Nvidia to partner with Indian VC firms to back startups

Nvidia is broadening its presence in India as the US chipmaker strengthens partnerships across venture capital, cloud infrastructure, and data centers, betting on rapid growth in the country’s artificial-intelligence ecosystem.

The company said on Wednesday it is working with several venture capital firms — Peak XV, Z47, Elevation Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, and Accel India — to identify and fund AI startups.

The move comes as venture investors increasingly focus on India’s technology sector, where a strong initial public offering market has delivered lucrative returns.

More than 4,000 Indian AI startups have already joined Nvidia’s global startup program, which helps companies build, scale, and go to market, according to the chip designer.

Nvidia also said it is collaborating with government agencies and research institutions while continuing efforts to support domestic data-center development.

The company’s expansion aligns with New Delhi’s “IndiaAI mission,” designed to strengthen the country’s artificial-intelligence capabilities and unlock funding for entrepreneurs.

As of September last year, New Delhi had approved $18 billion in semiconductor projects to build a domestic supply chain.

India is currently hosting an AI summit attended by major technology executives and heads of state.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang had been expected to attend but withdrew due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

Data centers and infrastructure investments accelerate

Nvidia has also partnered with Indian cloud providers Yotta, Larsen & Toubro, and E2E Networks to deploy AI chip clusters and help construct domestic data-center capacity.

A government official said the country expects as much as $200 billion in data-center investments over the coming years.

India’s Adani Group has announced plans to invest $100 billion in renewable energy-powered, AI-ready data centers.

American hyperscalers Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have also committed more than $50 billion toward AI infrastructure and chips in the country.

Separately, Indian data-center operator Yotta Data Services said it will build one of Asia’s largest AI computing hubs using Nvidia’s latest Blackwell Ultra chips.

The project involves a four-year engagement with Nvidia worth more than $1 billion and will cost over $2 billion in total.

Once operational, the facility will become one of the Asia-Pacific region’s largest DGX Cloud clusters within Yotta’s infrastructure.

The supercluster is expected to go live by August at Yotta’s campus near New Delhi, with additional capacity provided from its Mumbai facility.

Yotta, co-founded by Hiranandani Group CEO Darshan Hiranandani and Sunil Gupta, already operates hyperscale data centers in Mumbai-Panvel, GIFT City in Gujarat, and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, with additional projects planned across major Indian cities.

Sovereign AI ambitions drive collaboration

Nvidia said it is also supporting domestic companies through its “NVIDIA Nemotron models” — a family of AI systems that organizations can use to build chatbots, agents, and speech applications.

The company noted the models allow Indian firms to train systems on local data and languages.

These initiatives support India’s effort to develop sovereign AI capabilities.

Sovereign AI refers to a country’s ability to build artificial intelligence based on its own infrastructure, data, and industry, reducing reliance on foreign providers.