In a novel curriculum initiative for Indian business education, Mumbai-based BITS School of Management (BITSoM), under the aegis of BITS Pilani, is set to launch BITSoM Vertex—an AI venture factory that embeds MBA students directly into early-stage startup teams. Developed in partnership with Silicon Valley-based AI Innovation Studio Lenz, the incubator aims to graduate 100 AI startups over the next three years.
BITSoM will launch a nationwide search to back promising AI founders looking to move beyond minimum viable products (MVPs) to enterprise-validated models. The initiative aims to solve key friction points for Indian founders, including securing enterprise pilot opportunities, validating market demand, and accessing institutional funding.
Prof Saravanan Kesavan, dean and professor of Operations, BITSoM, said that selected startups will gain access to Silicon Valley expertise, dedicated venture-building mentorship, and global investor networks. The incubator is structured as an experiential elective where a few MBA students are embedded directly into each startup team. Over two 12-week cohorts running alongside academic semesters, nearly 160 students per year will gain hands-on experience using frontier tools like Cursor AI and working on real-world enterprise workflows with industry partners like ICICI Bank.
While accepting applications across all domains, Vertex will focus on sectors aligned with India’s national priorities and AI maturity, including enterprise AI, software automation, vertical AI, multilingual AI, edtech, and fintech.
Highlighting the need for modern business education to evolve alongside rapid technological shifts, Prof Kesavan said: “If you look at business education today, traditional learning models alone are no longer enough, as the world of AI is simply moving too fast. We are about to launch BITSoM Vertex because we want to bring that frontier startup energy directly into our campus.”
He added that BITSoM Vertex isn’t just an incubator, but a bridge connecting students and founders straight to Silicon Valley and real enterprise partners. “By putting our MBA students right alongside these AI startups, they get to roll up their sleeves and build in real time,” he said. “Gone are the days where a business school can wait for Harvard to write a case study before teaching it in the classroom. Having students build alongside founders ensures they absorb that risk-taking, product-first mindset directly from the source.”
BITSoM Vertex will be led by Silicon Valley veteran Arvind Ravishunkar, who takes charge as the managing director. “India is witnessing a Cambrian explosion of AI startups. Yet many brilliant AI founders hit a wall when trying to turn a working prototype into a real, enterprise-ready business. BITSoM Vertex is designed to solve that problem,” Ravishunkar noted. “Having spent nearly two decades in Silicon Valley, I’ve seen how powerful a product-first mindset coupled with a bias for action can be. With BITSoM Vertex, we want to give founders direct access to enterprise customers from day one, top-tier talent, and global VCs.”