At Google I/O Connect, the company unveiled a range of tools, programs, and partnerships for Indian developers and start-ups.

Google shared it is working with MeitY Startup Hub to train 10,000 start-ups in AI, expanding access to its AI models like Gemini and Gemma, introducing new language tools from Google DeepMind India, and enhancing the software development process with AI-powered features, with a steadfast focus on responsible AI.

According to the tech giant, today, more than 1.5 million developers globally use Gemini models across its tools. Google claims to be democratizing AI for developers by focusing on three key areas - multimodal, multilingual, and mobile.

The company is reportedly supporting start-ups in their AI journeys through Google Cloud credits, AI-first programming curriculum, among other initiatives.

Developers can access Google’s AI models with the 2 million token context window in Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemma 2, the next generation of open models.

Ambharish Kenghe, Vice President, Google, said, “We have been investing in AI for over a decade, driving fundamental advancements that have led us to the exciting Gemini era. AI is a powerful enabler and a major inflection point that will require us to continuously reimagine what’s possible.”

“We’re committed to empowering Indian innovators to harness AI’s full potential, creating solutions that not only address India’s unique needs but also shape the future of AI globally.”

Google is introducing Google Wallet APIs to simplify the integration of loyalty programs, tickets, and gift cards. For developers using Google Maps Platform, India-specific pricing is being introduced with up to 70 per cent lower costs on most APIs.

Google is also collaborating with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), offering developers building for ONDC up to 90 per cent off on select Google Maps Platform APIs.

“With leading enterprises, the Indian government also plays a key role in cloud, and generative AI. They have taken this up as a mandate driving citizen services or even core functions like finance, defence, etc. This is now an integral part of their planning and executions. Enterprises, governments, start-ups, developers all use our solutions,” Subram Natarajan, Director of Customer Engineering, Google Cloud, told businessline.

Stating that over 70 per cent of unicorns use Google Cloud solutions, the brand added that companies like Airtel, Apollo 24/7, and Mahindra Rise are among those building Gen AI apps on Google cloud.

Chen Goldberg, GM & VP, Cloud Runtimes, said, “We are investing a lot in our software supply chain. With hackers and vulnerabilities, we are helping our customers ensure everything they build or from code is being deployed. We have offered our customers the same process my team building Google products uses. There is a wide portfolio - from confidential computing to key management, and control our customers have over their data.”

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