New Delhi, Sep 19 : US tech giant Google on Friday announced the latest cohort of its free three-month 'AI accelerator' programme -- a group of 20 start-ups selected from over 1,600 applicants in the country.

The programme, titled 'Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First in India,' began this week and aims to scale AI-driven solutions across healthcare, finance, climate, education and more. The programme is designed for AI First startups between Seed to Series A based in India, that are building core AI products, applications or foundational models, a release from the company said.

The support for founders includes Google Cloud infrastructure and access to cutting-edge Gemini models, with technical mentorship and go-to-market strategies.

'At Google, we see startups as our co-creators in building the future of AI with scalable, impactful, and responsible AI solutions that will set new standards for the industry,' said Darren Mowry, VP, Global Startups, Google Cloud.

The strategic focus of this cohort is aligned with the IndiaAI Mission, said Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO, IndiaAI Mission.

Among the cohort are startups which offer a full-stack agentic platform where AI creates AI, a healthtech startup offering a webcam-based autism screening tool.

The program pairs founders with Google engineers and industry mentors to tackle scaling challenges, refine product roadmaps and ensure ethical AI deployment.

The new cohort's strategic focus directly aligns with the IndiaAI Mission's startup pillar, with 45 per cent of the program dedicated towards leveraging Agentic AI. Multimodal AI solutions account for 30 per cent of the programme curriculum, with the remaining 25 per cent dedicated to foundational models and Responsible AI.

India's generative AI ecosystem has grown 3.7-fold over the past year, making it the world's second-largest GenAI startup hub, the company said in the release.

/IANS