TechXpedite 2.0 by Games24x7 & Karnataka Govt to Support AI, Gaming & Deep Tech Startups

With the help of the Karnataka government, the Indian online gaming company Games24x7 recently announced the opening of the second iteration of its accelerator program, TechXpedite. This 60-day accelerator program, which has AWS as a cloud partner, aims to develop entrepreneurs in the gaming, AI, and inclusive technology sectors.

According to a NASSCOM report, Bengaluru is home to over 7,000 businesses, confirming its position as India’s top startup hub and contributing 20% of the nation’s total startup activity.

Earlier, at London Tech Week, state IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge introduced a new scale-up program dubbed Hypergrowth Global Karnataka. It seeks to quicken the top tech businesses in Bengaluru and Karnataka’s international market expansion and commercialization. 

To strengthen their capacity for worldwide expansion, the program provides local businesses with access to global mentors, professional scaling guidance from top executives, go-to-market assistance, and contacts with possible new clients and investors.

Numerous accelerator programs, such as JioGenNext, AWS, NVIDIA’s Inception program, and India Accelerator, are currently operational in India. However, real money or skill gaming on the internet has only really taken off in the last several years.

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The Accelerator Program at Games24x7

Since its founding in 2006, Games24x7 has made it a mission to provide gaming on its platforms and to let people connect with the games they enjoy. When businesses these days are incubated in a matter of months, it is nearly unheard of that they took three years (from 2006 to 2009) to launch their first product. 

When it first started GameTech Accelerate last year, it was primarily focused on games but quickly realised that technology—especially artificial intelligence and machine learning—is essential to everything.

Bhavin Pandya, co-CEO and co-founder of Games24x7, stated in an interview that 77% of Indian firms currently employ AI, ML, IoT, or blockchain technology. For this reason, we decided to go beyond mere gaming and concentrate more on supporting the entire tech startup ecosystem.

As a result, they introduced TechXpedite, the subsequent iteration of their accelerator program, which will concentrate on deep technology and spread to additional cities.

“To solve global issues, we are currently taking on tasks like creating integrated circuits and chips for usage in a variety of products. The Indian software industry has spent years trying to find solutions for Western concerns. Consider how Flipkart became an alternative to Amazon or Ola to Uber. However, we are now able to address problems that are specific to India, according to Pandya.

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TechXpedite Accelerator Program, Second Edition

The “GameTech Accelerate – The Future of Gaming” accelerator program was established in December 2023 in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka to foster and advance creative and feasible companies that provide cutting-edge solutions for the rapidly developing online gaming market in India.

After receiving more than 200 applications, the program chose 15 up-and-coming startups in four main focus areas: New Games (Educational, Simulation, MMO, Real Money, Casual, Hyper Casual, and Telemetry); Real-Time Analytics, Telemetry & Personalization; Security and Anti-Cheating Measures; and Community and Social Integration.

“TechXpedite is the kind of catalyst that will go a long way in accelerating the next phase of innovation, helping early-stage startups grow into global leaders,” stated Kharge in a speech during the inaugural ceremony.

Applications to the program are being accepted through November 10 for this year’s session. The program will conclude with a pitch event in February 2025, where a panel of investors, business executives, and domain experts will hear pitches from the chosen startups.

Pandya emphasized, “The future belongs to startups.” The number of startups is predicted to increase from 90,000 in the present to over 2,50,000 by 2030, a 2.6-fold increase. We cannot achieve this growth unless we keep funding the startup environment.

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Karnataka – The AI Hub

Intending to become a worldwide hub for artificial intelligence (AI), the state has signed a letter of intent with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to construct a specialized AI centre. At the WEF meeting in Davos, the state government also inked eight memorandums of understanding with multinational corporations, garnering INR 23,000 crore in investments in the fields of artificial intelligence, citizen services, sustainability, and e-governance.

Furthermore, the rise of businesses like Sarvam AI, which specializes in creating sophisticated AI models, is indicative of Karnataks’ dedication to technical innovation.

India’s first unicorn AI firm, Krutrim AI, is led by Bhavish Aggarwal, the creator of Ola, and has received $50 million at a $1 billion value.

AI innovation is found in more than just large corporations. AI operating systems from startups like KOGO OS, which provide modular AI helpers suited for a range of industries, are upending markets.

Karya AI, on the other hand, is leading the way in the field of rural employment, using AI to generate work prospects through projects in regional languages, and securing important collaborations with major tech companies such as Microsoft and Google.

These programs highlight the state’s position as a centre for AI innovation and offer profound effects in several industries.

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