New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged Indian AI startups to aim for global leadership, highlighting that the world’s trust in India is a key strength. He stressed that AI models developed in the country must be ethical, unbiased, transparent, and uphold data privacy standards.

Chairing a roundtable with Indian AI entrepreneurs ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Modi underscored the need for AI solutions that are distinctly Indian, promoting local content and regional languages. He added that India has the potential to champion affordable, inclusive, and frugal AI innovation on the global stage.

“Startups and AI entrepreneurs are co-architects of India’s future,” the prime minister said, emphasizing the country’s capacity for both innovation and large-scale implementation. He encouraged Indian AI ventures to showcase a model reflecting the spirit of “Made in India, Made for the World.”

The roundtable saw participation from 12 AI startups that have qualified for the ‘AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge’ at the upcoming summit. These companies are working across areas such as Indian language foundation models, multilingual LLMs, speech-to-text and text-to-audio/video solutions, generative AI for 3D content in e-commerce and marketing, engineering simulations, advanced analytics, healthcare diagnostics, and medical research.

Start-up representatives praised India’s strong commitment to fostering the AI ecosystem, noting the sector’s rapid growth and significant global potential. They observed that India is emerging as a key hub for AI innovation and deployment, offering an enabling environment for research, development, and commercialization.

CEOs, founders, and representatives from startups including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra, and Zenteiq attended the meeting. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present.

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Modi reiterated that India’s AI strategy should focus on local relevance while enabling global impact, positioning the nation as a leader in ethical and inclusive artificial intelligence.