Google launches market access programme to help Indian startups scale globally

New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Google on Thursday announced the launch of the Google Market Access Programme, a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at helping Indian startups strengthen their go-to-market strategies and move faster from local pilots to global scale.

The announcement was made at the ‘Google AI Startups Conclave’ here, where the company reaffirmed its long-term commitment to India’s rapidly growing AI startup ecosystem.

The new programme is designed for AI-first startups that have crossed the prototype stage but face challenges in converting successful pilots into long-term enterprise contracts.

Through structured learning, global exposure, and direct access to senior business leaders, Google aims to help founders bridge what it calls the “commercial last mile” of innovation.

Under the Market Access Program, selected startups will receive training on enterprise selling, global pricing models, and international buyer behaviour.

They will also gain facilitated access to Google’s global network of CIOs and CXOs, along with immersion opportunities in key international markets in partnership with ecosystem organisations such as TiE Silicon Valley and Alteus.

Speaking at the event, Preeti Lobana, Country Manager for India at Google, said Indian startups are building deep technology and solving problems at population scale.

“India has become strong in turning ideas into prototypes, many startups struggle during the scaling phase,” Lobana added.

Alongside the programme, Google announced new additions to its open Gemma model family to support advanced AI applications.

The company introduced MedGemma 1.5, an open medical AI model that enables startups to work with complex medical imaging such as CT scans, MRI scans, histopathology slides, and medical reports.

The model is expected to support next-generation healthcare diagnostics and research.

Google also launched FunctionGemma, a lightweight model optimised for function calling and on-device AI agents.

It allows applications to convert natural language instructions into real actions on devices, enabling fast, private, and low-latency AI solutions even without constant internet connectivity.

–IANS

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