Bangalore | April 20, 2026: Bharat1.ai convened over 50 leading AI technologists, policymakers, global and Indian investors, and AI founders at its B1 AI Superpark in Bengaluru for a closed-door marathon strategy session to define India’s most critical AI-led challenges. The session marked the launch of the “Build for Humanity Buildathon”, a national initiative inviting developers, researchers, and startups to build solutions aligned with these priorities.
India’s $30 Trillion Ambition
With India’s GDP currently at $3.9 trillion and targeting an 8x expansion to $30 trillion by 2047, discussions focused on how artificial intelligence can amplify India’s demographic advantage, including 20 million developers and one of the world’s largest working-age populations.
Participants explored how aligning this talent base with targeted AI-led interventions across agriculture, manufacturing, mobility, governance, and inclusive infrastructure could unlock the next phase of growth.
Distinguished Participants
The session brought together leaders across technology, policy, and investment, including:
- MJ Akbar (Former External Affairs Minister, GOI)
- Neelkanth Mishra (PM Economic Advisor, Chairman UIDAI)
- T.V. Mohandas Pai (Padma Shri Awardee, Industry Thought Leader)
- Prashant Prakash (Founding Partner, Accel)
- S Ramann (Chairperson, PFRDA)
- Lt Gen A Arun (Retd) (Former DG Perspective Planning, Indian Army)
- Abhay Singhal (Co-founder, InMobi)
- Prof Ashutosh Sharma (Former Secretary, Dept of Science & Technology, GOI)
- Prof Nitin Saxena (IIT Kanpur, Gödel & Fulkerson Prize Winner)
Grand Challenges Identified
Focused working groups defined a set of “Grand Challenges”:
- Large-scale skilling
- Agricultural transformation
- Manufacturing innovation
- Mobility solutions
- Governance efficiency
- Inclusive infrastructure
These problem statements will directly shape the Buildathon tracks, emphasizing solutions that can be rapidly prototyped and scaled.
T.V. Mohandas Pai: “AI is transforming the world at an unprecedented pace. The AI city in Bangalore aims to become India’s hub for AI innovation, with world-class infrastructure, mentorship, and an ecosystem designed to accelerate product development. The Bharat1.ai Buildathon marks an important step in catalyzing India’s AI acceleration journey.”
MJ Akbar: Highlighted the critical importance of owning technologies like drones, cybersecurity, and defense AI in a world where “war is the new normal.”
Prashant Prakash, Accel Partner & Padma Shri Awardee: “India has no shortage of ideas or talent. What we need is coordinated execution at scale. Bharat1.ai presents that opportunity, if capital, policy, and builders are aligned.”
Umakant Soni, Co-founder, Bharat1.ai: “India’s journey to a $30 trillion economy will require step-change thinking. AI can be that lever, but only if we build deliberately, for India and for humanity.”
Neelkanth Mishra & Subhashis Banerjee, Co-founders, Bharat1.ai: Stressed that India has only 20 years to leverage its demographic dividend before the curve inverts. AI solutions must be built for India and exported globally to achieve the 9%+ growth required for a $30 trillion economy.
Build for Humanity Buildathon
- Registrations: April 23 – May 20, 2026
- First Challenge: Unlocking human capital – turning 900M workers into creative thinkers
- Screening: 150 teams shortlisted; 20 advance to extended build phase.
- Support: Infrastructure, research mentorship, and AI ecosystem partners.
- Finale: October 2026, with select teams receiving up to $5M funding and AI infrastructure support at Bharat1.ai.
Partnerships
The initiative is supported by:
NVIDIA, Government of Karnataka, AIRAWAT, DPIIT, Wadhwani AI, BITS Pilani, AI Bhoomi, among others.
Additionally, Bharat1.ai hosted a Y Combinator Hackathon at the AI City, selecting 10 winning startups who will now receive free compute connectivity and workspace access for product development.
About Bharat1.ai
Founded by Umakant Soni, Subhashis Banerjee & Sireesh Kupendra, Bharat1.ai is building a humanity-centric AI ecosystem from the B1 AI Superpark in Bangalore. Its Think Storm and Buildathon initiatives connect strategy with execution, bringing together ideas, talent, and capital to build solutions for India’s next phase of growth.
About B1 AI Superpark
Founded by Umakant Soni, Subhashis Banerjee & Sireesh Reddy, the Superpark integrates:
- AI startup incubation
- AI venture investing
- Public-private coordination
- Real estate development
- City-scale infrastructure
With collaboration from NVIDIA and partnerships with leading researchers, startups, and innovation partners, B1 AI Superpark is envisioned as the place to build AI for & from Bharat.
