Nvidia is intensifying its engagement with India’s AI startups, introducing a series of partnerships to connect with founders before their companies officially launch. This initiative aims to establish early ties with future clients in one of the globe’s rapidly expanding markets.
The latest collaboration is with early-stage venture firm Activate, which plans to support 25 to 30 AI startups from its $75 million debut fund, offering them priority access to Nvidia’s technical knowledge. This move follows other India-centric efforts announced this week, including work with AI Grants India and new alliances with India-focused venture firms.
This wave of initiatives coincides with the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, hosting prominent tech companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Despite Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang missing the event due to unforeseen circumstances, executive vice president Jay Puri led a delegation to engage with researchers, startups, and partners.
India’s booming AI sector presents a critical opportunity for Nvidia, looking to promote its chips and computing solutions. By engaging with early-stage founders, Nvidia aims to capture rising demand from scaling AI-native enterprises.
Activate’s founder Aakrit Vaish notes that Nvidia’s previous engagement in India was limited compared to the U.S., but this shift focuses on earlier collaboration. Activate intends to connect emerging startups directly with Nvidia expertise.
Activate, described as focusing on “inception investing,” engages with technical teams prior to company formation and supports their growth. Backed by notable figures including Vinod Khosla and Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Activate is building a strong network around its early-stage strategy.
For Nvidia, fostering relationships with nascent AI startups increases the likelihood they’ll rely on its computing infrastructure as they grow. Vaish highlighted to TechCrunch that burgeoning startups typically increase their AI compute consumption, making early technical alliances beneficial for Nvidia’s future business.
Nvidia maintains a significant presence in India via its Inception program, aiding over 4,000 startups. This week, the company broadened ecosystem ties, collaborating with venture firms like Accel and Peak XV to fund AI startups. Additionally, Nvidia partnered with AI Grants India, aiming to support over 10,000 early-stage founders in the next year.
Nvidia’s outreach expansion in India included joining the India Deep Tech Alliance in November 2025 to offer strategic and technical guidance.
Vaish explained that the Activate partnership with Nvidia adds a refined layer to the broad Inception program, acting as an early filter to grant portfolio companies more timely access to Nvidia’s engineering knowledge.
This increased activity highlights the growing competition among global tech firms to attract AI developers and startups in India, home to one of the fastest-growing pools of technical talent beyond the U.S.