THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Over 20 AI startups from Kerala have been selected to showcase their products at the upcoming International Gen AI Conclave scheduled to be held in Kochi on July 11 and 12. The first-ever event of its kind in the country, the conclave is being co-hosted by the Kerala government and tech giant IBM.
Anoop Ambika, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), said, “The conclave will open up business and growth opportunities for the companies. Our entrepreneurs will get a chance to interact with national and international players in the sector and other stakeholders attending the meet,” Anoop told TNIE. Participating startups may find new markets or get new investors or mentorship from tech majors, he said.
The conclave will deliberate on the impact of generative AI, challenges and latest developments, besides exploring opportunities to leverage AI for India’s economic advancement and career growth of youth in India. Panel discussions, interactive sessions and product demos on how generative AI can be deployed with trust and confidence are the event’s highlights.
The startups were selected based on the ideas they pitched at ‘IBM Watsonx Challenge’, a virtual hackathon.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve announced that the hackathon’s winner will get a scale-up fund of upto `1 crore from the KSIDC. “AI is one of the 22 priority sectors identified by the industries department. The GenAI conclave aims at transforming Kerala into a major AI hub. The department hopes the state will become a preferred destination for hi-tech manufacturers in 10-15 years,” he said.
The conclave will be held at Lulu Grand Hyatt Bolgatty International Convention Centre, and will be attended by industry leaders, policy-makers, innovators and academia from AI, defence and software domains.
Former NASA astronaut and technology executive Steve Lee Smith will be the key speaker at the conclave. Smith will speak on ‘Lessons Learned from A Skywalker’ at 4.15pm on opening day-July 11.