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Autonomous AI – The Future Is Now

We are at a pivotal inflection point—AI is no longer just assisting, it is acting. Intelligent systems are evolving to operate independently, adapt in real time, and collaborate across functions—ushering in the next wave of enterprise reinvention.

Autonomous AI marks the shift from co-pilots to fully capable agents that can sense, decide, act, and learn—independently and at scale. This transformation is redefining how enterprises operate, compete, and grow. Autonomous AI is no longer a vision of tomorrow—it is what's powering reinvention today.

Now in its 7th edition, the Accenture Ventures Tech Next Challenge will spotlight breakthrough startups that are shaping the future with Autonomous AI. One of India's largest open innovation platforms, the challenge recognizes and rewards leading B2B deep-tech startups solving real-world business problems with disruptive innovation.

This year, the challenge aims to uncover category-defining innovations that push the boundaries of intelligent autonomy—spanning autonomous AI agents, AI convergence with emerging technologies, foundational infrastructure, and physical AI systems transforming the real world.

Are you a technology innovator harnessing the power of Autonomous AI to shape the future?

Apply now

Challenge Categories

This year, we're spotlighting startups pioneering the next frontier of innovation with Autonomous AI in the following categories:

Autonomous AI Agents

Startups building intelligent agents that operate autonomously across enterprise environments- independently or in collaboration with humans and other agents

Vertical AI Agents

Agents tailored for industries like Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retail, Banking, Insurance, Life Sciences, Media, and Telecom to drive domain-specific intelligence and automation

Horizontal AI agents

Horizontal agents or agent builders that enable cross-functional automation and intelligence across enterprise tools and workflows.

Functional AI Agents

Agents purpose-built for domains like Supply Chain, Marketing, Sales, HR, Legal, Finance, Logistics, Customer Support, Operations, and SDLC etc

Co-Pilots

AI Co-Pilots that assist users across roles and functions by automating tasks, and enhancing productivity of workflows

Autonomous Multi Agent Systems

Autonomous Multi-Agent Ecosystems enabling agent-to-agent collaboration, multi-agent orchestration, and integration through Model Context Protocol (MCPs)

AI Infrastructure

Infrastructure enablers that accelerate the safe, scalable, and responsible deployment of AI across enterprises

Foundation Models

Foundation models that integrate NLP, computer vision, speech recognition, multimodal learning etc to power scalable AI systems

Intelligent Data Infrastructure

Intelligent data infrastructure for seamless data cleaning, data unification, labeling, governance, virtualization, storage optimization, visualization, insights generation, knowledge graphs, privacy, offering AI data cloud and synthetic data solutions

Compute Infrastructure

Startups offering solutions for AI model training, model inference engines, cloud workloads, AI operations, and infrastructure observability, or providing GPU & AI chips

Responsible AI

Startups with solutions for bias detection and mitigation, explainable AI (XAI), consent management, data privacy, adversarial testing, ethical AI practices, and AI observability, along with compliance reporting and RAI dashboards

AI Ops

Startups focused on LLMOps, PromptOps, and MLOps, optimizing the deployment, management, and monitoring of large language models, AI prompts, and machine learning workflows

AI + X

Startups combining AI with adjacent technologies to create new value paradigms across industries

AI + Cybersecurity

Startups integrating AI with cybersecurity, offering solutions for AI-powered threat detection, identity and access management (IAM), endpoint and network security, MLSecOps, fraud detection, AI-augmented penetration testing, and securing GenAI workloads.

AI + Spatial Computing

Startups combining AI with spatial computing, delivering solutions like intelligent digital twins, spatial AI for maintenance and operations, generative design and simulation, AI-driven immersive training, and spatial intelligence for retail and experience design.

AI + Quantum

Startups exploring the intersection of AI and quantum computing to accelerate problem-solving in fields like cryptography, drug discovery etc

AI + Edge

Startups integrating AI with edge computing, enabling real-time data processing in emote environments with low latency

AI + Platforms

Startups integrating AI with platforms like SAP, Salesforce, Workday, Oracle, and Microsoft to enhance business processes for operational efficiency

Physical AI

Startups that blend hardware and AI to drive autonomy in physical environments

Multipurpose Robots

Startups developing multipurpose robots for Industrial, healthcare, logistics, energy, construction, agriculture, and last-mile delivery

Humanoids

Startups creating humanoid robots enhancing human-robot collaboration and automation

Autonomous vehicles & drones

Startups developing autonomous vehicles and drones for defense, industrial operations, and delivery

Space Rovers

Startups leveraging AI to power autonomous space rovers for intelligent navigation, exploration, and real-time data analysis in extreme extraterrestrial environments

AIoT

Startups combining AI and IoT (AIoT) across manufacturing, logistics, and infrastructure projects.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the program, startups must meet the following criteria:

Deep tech startups in early or growth-stage
Focused on solving B2B challenges
Headquartered in India, or with an Indian Co-Founder and established operations in India (if headquartered elsewhere)
Having successfully executed paid engagements (pilots or deployments) with enterprise clients

What’s in it for you?

The winners of the Accenture Ventures Tech Next Challenge will unlock exclusive access to a high-impact ecosystem designed to propel startups to the next orbit of success.

Here’s what’s in store for the winners:

Fast-track into the Accenture Ventures Program
Get exclusive GTM access to enterprise clients and scale your solution with one of the world's leading technology consulting firms.
Gain access to our curated investor communities and gain strategic visibility where it matters most.
Potential candidature for Strategic Minority Investment by Accenture.
Partner backed benefits for winners:
Accel
1:1 meeting with an Investment Partner from Accel for potential inclusion in their investment pipeline.
Priority Consideration for the Accel Atoms Program - A founder-first accelerator designed to help early-stage startups scale.
Nvidia
Extended high-touch engagement through the NVIDIA Inception Program including a dedicated account manager, access to solution engineering support, technical training, and customer engagement opportunities.
Additional benefits include cloud credits, cutting-edge developer tools, preferred pricing, and exposure to NVIDIA’s global VC network and GTM opportunities.
AWS
Upto $1,25,000 in cloud credits for winners (standard AWS Activate T&C applies).
Access to key invite-only AWS events.
IIT Madras Incubation Cell

Incubation Support: All finalists get priority access to IIT Madras Incubation Cell (nodal deep tech incubator of IIT-Madras), including mentorship, infrastructure, and long-term support. Once incubated, startups can benefit from:

Industry & investor connects for pilots, fundraising, and partnerships
Deep tech collaboration across AI, cybersecurity, and robotics hubs
Office space & infrastructure at IITM Incubation Cell (based on availability)

Testimonial Video

Get a glimpse of the energy, innovation, and impact from last year’s Tech Next finale. Hear directly from winning startups – Lyzr, Gan AI,, Arficus & Privasapien on what the challenge unlocked for them.

Now it’s your chance to be in the spotlight!

Selection Process & Timeline

Applicants will undergo two rounds of evaluation, led by senior Accenture leaders, to identify the most promising innovations for the grand finale.

At the Grand Finale, three shortlisted startups from each theme will pitch their solutions to an esteemed jury of leading investors and CXOs from Accenture's enterprise clients. One winner will be crowned in each challenge category.

Launch
May 14, 2025
Applications close on
June 18, 2025
Grand Finale
August 2025
Apply Now