Google picks 20 AI startups for 2026 Play Accelerator India cohort

Google has selected 20 AI-powered Indian startups for the 2026 cohort of Google Play Accelerator India, expanding support for app developers as artificial intelligence becomes central to India’s fast-growing digital economy.

The three-month, equity-free programme is designed to help startups improve app quality, integrate AI responsibly, strengthen security, grow their user base, and build sustainable revenue models.

The latest cohort spans education, healthcare, gaming, agriculture, finance, ecommerce, productivity, lifestyle, and entertainment.

Google said the selected companies are building AI-driven products that address practical problems, ranging from helping farmers and improving access to chronic healthcare to supporting exam preparation, sports coaching, and digital payments.

“India’s next wave of app innovation is being built with AI at the centre,” said Aditya Swamy, Managing Director, Google Play Partnerships. “The 2026 cohort reflects the ambition of Indian startups to build trusted, useful products for India and the world.”

The selected startups include healthcare platforms such as HeyDoc AI and MrMed, education-focused firms including UrbanPro and Lingopanda, gaming companies such as ChennaiGames and MetaShot, agritech startup Kisanwala and fintech ventures including Swipe and Zet.

Google said the programme combines expertise from Google Play and the wider Google technology stack to help founders develop products that can scale both within India and internationally.

“Over the next three months, we will work closely with these founders on product quality, responsible AI integration, security, growth, and monetization, helping them strengthen their apps for users in India and global markets,” noted Paul Ravindranath, Regional Lead, Developer and Startup Programs at Google.

The announcement comes as large tech firms intensify their efforts to support AI startups. They are expanding accelerator programmes, cloud credits, and developer tools to attract early-stage companies building AI applications.

Google has been widening its support for the startup ecosystem through the Google for Startups Accelerator. Recent announcements at Google I-O Connect India highlight new AI capabilities, developer tools, and infrastructure aimed at helping Indian companies build and deploy AI more securely and at scale.