Zithara.AI Founders Applaud Historic Inflexion Point for India’s Deep Tech & AI Ecosystem
Varun Kashyap and Sridevi Reddy, co-founders of Hyderabad-based retail AI platform Zithara.AI, have hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a definitive, investment-backed blueprint that transitions India from an AI aspirant to a global AI powerhouse.
“Today’s budget is not merely an allocation of funds; it is a strategic declaration that India will build, own, and lead the next wave of technological innovation,” said Varun Kashyap. “The tenfold increase to ₹2,000 crore for the IndiaAI Mission, specifically for sovereign AI models and critical GPU procurement, directly addresses the single biggest hurdle for startups like ours: access to affordable, high-performance computing. This isn’t just a subsidy; it’s strategic infrastructure for innovation.”
The founders highlighted three critical budget pillars that will accelerate India’s deep-tech revolution:
1. From Scarcity to Sovereignty in AI Infrastructure: “The explicit focus on national GPU procurement and AI compute infrastructure is a game-changer,” stated Sridevi Reddy. “For data-rich companies, the high cost of processing has been a barrier. Publicly supported compute grids will allow Zithara.AI to train more sophisticated, India-first retail models faster and at a fraction of the cost, making advanced predictive analytics and hyper-personalisation accessible to thousands more retailers.”
2. Fuelling the Deep Tech Flywheel with Capital & Collaboration: The founders lauded the new Deep Tech Fund and the plan for 80 IndiaAI Labs as a masterstroke in bridging the lab-to-market gap. “This creates a powerful public-private R&D pipeline,” Kashyap explained. “We can collaborate with academic labs on foundational research, while the fund provides the patient capital to turn those breakthroughs into scalable products. It de-risks innovation for the private sector.”
3. Building the Foundation: Data Centres, Startups, and Talent: Reddy emphasised the interconnected ecosystem approach. “The incentives for data centre parks are crucial. Data sovereignty and low-latency processing are non-negotiable for real-time AI. Coupled with the extension of tax benefits for startups and the ₹500 crore AI Centre of Excellence for talent, the government is building the entire stack: from silicon and servers to skills and startups. This holistic view ensures the allocated capital multiplies in impact.”
Conclusion & Zithara.AI’s Commitment:
“This budget validates our core thesis at Zithara.Ai that India’s vast, complex retail landscape is the perfect training ground for world-class AI,” concluded Kashyap. “We are now positioned to leverage these national resources to deploy solutions that can boost retail productivity and conversions by 30% or more. We are ready to be active partners in this public-private mission, contributing to a truly ‘Viksit Bharat’ built on the pillars of ethical and transformative AI.”
