Industry body Nasscom on Thursday said it has partnered with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to launch the Open-Source Generative AI Grand Challenge which intends to foster a startup and developer community around open-source and GenAI for positive socio-economic impact.

A statement released with the announcement has said that the challenge aims to present industry leaders from pertaining sectors with appropriate solutions to promote widespread adoption of these technologies in the country. 

The parties will be collaborating with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), as its technology partner for providing the necessary compute. Speaking on the occasion, Ankit Bose, Head, nasscom AI said, “This challenge underscores our commitment to supporting open-source AI development. By empowering developers with open-source tools, we can drive significant socio-economic impact. We look forward to seeing creative solutions that address real-world problems and contribute to the broader AI ecosystem.”

The initiative invites GenAI startups and developers working in sectors like education, enterprise an e-governance to come on board. Winners of the challenge will be awarded with up to Rs. 4 lakh and runners-up with receive upto Rs. 1 lakh each.

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Participants will also be mentored by senior industry professionals on their projects.

Shivnath Thukral, Vice President and Head of Public Policy (India), Meta said, “Openly available AI models help democratize access to cutting-edge AI technology, by enabling Indian developers build innovative solutions for applications across domains such as education, enterprise and e-governance. Open innovation can further develop India’s AI capabilities while promoting safety and innovation for unlocking economic growth.”