Bajaj Finserv commits ₹1,500 cr-2,000 cr over 5 years to AI innovation startups to bridge private R&D funding gap

Bajaj Finserv and other Bajaj Group companies will invest ₹1,500 crore- ₹2,000 crore in AI innovation startups over the next five years to bridge the gap in private sector funding of research in India.

The programme will prioritize early-stage companies, from seed to Series B stage funding, with strong scalability potential across AI, cybersecurity, quantum technology, fintech and consumer technology platforms, Bajaj Finserv, the holding company for the group's financial services, said on Thursday. The planned investment will be managed by a dedicated team.

The company also announced the launch of Finserv Intelligence, a group-wide strategic initiative in applied research and innovation “focussed on high-tech, low unit-cost, highly scalable solutions, built in India, for India and the world.”

“The next decade of value creation in financial services will belong to those who build technology that powers it,” said Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv. He said the group has chosen to build, and to build in India.

Referring to a Niti Aayog report on how India’s R&D intensity is a fraction of what comparable economies invest and private capital must do more of the lifting, Bajaj said Finserv Intelligence is the group’s commitment to that shift.

India’s gross expenditure on R&D has remained stagnant, with 60% publicly funded as compared to advanced economies, where almost 70% of R&D investment comes from the private sector, Niti Aayog said in a report, ‘Ease of Doing Research & Development in India.’

According to a statement, Finserv Intelligence is designed as a holistic innovation ecosystem with a five-to-10-year horizon for realisable impact.

“It will operate through an integrated model that brings together academic collaborations, investments in the startup ecosystem, and in-house specialists. Drawing on leading global and domestic innovation models, the initiative envisages R&D labs, centres of excellence, venture-led models and scholars-in-residence programmes for capability building,” it said.

IIT Bombay partnership

The company said Finserv Intelligence has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and has signed agreements to establish a joint research centre and define a joint statement of work spanning AI, cyber security, quantum technologies and the reimagining of physical retail experience.

According to Rajeev Jain, vice-chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finance — the listed lending arm — Finserv Intelligence offers founders something fundamentally different from capital alone.

“Startups will plug directly into Bajaj Finserv’s enterprise ecosystem, our governance frameworks, financial discipline, operational depth and market insight, alongside flexible ticket sizes and committed follow-on investment,” said Jain.