New Delhi Slush’D, a local spinoff of the renowned Helsinki headquartered tech start-up event Slush was held on November 3 and 4 at The Oberoi, Gurgaon. The event brought together venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and startup professionals, which served as a platform for them to engage in discussions and knowledge sharing related to everything AI and Deep Tech. With the central theme “Unleashing the Power of Deep Tech and AI“, the event saw the who’s who of the global startup, investors, founders and AI and Deep Tech ecosystems on both days. Bootstrap Foundation, an incubation and advisory body that unites and empowers the startup ecosystem played a major role in hosting the event.

Piyush Goyal addressed startups and young, aspiring entrepreneurs and shared his vision for AI and Deep Tech in India

Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles, and Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha graced the occasion, and addressed startups and young, aspiring entrepreneurs and shared his vision for AI and Deep Tech in India. Speaking to an audience of over 700 stakeholders from the ecosystem, he said, “I think as a nation, we have accepted that there will be a huge disruption. Artificial intelligence has come to stay. Possibly, there are some theories and reports that tell us that some ecosystems have been able to get a little bit of a head start on us. But, as I am learning more and more about artificial intelligence, its possibilities, how it can impact life, how can we use it for public good, how it can help us, if we adopt in the right way, if we start reskilling and retraining our minds towards the good parts of artificial intelligence. It can actually become a game changer in our fight against poverty. It can actually provide new ways of delivering goods and services to the remote parts of the country. So that every single young child born in this country will have a good childhood and see possibilities ahead of him, both in the country and across the world. We dont become the talent capital of the world. We will become the provider of innovation of new ideas to the world. If we can look at, our talented young boys and girls re-skilling to understand the nuances of artificial intelligence, quickly enough, and we can provide the necessary resources, computing capability, capital, you can truly make India and every Indian recognise that this is the place to be in, this is the place to come and invest in, if you want to see what global good AI can make do.”

Spread over two days, the event featured key note addresses, panel discussions, fireside chats & masterclasses by over 130 speakers from around the world. The array of speakers included founders, investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers. Among them notable figures like Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Co-founder, Info Edge, Co-founder, Ashoka University; Prashant Prakash, Founding Partner, Accel; Vijay Shekhar, Founder & CEO, One97 & Paytm; Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Government of India; and Deepak Sharma, President & CDO, Kotak Mahindra Bank; were present to name a few. The event also brought together more than 50 AI founders and 30 international speakers, with an attendance of over 1,300 individuals making the event a huge success.

Adding to this success, Archana Jahagirdhar, Managing Partner of Rukam Capital, said, “India has the potential to be the benchmark for deep tech and AI innovation. Our diverse talent pool, entrepreneurial spirit, and appetite for cutting-edge technology provide the perfect foundation. To realize this potential, we must foster an ecosystem that nurtures, supports, and accelerates the growth of these transformative technologies. Its not just a desire; its a necessity now in order to realize this.”