Nvidia is stepping up efforts to engage with Indian startups early in their lifecycle, unveiling a series of partnerships this week aimed at reaching out to founders even before their companies are officially established. The push is aimed at helping the AI chip maker cultivate relationships with prospective customers in one of the world’s fastest-growing engineering markets.
The latest move comes in partnership with startup firm Activate, which plans to back about 25 to 30 AI startups from its $75 million seed round while giving portfolio companies exclusive access to Nvidia’s technology. The partnership follows other India-focused initiatives unveiled this week, including working with non-profit AI Grants India to support early-stage founders and new partnerships with venture firms focused on the South Asian nation.
The flurry of activity comes as India hosts its AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, drawing top tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, was supposed to attend the event but was skipped due to what the company called unforeseen circumstances. A large team led by senior vice president Jay Puri visited his site, meeting with AI researchers, startups, developers, and partners on the ground.
India has emerged as one of the fastest growing pools of AI developers and startups, making it a key market for Nvidia as it looks to increase adoption of chips and computer software. By working closely with innovators in the early stages, the company is positioning itself to find long-term demand at scale for native AI companies.
Aakrit Vaish, co-founder of Activate, said Nvidia’s engagement with startups in India has historically been lighter than in the US, but the chipmaker is now looking to partner with startups earlier in their journey. Activation aims to increase that change by connecting the portfolio’s startups directly with Nvidia experts.
The VC firm, which Vaish describes as focusing on “premium investments,” meets with technology teams months before the company is founded and works closely with them as it grows. Its backers include entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, Perplexity founder Aravind Srinivas, Peak XV managing director Shailendra Singh, and Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, emphasizing the prominent network that Activate is rallying around its original strategy.
For Nvidia, the idea of partnering with an early stage firm is straightforward: the earlier it builds relationships with promising AI startups, the more likely those companies will rely on its computing infrastructure as they grow. Vaish told TechCrunch that growing startups typically use increasing amounts of AI computing over time, making early engagement with the technology important to the chipmaker as a way to generate future business.
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Nvidia already has a large presence in the country through its Startup program, which supports more than 4,000 startups in India. This week, the chip maker also expanded its local partnerships, including partnerships with venture firms like Accel, Peak XV, Z47, Elevation Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners to identify and fund AI startups. It has separately partnered with AI Grants India, co-founded by Vaibhav Domkundwar and Bhasker (Bosky) Kode, to support more than 10,000 early stage innovators over the next 12 months.
The company has also expanded its implementation in India over time. In November 2025, Nvidia joined the India Deep Tech Alliance, a consortium of American and Indian investors including Accel, Blume Ventures, Premji Invest, and Celesta Capital, to provide strategic and technical guidance to emerging startups in the country.
Vaish said Activate’s partnership with Nvidia is designed to provide selective layers on top of the company’s widely-based Inception system, which serves thousands of startups around the world. By acting as an early filter for high-powered technology teams, Activation aims to give its portfolio companies direct, timely access to Nvidia’s engineering know-how.
The increased activity underscores the intensifying competition among global tech companies to court AI developers and startups in India, which has become one of the fastest-growing pools of tech talent outside the US.
