Unveiling Major Strategies to Amplify India's Artificial Intelligence Potential at the I/O Connect 2025 Event by Google
In a significant move to strengthen its AI presence in India, Google has announced a series of initiatives aimed at localising key AI infrastructure, collaborating with innovative Indian AI startups, and empowering developers to accelerate AI adoption across various sectors. These announcements were made at the Google I/O Connect India 2025 event held in Bengaluru.
One of the key announcements was the localisation of onshore processing for Google's high-performance Gemini 2.5 Flash model within India. This move is designed to provide faster, low-latency AI performance and ensure data sovereignty, which is crucial for regulated sectors like healthcare, finance, and governance. This localisation offers Indian developers speed, stability, and compliance benefits when building AI applications[1][2][4].
Google is also partnering with Indian startups selected by the India AI Mission, including Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani. These startups are building next-generation "Make in India" AI models leveraging Google’s Gemini technology. Additionally, Google collaborates with BharatGen at IIT Bombay to develop indigenous Indic language Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) models, enhancing AI support for underrepresented Indian languages[4].
Google has further emphasised its commitment to the developer ecosystem by introducing agentic AI tools and optimised templates in Firebase Studio. These tools aim to help developers build and deploy full-stack AI applications more quickly and efficiently[1][2].
The Play and Android platforms contributed ₹4 lakh crore in revenue and generated 35 lakh jobs in 2024. Google also unveiled a range of AI initiatives, including AI-powered summaries in the Places API, which will help developers create location-based services tailored specifically for Indian users. Google also launched the 'Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training' program, a specialized training program for 500 Indian developers[2].
Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind, stated that Indian developers are building real-world applications using AI capabilities. Google's initiatives are a testament to this, as they encourage developers to apply AI skills to real-world challenges. The Gen AI Exchange Hackathon, for instance, encouraged developers to showcase impactful solutions built using Google’s AI models, with startups such as Sarvam, InVideo, Glance, and Nykaa among the participants[1].
Moreover, Google announced expanded access to over 250 million mapped places globally, providing developers with a wider range of data to build location-based services. Google's latest AI initiatives for Indian developers are set to revolutionise the AI landscape in India, fostering innovation and driving economic growth[1][2][4].
[1] https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/google-unveils-ai-initiatives-for-indian-developers/article33280131.ece [2] https://www.thehindu.com/technology/Google/google-unveils-ai-initiatives-at-google-io-connect-india-2025/article66567023.ece [3] https://www.financialexpress.com/technology/google-to-localise-gemini-2-5-flash-ai-model-in-india/2544544/ [4] https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/google-unveils-ai-initiatives-for-indian-developers-at-google-io-connect-india-2025-1924217-2025-05-11
Artificial intelligence models built by Indian startups like Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani, with Google's Gemini technology, are intended to transform various sectors, including healthcare, by leveraging advanced AI capabilities. To further enhance AI support for underrepresented Indian languages, Google collaborates with BharatGen at IIT Bombay to develop Indic language Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) models.
