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ITEL Foundation joined hands with IndiaAI Mission to identify, incubate and nurture some of India's most promising deep-tech AI startups. As part of this collaboration, IndiaAI Mission and ITEL Foundation announced the BuildAI Pitch Event — a national level pitch event for early-stage deep-tech AI startups across the country.
After a nationwide launch, we received 400+ applications. These applications were evaluated by an AI screening platform. After the initial screening, 80 startups were shortlisted for a second round of rigorous evaluation by a panel of judges. At the end of the second round, 23 startups were selected to participate in the Finale of the BuildAI Pitch Event.
At the Finale conducted on 27th April 2026, the 23 finalists pitched their ventures to an esteemed panel of judges including some of India's most remarkable AI leaders and seasoned venture capitalists.
ITEL Foundation has partnered with IndiaAI (under the Digital India Corporation) towards a larger vision of nurturing Deeptech AI startups in India. Through this partnership, we aim to identify, support and nurture 25 promising AI startups through a 'Deep Process' framework over the next year. Together, our objective is to help innovative Deep-tech AI ventures achieve scale and succeed, and transform young innovators into capable, disciplined entrepreneurs through dedicated mentorship and corporate governance training.