IIMA Ventures launches AI residency programme for student entrepreneurs

The month-long, fully funded programme has selected 43 students from more than 11,000 applicants to help transform AI-led startup ideas into validated ventures

IIMA Ventures, an early-stage entrepreneurship and technology investment platform built at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad), has launched an AI Residency Program for student founders building artificial intelligence (AI)-led startups.

 

The initiative, which aims to help young entrepreneurs move from ideas to validated ventures, received more than 11,000 applications from students across 3,200 colleges for its inaugural cohort. Of these, 43 students were selected to participate in the fully funded month-long residential programme at the IIM Ahmedabad campus.

 

According to IIMA Ventures, the cohort reflects its commitment to merit-based selection and broad access. While around 35 per cent of participants are from Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the programme also has strong representation from Tier-II and Tier-III institutions. The selected students include researchers publishing international papers, full-stack product builders, AI practitioners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

 

Throughout the residency, participants are engaging with a network of founders, investors, faculty members and industry leaders. Speakers include Akshay Akash, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stimuler; Naman Pushp of Airbound; Anurag Goel of Render; Prateek Sharma of Ahead VC; Prashant Singh of Jar; Vipul Vachhani, Founder and CEO of Jaivel Aerospace; and Surbhi Patni, Country Head at NovaSpace, among others.

 

Commenting on the initiative, Priyanka Agarwal Chopra, Managing Partner at IIMA Ventures, said: "India has an extraordinary pool of young technical talent, but talent alone does not create companies. Founders need exposure to real-world problems, access to mentors, and an ecosystem that encourages experimentation. Through the AI Residency Program, we are creating a platform where students can learn how to identify meaningful opportunities, validate them rigorously, and build solutions with long-term impact."

 

India produces one of the world's largest pools of engineering and technical talent, yet relatively few students receive structured exposure to entrepreneurship at an early stage. At the same time, venture capital interest in AI startups continues to grow, creating demand for founders who can combine technical expertise with a deep understanding of real-world problems.

 

The AI Residency Program, IIMA Ventures said, aims to help bridge this gap by nurturing a pipeline of AI-native entrepreneurs capable of building globally relevant companies from India.