Author – Ritesh Ranjan: Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities across healthcare, education, finance, manufacturing, retail and several other industries. However, turning an AI idea into a successful company requires more than technical expertise. Founders must identify a genuine market problem, understand customer needs, build a viable product, create a revenue model and communicate their vision effectively to investors.
To help aspiring entrepreneurs develop these capabilities, the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI (WSAI) at IIT Madras has announced a one-week, in-person short course titled “Building a Successful AI Startup.”
The programme will be conducted from 10 to 14 August 2026 at IIT Madras. Open to students, researchers, professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startups, the course is designed to help participants transform promising AI concepts into practical and scalable ventures.
Practical Training for Future AI Founders
Many innovators begin with a technically strong solution but struggle to convert it into a sustainable business. A product may perform well in a laboratory or academic setting but still fail to attract customers because it does not solve an urgent market problem or offer a clear commercial benefit.
The IIT Madras AI startup course aims to bridge this gap by covering the complete venture-building journey. Participants will learn how to evaluate an opportunity, identify the right customer segment, test assumptions and create a roadmap for commercialisation.
A major focus of the programme will be the development of a minimum viable product, commonly known as an MVP. An MVP is a basic version of a product that allows founders to test their idea with users, collect feedback and improve the solution before investing heavily in development.
This approach can help founders reduce risk and understand whether their proposed product has genuine market potential.
What Participants Will Learn
The programme will cover essential areas such as customer discovery, market validation, business model development, product-market fit, user acquisition, revenue strategy and startup scaling.
Customer discovery will help participants understand the needs, behaviour and expectations of potential users. Market validation will enable them to assess whether customers are genuinely willing to adopt or pay for their solution.
These stages are particularly important for AI startups, where founders can sometimes focus more on the technology than on the customer problem. A technically advanced AI solution may not become a successful business unless it provides measurable value to its users.
Participants will also study fundraising preparation and term sheet negotiations. These sessions can help aspiring founders understand how investors evaluate startups, how funding agreements are structured and how company ownership may be affected during investment rounds.
The scaling component will examine challenges that growing AI companies may face, including computing costs, data quality, model performance, hiring, customer trust and responsible AI deployment.
An Immersive, Experience-Based Format
Rather than relying only on classroom theory, the one-week programme will combine expert-led sessions, practical exercises, interactive discussions and examples from real AI startup journeys.
This hands-on approach will allow participants to test their business assumptions, refine their ideas and receive constructive feedback. It can be especially useful for students and researchers who possess strong technical knowledge but have limited experience in business strategy, sales, marketing or fundraising.
The in-person format may also encourage collaboration among participants from different professional and academic backgrounds. Engineers, researchers, product managers and entrepreneurs can exchange perspectives and potentially identify future co-founders, advisors or collaborators.
Participants will therefore gain not only structured startup knowledge but also opportunities to build useful connections within the AI entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Expert Guidance from Lakshmi Shankar
The course will be led by Lakshmi Shankar, General Partner at Together Fund and former Vice President of Google Search. He has also held leadership roles at Twitter, IBM and EY and is a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
His experience across technology, business leadership and venture capital gives participants an opportunity to understand AI entrepreneurship from both an operator’s and an investor’s perspective.
Startup founders must make important decisions about product direction, hiring, fundraising, customer acquisition and growth, often with limited information. Guidance from an experienced technology and investment leader can help participants understand what makes an AI startup investable, how to communicate a strong value proposition and which common mistakes should be avoided during the early stages of venture building.
Participants can also gain insights into how investors analyse market size, founding teams, product differentiation, revenue potential and long-term scalability.
Pitch Day and ₹4 Lakh Prize
One of the programme’s main highlights is Pitch Day, where participants will present their startup ideas before a panel of investors.
The session will allow aspiring founders to test their concepts, practise investor communication and receive feedback from professionals with real funding experience.
A strong startup pitch should clearly explain the problem, proposed solution, target market, competitive advantage, business model and growth potential. The course will help participants bring these elements together into a structured and convincing presentation.
The top-performing team will receive ₹4,00,000 to support the development of its AI venture.
For an early-stage startup, the funding could be used for prototype development, customer testing, cloud infrastructure, market research or initial market entry. Recognition from an IIT Madras programme may also improve the winning team’s credibility while approaching future mentors, business partners and investors.
Who Can Apply?
The IIT Madras AI startup course is open to:
- Final-year BTech students
- MTech students
- PhD scholars
- Faculty members
- Researchers
- Engineers
- Product managers
- Aspiring entrepreneurs
- Early-stage AI startups
The broad eligibility criteria are important because successful startup teams often combine technical, product and business capabilities. A researcher may provide subject expertise, an engineer may build the solution, while a product professional may understand customer requirements and market positioning.
Applications will be evaluated, and selected participants will be informed through email. Since the programme will be conducted in person, applicants should be available at IIT Madras throughout 10–14 August 2026.
Why the Programme Matters
India’s AI startup ecosystem is expanding, but building a sustainable technology company remains challenging. Founders need to move beyond creating impressive technology and focus on customer value, commercial feasibility and responsible growth.
Programmes such as this can help innovators develop a structured approach to entrepreneurship while avoiding common early-stage mistakes. They also demonstrate the growing role of leading academic institutions in connecting technical talent with business mentors and investors.
For students and researchers, the programme offers an opportunity to explore entrepreneurship and determine whether an idea has commercial potential. For early-stage founders, it provides a platform to strengthen their business model, improve their investor pitch and prepare for future fundraising.
Interested candidates can refer to the official course information issued by WSAI, IIT Madras. Programme-related queries may also be sent to events@dsai.iitm.ac.in.
With practical training, expert mentoring, investor feedback and a ₹4 lakh prize, IIT Madras’s “Building a Successful AI Startup” course offers aspiring founders a focused opportunity to move from an AI concept towards a viable and scalable business venture.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the IIT Madras AI startup course?
“Building a Successful AI Startup” is a one-week, in-person short course offered by the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras. It will train participants in product development, customer discovery, market validation, fundraising, pitching and startup scaling.
2. When and where will the programme be conducted?
The programme will be held from 10 to 14 August 2026 at the IIT Madras campus. Selected applicants will need to attend the sessions in person.
3. Who is eligible to apply for the course?
Final-year BTech students, MTech students, PhD scholars, researchers, faculty members, engineers, product managers, aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage AI startups are eligible to apply.
4. What will participants learn during the course?
Participants will learn how to develop an MVP, validate a market opportunity, discover customers, achieve product-market fit, create revenue strategies, attract users, negotiate term sheets, raise funds and scale an AI venture.
5. Is there any funding support for participants?
Yes. Participants will present their startup concepts during Pitch Day, and the top-performing team will receive ₹4,00,000 to support the development of its AI venture.