Lokesh pitches AP as AI and startup hub during South Korea visit

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh continued his investment outreach in South Korea, unveiling an ambitious roadmap to position the state as India’s Artificial Intelligence and innovation capital while inviting Korean startups and technology companies to partner in Andhra Pradesh’s growth story.

Addressing a roundtable hosted by the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) with Korean tech startup founders, Lokesh said the state aims to nurture 20,000 startups and create one lakh jobs over the next five years under the government’s One Family-One Entrepreneur initiative.

Highlighting the state’s innovation ecosystem, he showcased the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH), which operates from Amaravati with regional centres in Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Anantapur. Developed with support from Tata, L&T, GMR and Adani Group, the hub has already supported over 2,500 startups and 5,200 entrepreneurs through incubation and innovation programmes.

Lokesh invited Korean startups to participate in RTIH’s incubation initiatives and outlined incentives available under the AP Innovation and Startup Policy 2024-29, including a Rs 22-crore RTIH-SIDBI Seed Fund, AIF seed equity support of up to Rs 20 crore, and credit guarantee assistance for working capital. He also proposed establishing an India-Korea Startup Corridor, including a dedicated Korea Desk and VC Bay at RTIH to facilitate Korean companies entering the Indian market. Reiterating the government’s vision of making Andhra Pradesh the country’s AI capital, Lokesh said Google AI Hub and a 10-gigawatt data centre pipeline, backed by Reliance and Sify, would provide startups with affordable access to advanced computing infrastructure.