Google will groom these 10 Indian startups that use AI and machine learning

• Google just announced the 10 startups that have been shortlisted for the second calls of its Launchpad Accelerator program in India.
• All of the startups on the list have used artificial intelligence and machine learning to formulate their products.

Google just announced the second wave of startups selected for their Launch Accelerator program in India. And, all the startups on the list feature use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in one or the other component of their businesses.

The program kicks off today with a one week mentorship programme boot camp organised by Google in Bengaluru which will be followed by more classes in April and May to address more specific issues — lasting a total of three months.

Aside from guidance, Google will also provide support for AI and ML, cloud computing, developing user interfaces, using the Android platform, online presence, product strategy and marketing. And depending on the startup, they will be receiving Google Cloud Credits between $20,000 (₹1.3 million) to $100,000 (₹6.9 million).

Meet the 10 startups that were shortlisted for Google’s second class of the Launchpad Accelerator program in India:

1. Opentalk
Opentalk is an app that allows users to reach out to other users all over the world to hone their language skills. So users can meet new people that speak the language that they’re looking to learn. They also have the options for users to follow trending topics in case their looking to engage on a particular issue.


OpenTalk already has a 100 languages, 150 countries and 1500 colleges using their app.


2. THB
THB stands for Technology, Healthcare and Big Data Analytics and a pretty accurate description of the what the company does. Using technology they standardise data on healthcare to help healthcare providers and medical practitioners with different use cases like PEP (Personalised Patient Care), medical sales force productivity booster and clinical decision support.


Based out of Gurgaon, the clinical intelligence company is currently present in 50 cities across 12 states in India.


3. Perceptiviti Data Solutions
Having started out in 2017, Perceptiviti Data Solutions focused on finding solutions for fraud and risk management in insurance, financial services and digital payment services. Their flagship product called ‘Sherlock’ is a fraud detection platform that claims 90% accuracy after having assessed over one million insurance claims using AI.


4. DheeYantra
DheeYatra is already in use by the Syndicate Bank and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. It’s an AI platform that currently helps businesses operate across 8 different Indian languages.


With the help of AI, the company has developed chatbots and solutions in natural language processing (NLP), optical character recognition (OCR), and Indic transliteration. Brand names, scanned images and even a whole website can be translated into various Indian vernacular languages using their application programming interfaces (APIs).


5. FinancePeer
Just like there are peer-to-peer (P2P) online marketplaces for cars and used goods, FinancePeer is a P2P lending company that connects lenders with borrowers online. Users can sign up as borrowers or lenders after the platform analyses their borrower credit score using AI that taps into multiple parameters including social profiles.


The company claims that it only takes 10 minutes to set up a profile online and since it’s an open marketplace, borrowers will only face competitive and low interest rates. Lenders, on the other hand, can allegedly get returns upto 37% per annum.


6. SmartCoin
Gunning for financial inclusion in India, SmartCoin is another lending app that uses AI and machine learning to assess the risk profile of a borrower. The app main goal is to provide short-term credit to the underserved and low-income households in India.


So far, SmartCoin has a 100,000 users and has shelled out over 300,000 loans.


7. HRBOT
Finding new candidates for a job can be excruciating process without a filtering mechanism in place. HRBOT, using AI and machine learning to scan the 120,000 job seekers on its platform to find applicants that would be best suited for a particular post according to the requirements that recruiters share. It company’s main selling point is that it has access to candidates in tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India.


8. Savera.ai
The use of solar panels to reduce the burden of electricity requirements and its positive environment impact are no secret. But since the technology is still relatively new in India, Savera.ai helps users decide whether or not their roof is ready for a solar panel by issuing a ‘Sun Score’.


The ‘Sun Score’ is the final ranking of how ready an individual’s house is for a solar panel after analysing the location of a users’ house, identifying the rooftop, running a weather analysis and taking individual state’s solar policy into account.


And, should a user choose to set up a solar panel, savera.ai has chatbot support to get them setup with local service providers.


9. Kaleidofin
This is essentially a financial management tool. Users can set their financial goals and Kaleidofin will suggest how much user should saved each month while taking financial volatilities into account. Since the profile is tailored for each user, how a user’s savings should be used is also diversified over different financial products including ways to invest using a data driven model to estimate the income level, saving capacity and financial health of customers.


It’s already being used by many mutual funds in India like Aditya Birla Capital, Franklin Templeton Investments, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and SBI Mutual Fund.


10. Adiuvo Diagnostics
The company isn’t just an app or a platform — but has an actual physical device which can detect and classify skin infections in under 2 minutes. It’s easy for doctors because the ‘Skin-Scope’ is a handheld medical device and the pro for patients is that the whole diagnostic process is non-invasive.


Kaleidofin and Adiuvo Diagnostics are the only two startups selected that have women entrepreneurs at the helm.

Google initially started the Launchpad Accelerator Program globally back in 2016. The very first batch of the Launchpad Accelerator that was originally a 6-month mentorship at the Google headquarters in California included Nestaway, a Ratan Tata investment that helps users find homes without a broker.

Another well known startup, ShareChat — a social networking chat platform that uses local Indian languages — was also a part of the Launchpad Accelerator in the second batch.

The Launchpad Accelerator India was only introduced by Google in July 2018 that saw startups like Multibhashi, OliveWear and Genrobotics.

Aside from India, the program also operates in Sao Paulo, Tel Aviv, Nigeria, Tokyo and Singapore. So far, it has mentored 30 startups in India through its global accelerator programme.

See also:
Here’s how to make it to Google's Launchpad Accelerator Program

Here's what's in store for these 7 Indian Startups selected for Google's Launchpad Accelerator Program