From comics to chatbots, startups adopt Google AI for local impact

At Google I/O Connect India 2025, Indian startups demonstrated AI apps built on Google's platforms, powering innovations in translation, entertainment, and enterprise

Eight Indian startups demonstrated applications built on Google’s AI platforms at the Google I/O Connect India 2025 conference, showcasing how local companies are leveraging the tech giant’s cloud infrastructure to tackle challenges across education, governance, commerce and media.

 

The demonstrations highlighted how India's entrepreneurial ecosystem has embraced Google’s AI Studio, Cloud and Vertex AI services to build scalable solutions tailored to the country’s diverse market needs.

 

One such startup, Sarvam—selected for the INDIAai Mission—is building AI tools tailored to India’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Its open-source Sarvam-Translate model, built on Google’s Gemma 3, delivers accurate, context-rich translations across all 22 official Indian languages. 

 

Gemma 3’s multilingual efficiency helped cut training and inference costs, enabling Sarvam to scale the model, which now handles over 100,000 translation requests weekly. The API also powers Samvaad, Sarvam’s conversational AI platform, which has processed more than 10 million conversation turns in Indian languages.

 

“Gemma breaks down Indian language text into fewer tokens on average, which directly improves the model’s ability to represent and learn from these languages efficiently,” said Pratyush Kumar, founder, Sarvam.

 

In the entertainment sector, Dashverse is using Google’s Veo 3, Lyria 2 on Vertex AI, and Gemini to build Dashtoon Studio and Frameo—AI-native platforms that turn text prompts into comics and cinematic videos. These tools support its consumer apps, Dashtoon and Dashreels, which now serve over 2 million users. The company has also produced a 90-minute AI-generated Indian mythology epic using Veo 3, and is using Lyria 2 to help users create soundtracks that adapt in real time to narrative pacing on platforms like Dashreels.

 

Similarly, Toonsutra is using Google’s Lyria 2 and Gemini 2.5 Pro on Vertex AI to add dynamic music and lifelike character speech to its Indian-language webcomics. Images are animated with Veo 3’s image-to-video feature, creating a more immersive and interactive storytelling experience. By combining advanced AI with culturally rooted narratives, Toonsutra is pushing the boundaries of vernacular digital entertainment.

 

On the enterprise side, AI startup CoRover is using Google’s Gemini to power customisable, multilingual chatbots for businesses, enabling communication in over 100 languages with near 99 per cent accuracy. Its solutions, including BharatGPT, have supported more than 1 billion users and facilitated over 20 billion interactions across 25,000 enterprises and developers.

 

By deploying Gemini via the Google Cloud AI Stack, CoRover reports a 70 per cent boost in operational efficiency and a tenfold increase in solution deployment speed, while maintaining high customer satisfaction. 

 

The showcase reflects Google’s strategy to deepen its penetration in India’s startup ecosystem. It is doing so by demonstrating how its AI infrastructure can drive local innovation while addressing uniquely Indian market needs.

 

Over the last decade, the Google for Startups Accelerator family has supported over 230 Indian startups. This year, the company said it is expanding its partnership with the MeitY Startup Hub to bring advanced AI to thousands of early-stage companies, including through new programmes like the Agentic AI Roadshows and Masterclass, and a GenAI Startup Buildathon with partners such as Nasscom.