The August edition of AIM Print captures the changing face of AI, startups, and enterprise technology in India and beyond. From India’s ambitious AI agent ecosystem to the story of a prisoner-turned-engineer who codes 90 hours a week, this issue delivers insights into innovation, resilience, and the challenges shaping the industry.
Locked Up, Logged In: Coding Behind Bars
One of the most striking features in this edition is the story of Preston Thorpe, a software engineer at Turso, who continues to write code from within the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Maine. Proficient in Rust, Python, and databases, Thorpe turned his incarceration into a journey of self-learning, contributing to open-source projects and rewriting parts of SQLite. Without access to large language models, he relied on project-based learning, which he now calls a blessing. His story is not just about coding but about how AI and software can become tools of rehabilitation and empowerment.
India’s AI Agent Gamble
The cover story explores how Indian startups are leading the push into agentic AI—AI systems that don’t just generate text but plan, reason, and execute.
- RevRag, led by Ashutosh Singh, is embedding AI agents into apps for Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities, aiming for a $10 million revenue target by 2027.
- Gupshup, under CEO Beerud Sheth, is leveraging its massive messaging infrastructure for conversational agents.
- Gnani.ai, founded by Ganesh Gopalan and Ananth Nagaraj, has built Inya.ai, a voice-first agentic platform deployed at IDFC First Bank and HDFC Bank.
- Floworks, co-founded by Sudipta Biswas, is reimagining sales with AI SDRs that qualify leads and book meetings.
- Sarvam AI recently launched Samvaad and open-weight models for Indic languages, pushing for India-first AI.
- SaaS giant Zoho, led by Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, continues its pragmatic AI strategy with proprietary LLM stacks.
- AIonOS, co-founded by CP Gurnani and Arjun Nagulapally, is building IntelliMate, a deep-tech agentic AI platform for enterprises.
- Krutrim, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, launched Kruti, an AI assistant built for Bharat, supporting 11 Indian languages and Aadhaar/PAN card inputs.
The ecosystem now counts more than 100 startups, with investors like Redis backing firms such as Kore AI. India’s agentic AI future may not mirror Silicon Valley, but its ambition is unmistakable.
IIT-Kanpur: India’s Next Unicorn Hub
The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC) at IIT-Kanpur has incubated more than 425 startups, with around 200 deemed successful. Professor Deepu Philip revealed that the incubator has supported startups worth over ₹7,228 crore. Unlike many institutions, SIIC is inclusive—open to innovators across India, not just IIT alumni.
Startups include Ananant Systems (5G chip design), Life and Limb (intelligent prosthetics), xTerra Robotics (unmanned ground robots), and VU Dynamics (chemical drones). Partnerships with Toyota Tsusho, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and NMexus in New Mexico are helping Kanpur startups scale globally.
Madhya Pradesh’s GCC Playbook
While Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune dominate the GCC map, Madhya Pradesh is charting a new path. Sanjay Dubey, Additional Chief Secretary, highlighted plans to attract 50+ GCCs and 37,000 direct jobs. With over 300 engineering colleges and partnerships with Meta, AWS, Barclays, and L&T Mindtree, MP is positioning Indore and Bhopal as next-gen tech hubs. The state is also preparing a Space Tech Policy and CoEs in semiconductors, drones, and agri-tech.
Global Tech: MongoDB, Red Hat, and Snowflake vs Databricks
- MongoDB, under VP Boris Bialek, is embedding itself into IDEs like VS Code and IntelliJ, with GitHub Copilot integrations and Atlas CLI. Partners like Microsoft’s Azim Uddin confirmed its expanding role in enterprise AI.
- Red Hat, with Ameeta Roy and Mangesh Surve, is integrating Llama 4, vLLM, and llm-d to democratize enterprise AI. Its commitment to open-source scalability spans BFSI, government, and airlines.
- The ongoing Snowflake vs Databricks rivalry has moved to PostgreSQL, as both compete for developer mindshare and enterprise data dominance.
AI in Sports and Beyond
AI is transforming Indian sports analytics, with startups like KhiladiPro (founded by David Gladson) and ScoutEdge (founded by Satyendra Kumar) building solutions for performance insights and rural talent discovery. Yet experts like Rushil Munjal of Wicky.ai caution that AI cannot replace human judgment in scouting.
Elsewhere, Bhashini, India’s national language platform, continues its mission to democratize digital access. EkStep Foundation’s Shankar Maruwada shared his vision of technology serving those most in need. And at 91, John Blackman has become a “vibe coder,” building church event tools with AI, proving age is no barrier to learning.
The August 2025 issue of AIM Print weaves together stories of scale, resilience, and reinvention. From Preston Thorpe’s prison cell coding journey to IIT-Kanpur’s unicorn ambitions, from agentic AI startups to Red Hat’s open-source AI push, it captures the spirit of a tech industry in motion.
India’s AI story is no longer about catching up—it’s about shaping global narratives. This edition makes it clear that the momentum is real, and the stakes are higher than ever.
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