BusinessWire India
New Delhi [India], March 19: Startup Mahakumbh, nation's biggest celebration of the startup ecosystem, commenced today, at Bharat Mandapam, setting the stage for three days of collaboration, inspiration, and transformative discussions. The event saw an inaugural address from Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOC&I), Government of India (GoI), highlighting the significance of startups in the overall pie of the Indian economy.

Post-inauguration, day one witnessed a diverse range of activities and sessions across 10 pavilions including AI + SaaS, D2C/Consumer brands, Agritech, Fintech, Deep Tech, Biotech & Pharma, Incubators, Climate Tech, E-sports, and B2B Manufacturing.
Moderated by Umakant Soni, Chairman, AI Foundry, Co-founder & former founding CEO, ARTPARK, the AI & SaaS pavilion's keynote session, "The Future of AI/SaaS," featured visionary speaker Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-Founder, Group Chief Executive, Executive Vice-Chairman, Fractal.ai, who delved into the transformative power of AI.
Velamakanni emphasized the burgeoning intelligence economy, predicting the integration of 7.5 billion people and 30 billion intelligent things by 2030, creating an unprecedented $15.7 trillion in new economic value. This evolution heralds a new era where AI and human collaboration will redefine productivity, innovation, and personalization across industries. Highlighting real-world applications, Velamakanni shared compelling examples from various sectors, including insurance, customer service, and idea generation, illustrating AI's capacity to enhance efficiency and outcomes. He also underscored the significance of language as a tool for communication and collaboration, championing the development of AI systems that understand and interact in native languages.
The pavilion also spotlighted the integration of AI in SaaS, with insights from industry leaders on leveraging digital public infrastructure, enhancing user experience with generative AI, and the critical role of AI in achieving sustainable development goals. Notable companies like Bhashini, which facilitates multi-lingual communication for government services, Zomato's adoption of AI in customer service and operational efficiency, were highlighted as benchmarks of innovation.
"Today's event highlighted AI's potential to revolutionize industries, much like how electricity did. We're seeing a shift where jobs evolve, and new ones emerge, allowing us to do more in less time. India is uniquely positioned to lead in this AI revolution, thanks to our tech entrepreneurs and innovators. The winners of 'AI for Public Good' contest featured standout companies like eVerse.AI, B.A.E and Bodhi, all showcasing AI-driven solutions tailored for India, solving real problems. It's inspiring to see such creativity and application of AI in our entrepreneurial landscape," said, Hari Balasubramanian, Angel Investor & Mentor.

Startup Mahakumbh onboards top unicorns in the sponsors list, with Games 24X7, Oyo and Info Edge as Unicorn Gold sponsors, Dream11, Flipkart, Infra Market, Moglix, Nykaa as Unicorn Silver sponsors, BharatPe and Razorpay as Unicorn Bronze sponsors. The list of AIF sponsors includes Accel, Rukam Capital and Peak XV in the gold category, Aavishkar Group, Elevation Capital, Iron Pillar in the silver sponsorship category and Avendus Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Fireside Ventures, IvyCap Ventures and Sorin Investments in the bronze category of AIF sponsors.

The event also aims to connect Indian startups with event partners including Dalmia Bharat & Google (silver partners), Acko, Captain Fresh, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Jetsynthesis, Tally (bronze partners), IAN & Blume Ventures (session partners), IDFC First Bank (Bank partner), MM Active & India Mobile Congress (IMC) (Event partners) and Indian School of Business (ISB) (Academic partner).
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