Nvidia is intensifying its efforts to engage with India's artificial intelligence startups at earlier stages of development, announcing a series of partnerships this week designed to connect with founders even before their companies are officially launched. This initiative aims to help the AI chipmaker build relationships with potential future customers in one of the world's most rapidly expanding developer ecosystems.

The latest step involves a collaboration with early-stage venture firm Activate, which intends to invest in approximately 25 to 30 AI startups from its $75 million inaugural fund while offering portfolio companies prioritized access to Nvidia's technical resources. This follows other India-centric announcements made this week, including work with the nonprofit AI Grants India to assist early-stage founders and new alliances with venture firms focused on the South Asian nation.

This surge in activity coincides with India hosting its AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, which has attracted leading technology companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was scheduled to attend but did not appear due to what the company described as unforeseen circumstances. A senior delegation led by executive vice president Jay Puri represented the company instead, meeting with local AI researchers, startups, developers, and partners.

India has become one of the fastest-growing sources of AI developers and startups, making it an increasingly vital market for Nvidia as it seeks to broaden the adoption of its chips and computing software. By engaging more closely with founders from the very beginning, the company is positioning itself to secure long-term demand as new AI-native businesses grow.

Aakrit Vaish, founder of Activate, noted that Nvidia's historical involvement with startups in India has been relatively limited compared to its engagement in the U.S., but the chipmaker is now seeking to collaborate with founders much earlier in their entrepreneurial journey. Activate plans to capitalize on this shift by directly linking its portfolio startups with Nvidia experts.

The venture firm, which Vaish characterizes as focused on "inception investing," connects with technical teams months before formal company establishment and works closely with them as they develop. Its supporters include venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, Perplexity co-founder Aravind Srinivas, Peak XV managing director Shailendra Singh, and Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, highlighting the influential network Activate is building around its early-stage approach.

For Nvidia, the rationale behind partnering with an early-stage venture firm is clear: the sooner it establishes relationships with promising AI startups, the more likely those companies are to depend on its computing infrastructure as they expand. Nvidia already maintains a significant presence in the country through its Inception program, which supports over 4,000 startups in India.

This week, the chipmaker further expanded its local ecosystem connections, forming partnerships with venture firms like Accel, Peak XV, Z47, Elevation Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners to identify and fund AI startups. It also collaborated separately with AI Grants India, co-founded by Vaibhav Domkundwar and Bhasker (Bosky) Kode, to support more than 10,000 early-stage founders over the next year.

The company has been gradually widening its startup outreach in India over time. In November 2025, Nvidia joined the India Deep Tech Alliance, a consortium of U.S. and Indian investors including Accel, Blume Ventures, Premji Invest, and Celesta Capital, to offer strategic and technical guidance to emerging startups in the country.

Vaish explained that Activate's partnership with Nvidia is intended to provide a more selective layer on top of the company's extensive Inception program, which serves thousands of startups worldwide. By acting as an early filter for high-potential technical teams, Activate aims to give its portfolio companies more direct and timely access to Nvidia's engineering knowledge.

This increased activity highlights the growing competition among global technology firms to attract AI developers and startups in India, which has emerged as one of the fastest-growing hubs of technical talent outside the United States.