Amazon Web Services, Tamil Nadu hub join hands for AI startup programme
The GenAI startup hub programme aims to support startups and innovators at all stages of maturity. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will support Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) Hub to develop generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solutions for public initiatives through the state’s startup ecosystem, said the Cloud computing company on Tuesday.
The programme, announced at the ‘Generative AI Startup-Venture Capital’ mixer event held by AWS and iTNT Hub in Chennai, will enable startups to collaborate with the industry to build public sector-focused solutions using GenAI. It will select startups building AI solutions for government, health care, education, and non-profit sectors.
“The objective of the programme is to synchronise efforts to accelerate public-centric initiatives through the startup ecosystem building generative AI solutions in India. This collaboration will give emerging founders access to mentorship, resources, and a community to accelerate the development of citizen-driven generative AI solutions,” said Sunil P P, lead – channels and alliances, public sector, AWS India.
iTNT, an innovation hub established by the centre’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology and Digital Services Department with industry support, is located at Anna University, Chennai. It is building a deep tech innovation network in Tamil Nadu by leveraging the strengths of startups, innovators, academia, government, and industry leaders. The new programme will provide mentorship to founders emerging from incubation programmes of more than 570 engineering colleges affiliated with Anna University.
“The programme aims at mentoring founders and ideas emerging from incubation programmes of over 570 colleges affiliated with Anna University. iTNT Hub is dedicated to fostering innovation and technology across every region of the state. This objective will be fulfilled by nurturing an entrepreneurial environment for startups emerging from Tamil Nadu, which have limited access to resources necessary for their development and growth,” said Sunil.
The GenAI startup hub programme aims to support startups and innovators at all stages of maturity. Startups in incubation will have the opportunity to access research opportunities for industry collaboration, sectoral guidance to drive market disruption, and funding avenues.
“AWS recognises the transformative potential of generative AI, the value it can offer to public sector organisations and citizens, and the role that startups can play in accelerating innovation and developing solutions for adoption,” said Sunil.
Each startup in the programme will receive up to $10,000 in credits to experiment and build with more than 240 fully featured services on AWS, including GenAI services and solutions such as Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, Amazon SageMaker, AWS Trainium, and AWS Inferentia, among others. AWS will also explore the possibility of onboarding startups to the AWS Partner Network (APN), subject to the fulfilment of eligibility criteria, which can enable these organisations with product acceleration, market access, and expansion.
iTNT Hub will support the startups through its technical expertise and mentorship, guidance on business and funding fundamentals, and setting up industry connections for startups to understand market opportunities and build their solutions.
The GenAI startup hub programme will enable startups through webinars, technical workshops, and masterclasses. Selected startups will also benefit from industry connections, roadshows, hackathons, and customer engagement. The programme will be governed by a steering committee comprising executives from AWS India and iTNT Hub.
First Published: Jul 16 2024 | 12:03 PM IST