Tamil Nadu unveils India's first AI-focused technology business incubator
The Tamil Nadu Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), T M Anbarasan, has taken a significant step towards AI development in India. He recently launched the country's first government-accredited AI venture factory, which is an AI-startup-focused Technology Business Incubator (TBI). The main aim of this initiative is to train young people from Tamil Nadu in AI technology. Addressing the launch event, Anbarasan said, "In order to protect the information of States, Centre and private sectors through the growing AI sector, HaiVE, a company operating in Australia with its headquarters in Singapore, has developed a new technology to create a cyber security framework. This TBI has been started to train the youth of our Tamil Nadu in this AI".
"AI Venture Factory as a non-profit organization has launched India's first TBI in Chennai with an investment of 15 million dollars for the benefit of students. And the TN government has provided Rs 19.84 crore for the development of TBI. Through this, an average of 4,000 to 5,000 youth are given AI training annually. The youth and students trained in this TBI can get employment or start their own ventures", he detailed.
Additionally, the MSME minister announced that Entrepreneurship centres-Hubs have been set up at 31 locations to offer guidance to students in 1,545 colleges around the state who want to start a business. Speaking on the developments, Deepika Loganathan, CEO of HaiVE, said, "We are excited to collaborate with the TN government and StartupTN to create India's first government-accredited AI incubator, offering cutting-edge resources, mentorship and a nurturing environment for AI startups".
"HaiVE aims to lead the charge in shaping the future of AI innovation, supporting entrepreneurs and contributing to India's burgeoning AI ecosystem. The incubator is designed to be a crucible of innovation, offering state-of-the-art resources like H100 AI server timeshares, AI scientists' mentorship and a conducive environment for young AI ventures to flourish", she added. Archana Patnaik, Secretary of the MSME department; Arun Roy, Secretary of Industries; and Kumaragurubaran, Secretary of School Education were present.
