Work in Tandem: AWS, iTNT Hub to nurture generative AI innovation among startups in Tamil Nadu
This new initiative was announced during ‘Generative AI Startup–Venture Capital’ mixer event held by AWS and iTNT Hub in Chennai.
Amazon Web Services
CHENNAI: Amazon Web Services (AWS) India (P) Ltd on Monday announced that it is supporting Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) Hub to launch a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup hub program, that will focus on accelerating the development of generative AI solutions for public-centric initiatives through the startup ecosystem in TN.
The program will enable startups to collaborate with the industry to build public sector-focused solutions using generative AI, and will solicit and shortlist startups building solutions for government, healthcare, education, and non-profit sectors operating in the AI, generative AI, and deep-tech space.
This new initiative was announced during ‘Generative AI Startup–Venture Capital’ mixer event held by AWS and iTNT Hub in Chennai.
iTNT as an innovation hub was established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY, GoI), and Information Technology and Digital Services Department (IT&DS, TN), with industry support.
The hub located in Anna University, Chennai, is focused on building a unique deep tech innovation network in the state by leveraging the combined strengths of startups, innovators, academia, government, and industry leaders.
This new program will provide mentorship to founders emerging from incubation programs of over 570 engineering colleges affiliated with Anna University.
“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 PP, lead – channels and alliances, public sector, AWS India.
Startups eligible for this program will receive a range of benefits to enable their growth. They will be able to build a strong technical foundation by leveraging the expertise and resources from AWS, the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform.
Each eligible startup will receive up to $10,000 in AWS credits to experiment and build with more than 240 fully featured services on AWS, including innovative generative AI services and solutions such as Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, Amazon SageMaker, AWS Trainium, AWS Inferentia, among others.
iTNT Hub will further support the identified startups through its technical expertise and mentorship, guidance on business and funding fundamentals, and setting up industry connects for startups to understand market opportunities and build their solutions.
“iTNT Hub is dedicated to harnessing TN’s vast tech capability and fostering research, development and innovation across the state. Through this program, we aspire to strengthen the entrepreneurial environment for startups across TN, and empower those based in locations which typically have limited access to resources,” said Vanitha Venugopal, CEO, iTNT Hub.
