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BITS School of Management (BITSoM), under the aegis of BITS Pilani, hosted the Grand Finale of BITSoM VERTEX Builders Pitch Fest at ICICI Bank’s Service Centre in BKC, Mumbai, bringing together 50 emerging AI startups, enterprise leaders, technology experts and academia to accelerate the development of real-world, enterprise-ready AI solutions.
Launched in August 2026 in partnership with Silicon Valley-based AI Innovation Studio LENZ, BITSoM VERTEX detailed its operational framework and stated mission to graduate 100 enterprise-ready AI startups over the next three years, accelerating India’s AI innovation ecosystem by bridging the gap between promising AI prototypes and corporate market adoption.
The nationwide search received over 2,300 registrations, shortlisting 150 startups for Day 1 (the BUILD stage hosted at the BITSoM campus) and advancing 50 startups to Day 2 (the PITCH stage at ICICI Bank’s Service Centre in BKC, Mumbai). The 35 startups advancing to the next stage include startup names among others, representing solutions across enterprise AI, automation, vertical AI, multilingual AI, ed-tech AI and financial AI.
Supporting Startups Through Enterprise Partnerships
As the lead enterprise partner, ICICI Bank will support the BFSI startups by providing direct access to subject matter expertise and domain mentorship at every stage of their journey. The Bank hosted the final startup selection stage of this incubator programme at its Service Centre in BKC, Mumbai. This involvement will help founders navigate complex sector-specific scenarios, refine their product architecture and tailor their solutions for potential enterprise deployment.
A key differentiator of the BITSoM VERTEX model is the active role played by enterprise partners, who help founders solve meaningful, high-value business challenges. The enterprise partner ecosystem includes ICICI Bank as the lead enterprise partner, alongside corporate partners Straive, Blue Ocean and Frontier. Ranging from enterprise-specific scenarios to business scenarios and datasets, enterprise partners enable startups to build against real-world use cases, participate in corporate pilots and sharpen their offerings for market relevance. Additionally, these partners provide hands-on mentorship, product feedback and masterclasses, while participating as jury members in pressure-tested build events and evaluating mature solutions for potential corporate adoption.
To power the compute and operational needs of growing AI companies, the programme is also supported by leading technology ecosystem partners, including AWS, Google Cloud, MongoDB, Zoho and ClickUp. These partners will provide cohort startups with infrastructure credits and tools covering various aspects of the technology infrastructure needed to build AI products and services.
Industry Experts Discuss the Future of Enterprise AI
The event featured a fireside chat on “Why BITSoM VERTEX and why now?” with Prof. Saravanan Kesavan, Dean, BITSoM and Arvind, Managing Director, BITSoM VERTEX, followed by a keynote by Dr. Shailesh Kumar, Chief Data Scientist, CoE AI/ML, Jio. This was followed by a panel discussion on “What does it take to build real Enterprise AI?”, moderated by Arvind with industry leaders from Straive, ADP, TiE Global, Jio and BITSoM.
Prof. Saravanan Kesavan, Dean, BITSoM, said, “The next generation of AI companies will need more than breakthrough technology; they will need a deep understanding of the businesses and markets they seek to transform. Through VERTEX, we are creating an ecosystem that brings these worlds closer together.”
Mr. Arvind, Managing Director, BITSoM VERTEX, said, “Our focus is on helping founders build with relevance from the outset. By creating opportunities for startups to engage with enterprises, experts and technology partners, we aim to help founders test and refine their solutions and move them closer to real-world adoption.”
BITSoM VERTEX Targets 100 AI Startups in Three Years
With the Top 35 startups advancing to the next stage, BITSoM VERTEX will provide access to venture-building mentorship, enterprise pilots, investor networks, AI infrastructure and dedicated student venture teams. The initiative aims to support 100 AI startups over three years, helping founders build, validate and scale AI ventures.
