Alphabet-owned Google has selected 20 homegrown AI startups for the Google for Startups Accelerator: India 2026 programme, reinforcing its commitment to accelerating India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem and supporting the country’s growing startup landscape.
The technology giant shortlisted the startups from more than 2,500 applications, highlighting the increasing innovation emerging from India’s AI sector. Following their selection, the startups completed an intensive in-person bootcamp at Google’s Bengaluru campus. Going forward, Google will work closely with the founders to refine their products, optimize their technology architecture, and prepare their solutions for large-scale deployment.
The accelerator programme provides participating startups with access to Google’s AI technology stack, technical mentorship, cloud infrastructure, product guidance, and business support to help them scale globally while addressing real-world challenges through artificial intelligence.
Preeti Lobana, Vice President and Country Manager, Google India, said, “By equipping these pioneering founders with Google’s full AI stack and deep technical mentorship, we are not only accelerating their path to global enterprise scale but also cementing the sovereign capabilities required to advance the India AI Mission and build a resilient, inclusive digital economy.”
Google launched the Google for Startups Accelerator: India programme in April 2024 to nurture AI-first startups across multiple industries. The 2025 cohort included startups such as Apptile, Knit, MyWonder, Phot.AI, and SparkyAI, among others. The latest cohort reflects Google’s continued focus on supporting startups developing innovative AI solutions across sectors including legal technology, healthcare, climate technology, financial intelligence, enterprise software, and global payments.
Among the selected startups, Utkarsh Saxena and Arghya Bhattacharya founded Adalat AI, a Delhi NCR-based legal technology company, in 2023. Incubated at MIT, the startup develops AI-powered legal solutions designed to reduce case backlogs through speech transcription, courtroom dictation, and workflow automation, helping legal professionals improve operational efficiency.
Amarapuram Chandramouly Ashwin and Venkatesh Kempapura Sharma founded Aikenist in Bengaluru in 2019, and Google selected the company for the accelerator programme. The healthtech startup builds AI-powered radiology solutions for hospitals and diagnostic centres, offering products such as QuickScan, QuickDiag, and AI-accelerated MRI technologies to improve diagnostic accuracy and speed.
Google also selected Aurassure, a Bhubaneswar-based climate technology startup founded in 2022 by Akanksha Priyadarshini, Vamsi Krishna, Raviteja Cherukuri, and Omprakash Patra. Backed by Rainmatter and Unicorn India Ventures, Aurassure combines IoT sensors with AI-powered analytics to deliver hyperlocal monitoring of air quality, water levels, and other environmental parameters.
Bengaluru-based Ayna, founded in 2023 by Aastha Rajpal and Yash Bansal, has also joined the accelerator. The AI-powered SaaS startup enables fashion and e-commerce brands to create studio-quality product images, virtual models, and AI-generated photoshoots without relying on traditional photography. The company previously raised $1.5 million from Inflexor Ventures and FAAD Network.
Another participant, Binocs, was founded in 2022 by Tonmoy Shingal and Pankaj Garg. The Bengaluru-based startup provides enterprises with AI-driven financial intelligence and due diligence solutions that automate commercial due diligence, financial analysis, investment research, deal sourcing, and portfolio monitoring. Its investor base includes BEENEXT, Arkam Ventures, Accel, Blume Ventures, and Better Capital.
Google also selected CraftifAI, an AI infrastructure startup established in 2024 by Pratik Sharda and Yashwant Dagar. Based in Bengaluru, the company develops an agentic AI platform that automates embedded software development, firmware generation, and AI deployment for edge computing, IoT, robotics, automotive, and industrial devices. CraftifAI has secured $3 million in funding from Ankur Capital, IvyCap Ventures, Capital A, and Antler.
Completing the first set of announced startups is Dodo Payments, founded in 2024 by Rishabh Goel and Ayush Agarwal. The Bengaluru-based fintech startup has developed a Merchant of Record (MoR) platform that enables SaaS, AI, and digital businesses to accept international payments while automating billing, subscriptions, tax compliance, fraud management, and cross-border transactions across more than 150 countries. The company counts Antler, 100Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts among its investors.
The Google for Startups Accelerator: India 2026 programme reflects Google’s continued investment in India’s rapidly expanding AI startup ecosystem. By providing mentorship, advanced AI tools, and technical expertise, Google aims to help the selected startups accelerate innovation, expand globally, and build scalable solutions across industries ranging from legal technology and healthcare to fintech, climate technology, and enterprise software. The initiative also supports India’s broader ambition of becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence and digital innovation.
