IndiaAI Mission Cohort 2.0: India’s New Push in Foundational AI Innovation

New Delhi, September 2025 — In a major step to boost India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem, the Government of India has launched IndiaAI Mission Cohort 2.0, selecting eight companies to receive incentives for developing foundational AI models. The move underlines India’s push for self-reliance in AI technology, reducing dependence on global players and creating innovation tailored to local needs.

Key Highlights

• Eight firms selected: BharatGen (IIT consortium), Tech Mahindra, Fractal Analytics, Avataar.ai, Genloop, NeuroDX (IntelliHealth), Shodh AI, and ZenteiQ.ai.
• Objective: Build indigenous foundational AI models, strengthen compute capacity, and promote ethical, responsible AI development.
• Compute power: Over 34,000 GPUs have been empanelled under the IndiaAI Mission, democratizing access for startups, academia, and research institutions.
• Broader vision: Expansion of AI data labs, nationwide skill development programs, and ethical frameworks for safe & trusted AI use.

Why It Matters

1. AI Sovereignty: By developing its own foundational AI models, India reduces reliance on foreign technologies and aligns AI with local languages, data sets, and cultural contexts.
2. Boost to Startups & Academia: With compute infrastructure and funding support, Indian startups and academic institutions gain easier access to resources that were previously out of reach.
3. Ethical AI: The initiative emphasizes safe, transparent, and bias-free AI as a core principle, ensuring compliance with Indian regulations and global best practices.
4. Strategic Growth: The mission aims to position India as a global hub for responsible AI innovation, capable of building large-scale models for healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance.

Challenges Ahead

While Cohort 2.0 signals progress, experts highlight challenges such as:

• Data availability & quality: Building large AI models requires massive, diverse, and unbiased datasets.
• Cost of compute: Training advanced models is energy and cost-intensive, even with government subsidies.
• Skill gaps: India must rapidly scale AI talent development to match the demand created by foundational model research.
• Governance: Ethical and regulatory frameworks will need robust enforcement to prevent misuse of AI systems.

What’s Next

The selected firms will now begin working on their respective AI models, with expected deliverables in language AI, healthcare, and multimodal innovations. The government is also setting up over 500 AI data labs nationwide, alongside rolling out a national AI framework within the coming months.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is IndiaAI Mission Cohort 2.0?
It is the second phase of the IndiaAI Mission where eight firms have been chosen to develop indigenous foundational AI models with government support.

Q2: Which companies are part of Cohort 2.0?
The selected companies are BharatGen, Tech Mahindra, Fractal Analytics, Avataar.ai, Genloop, NeuroDX, Shodh AI, and ZenteiQ.ai.

Q3: Why is this initiative important?
It boosts AI self-reliance, strengthens compute infrastructure, supports startups and academia, and ensures AI development aligns with Indian values and data needs.

Q4: How many GPUs are available under this mission?
Over 34,000 GPUs have been empanelled to democratize access to AI compute power.

Q5: When will we see the outcomes?
The first results from Cohort 2.0 are expected within the next 12–18 months, with models being released in phases.