ups who have qualified under Foundation Model Pillar in the Summit attended the roundtable and presented their ideas and work. Urging founders to focus on ethical AI as well as unbiased and transparent AI, the Prime Minister accentuated the vision of building “Made in India, Made for the World” AI solutions, while assuring full government support for domestic innovation.
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. The interaction has been widely welcomed by startup leaders, who see it as both an opportunity and a responsibility to shape globally competitive AI rooted in Indian realities.
Yashraj Bhardwaj, Co-Founder and COO of Petonic AI, said the government’s emphasis on responsible AI creates a transformative moment for startups: “India’s growing focus on AI, particularly ethical, transparent, and inclusive AI, presents a transformative opportunity for startups in this space. This signals a clear mandate to develop solutions that are not only technically robust but also culturally and linguistically relevant, addressing the diverse needs of the Indian population. The emphasis on regional languages and indigenous content is especially encouraging, as it pushes startups to think beyond generic solutions and design AI that resonates with local communities while remaining globally competitive.”
Bhardwaj added that the ‘Made in India, Made for the World’ push brings confidence to young companies aiming for global scale. “From a startup perspective, government support and initiatives around ‘Made in India, Made for the World’ AI are highly significant. It provides confidence to young companies that innovation rooted in India can achieve scale, maintain global standards, and still reflect our unique context and societal values. It also reinforces the responsibility that startups have to prioritize data privacy, fairness, and transparency in every product they build. This development is more than a policy direction; it is a strategic call for startups to lead the way in responsible AI innovation and create solutions that solve real-world challenges, and showcase that homegrown AI can set global benchmarks.”
Echoing this sentiment, Sandipan Mitra, CEO and Founder of HungerBox, highlighted a shift in expectations from scale-driven growth to trust-driven innovation: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message is clear: scale alone is no longer the goal. The real opportunity for AI startups in India lies in building trust-first intelligence, systems that are ethical, transparent, privacy-first, and grounded in India’s languages, data realities, and social context. This marks a shift from imitation to leadership, where indigenous, inclusive AI is expected to meet global standards, supported by strong policy direction and government backing.” However, some founders also pointed to the execution challenges that lie ahead.
Ajay Setia, CEO and Founder of Invincible Ocean, stressed the need for stronger infrastructure to support this vision: “While the vision is directionally strong, translating it into reality will require equally strong infrastructure. Ethical and indigenous AI cannot scale without access to affordable computation, India-based large language models, and structured datasets. For this ecosystem to mature, publicly available and government-owned data needs to be responsibly opened up for AI startups, enabling high-quality training while maintaining privacy, security, and regulatory safeguards.”
From a broader ecosystem perspective, Sunil Kharbanda, Co-founder and COO of Trezix, said the Prime Minister’s message could redefine India’s role in the global AI landscape: “This development fundamentally changes the opportunity landscape for AI-focused startups in India. It moves us from being service providers to becoming global product creators. With strong backing for ethical AI, indigenous data, and regional languages, startups now have a clear mandate to build deep-tech solutions that are locally grounded yet globally scalable, with the assurance that national policy is aligned with innovation, trust, and long-term sustainability.”
