BITS School of Management (BITSoM), under the aegis of BITS Pilani, on Aug 5 unveils BITSoM VERTEX, a premier AI incubator developed in partnership with LENZ, a leading Silicon Valley AI Innovation Studio. The incubator is designed to catapult emerging AI startups into high-growth, enterprise-ready AI businesses. To kick-start this journey, BITSoM is partnering with Hack2Skill to launch a nationwide search for India’s most promising AI founders.
Through this initiative, BITSoM will support founders in moving beyond MVPs to build enterprise-validated, highly scalable AI products and businesses. Over the next three years, the incubator aims to graduate 100 AI startups through its structured incubation programme. To achieve this, the program provides comprehensive resources tailored to early-stage acceleration. Selected startups will gain access to Silicon Valley expertise, venture-building mentorship, and global frameworks through LENZ.
To ensure commercial validation, the incubator offers dedicated pathways to enterprise pilot opportunities and real-world customer testing. Furthermore, founders will benefit from investor networks, funding pathways, and state-of-the-art AI infrastructure, alongside dedicated student venture teams from BITSoM who will work directly with startups on business development and market research.
“Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping industries and redefining how businesses operate,” said Prof. Saravanan Kesavan, Dean and Professor of Operations, BITSoM. “As a business school preparing tomorrow’s leaders, our role extends beyond classroom education to actively fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Through BITSoM VERTEX, we are creating a powerful ecosystem where founders can learn from seasoned business leaders, collaborate closely with industry partners, and build companies that solve meaningful, real-world problems. Moreover, our students will get an unparalleled opportunity to work very closely with founders and play a pivotal role in the growth of early-stage AI ventures. This experiential journey, will prepare them to build with AI or even start their own AI companies. ”
Applications for the inaugural cohort of BITSoM VERTEX are now officially open. Founders from across India who are leveraging AI to solve complex business and societal challenges are invited to apply through the official portal.
For further information, log on to: vertex.bitsom.edu.in
