India Summit: Kickoff with $1.1B Fund

On February 16, 2026, the India AI Impact Summit opened in New Delhi. The main announcement of the first day was the approval of a state "fund of funds" totaling ~$1.1 billion to support deep-tech and AI startups.

The Indian government is moving from words to action. The new funding mechanism addresses the main problem of local startups — the lack of "patient" capital for R&D. India is building its own ecosystem to avoid dependence on Silicon Valley venture capital.

Source: Reuters / TechCrunch