Google Empowers Indian Developers to Lead the Global AI Wave Central to the update was the introduction of Google's latest AI advancements for India, including localised deployment of its high-performance Gemini 2.5 Flash model, a set of new agentic AI tools in Firebase Studio, and partnerships aimed at nurturing local AI talent and solutions.

Google has announced a suite of new artificial intelligence initiatives tailored to empower Indian developers and startups. The announcements reflect Google's deep commitment to fostering innovation in India and accelerating the country's global leadership in AI development.

Central to the update was the introduction of Google's latest AI advancements for India, including localised deployment of its high-performance Gemini 2.5 Flash model, a set of new agentic AI tools in Firebase Studio, and partnerships aimed at nurturing local AI talent and solutions. The efforts are part of Google's broader mission to support India's aspirations of becoming a global AI powerhouse.

Dr Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind, emphasised the critical role of Indian developers. "Indian developers are literally writing the next chapter of India's success story, using AI capabilities to build real-world applications that are reaching millions of businesses and people across India and the world," said Dr Gupta. "We remain steadfast in bringing them our industry-leading, cutting-edge capabilities to accelerate their journeys, and India's leadership in a global AI-led future."

The company also shared that based on third-party evaluations, the Android and Google Play ecosystem generated an estimated INR 4 lakh crore in revenue for app publishers and the wider economy in India during 2024. This ecosystem supported the creation of around 35 lakh jobs through direct, indirect, and spillover effects.

In her remarks during a keynote conversation with Accel's Subrata Mitra, Preeti Lobana, Country Manager at Google India, highlighted the increasing momentum of India's digital innovation. "There's a buzz about the 'India Opportunity' driven by an ambitious national vision," she said. "India's developers are shaping how the world will use AI, and we're proud to stand with them."

Among the key developments announced was the localisation of Gemini 2.5 Flash for Indian developers, ensuring improved speed and stability for use in sectors requiring low-latency, high-performance AI—particularly in healthcare, finance, and public services. Google's collaboration with three India AI Mission-backed startups—Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani—is furthering the development of India's Make-in-India AI models using its Gemma family of open models.

Sarvam's recent release, Sarvam-Translate, a model built on Gemma for long-form text translation, was highlighted as a successful outcome of this collaboration. Additionally, Google is working with BharatGen at IIT Bombay to create indigenous speech recognition and text-to-speech tools in Indic languages, with the aim of enhancing accessibility and representation for India's diverse linguistic communities.

Google also introduced new AI-powered features in Google Maps, including enhanced data on over 250 million places and India-specific pricing for the Maps Places UI Kit. These improvements are aimed at supporting developers working in India's expanding mobile commerce space, making it easier to integrate location-based features into their services.

To further assist developers, the company announced new tools and capabilities in Firebase Studio, its cloud-based AI development workspace. Features such as optimized templates, collaborative workspaces, and backend integration are designed to help developers quickly build and launch full-stack AI applications at no initial cost.

Recognising the growing potential of India's gaming sector, Google launched the 'Google Play x Unity Game Developer Training' program. Developed in collaboration with Unity and the Game Developer Association of India, the initiative offers 500 Indian developers access to over 30 hours of specialised online training. It is currently being rolled out in partnership with the governments of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with plans for further expansion.

Google is also hosting the Gen AI Exchange Hackathon, encouraging developers to translate their AI skills into practical innovations across industries.

The day also included a showcase by eight Indian startups: Sarvam, CoRover, InVideo, Glance, Dashverse, ToonSutra, Entri, and Nykaa, demonstrating impactful real-world applications built with Google's AI tools.

The announcements underline Google's intent to strengthen India's position in the global AI landscape while empowering the local developer ecosystem with advanced tools and meaningful support.