Indian banks move from buying AI to owning a piece of it (opens the source in a new tab)
- HDFC Bank’s stake in CoRover, maker of BharatGPT, is described as the first by a leading private bank in a model maker; Canara Bank’s VC arm had already invested.
- IDFC FIRST Bank and Sarvam are building an R&D lab for a “self-improving bank”, with systems that learn from customer interactions, human corrections and outcomes.
- Bajaj Finance took 5% of video-avatar startup TrueFan AI, under a programme to invest ₹1,500–2,000 crore in early-stage AI, cybersecurity and fintech startups.
- 5%
- TrueFan stake
- $9.4bn
- BFSI AI, 2034 est.
- 26.5%
- projected CAGR
Why it matters A stake gives banks a say in the AI roadmap they increasingly depend on.
Other side The article itself calls it an open question whether this spreads beyond the biggest, most AI-forward lenders. For a startup, a client that is also investor and co-developer has a lot of leverage. Partnership, or dependence?
Source:Inc42 (free to read) ↗