Google for Startups, Antler India Launch Two-Phase AI Programme for Indian Founders

Google for Startups and Antler India have jointly launched the Google for Startups Immersion, a hybrid programme aimed at founders, CTOs, and technical leads building AI-led companies in India. Applications opened on May 8 and will close on May 22.

The programme is structured in two phases—an online immersion followed by an invitation-only offline session—and is explicitly designed for startups that already have a live product and early traction. Idea-stage startups without a deployed product are not eligible.

The first phase will run online across four sessions and is open to up to 5,000 founders across India. The technical track will cover AI Studio, Antigravity, and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform through hands-on implementation sessions. Running in parallel, the venture track, led by Antler India, will address the current AI investment climate, unit economics, and what defensibility means to investors today.

The second phase is scheduled at Google's Ananta office in Bengaluru. It is reserved for the top 25 startups from the online cohort. Selection will involve a joint review by Google and Antler, followed by 20-minute rapid interviews from a shortlist of 50 startups. The in-person day will include live architecture whiteboarding with Google Cloud Customer Engineers, one-on-one office hours with Antler's team on go-to-market strategy, pricing, and fundraising, as well as an off-the-record fireside chat and founder mixer.

"The Google for Startups Immersion is designed for founders who are already building and want to go deeper on implementation. We want to help strong technical teams work more closely with Google's AI tools and infrastructure, while also giving them access to the business perspective they need to scale," Ragini Das, Head of Google for Startups India, said in a statement.

Antler India partner Nitin Sharma framed the programme within a broader shift in India's startup ecosystem. "India's AI moment is finally here. We are now emerging as the world's next exciting ecosystem to build for all layers of the AI stack. The talent is exceptional, and the ambition is increasingly global. Through our Residency programs, Antler has worked with founders from day zero, from validating an idea through to the first investment. The Google for Startups Immersion extends that philosophy: we are meeting founders where they already are, including those with a live product and real traction, and helping them build game-changing ventures."

Antler India operates through a $75 million India fund and has backed over 115 startups across sectors, including AI, fintech, deeptech, health, and climate. Globally, the firm has invested in over 1,300 startups across 30 cities and aims to support more than 6,000 by 2030.