Airtel mulls investments in more new startups | Economic Times

Bharti Airtel is evaluating about 10 new startups for potential investments and to induct them into its startup accelerator programme. It is also ramping up investments in technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to transform its enterprise and consumer businesses besides internal processes, said its chief product and experience officer Adarsh Nair.“Airtel accelerator today has six companies, and there are another 10 new companies that we are analysing to see if they can enter,” Nair told ET in an exclusive interaction.These startups are working in the areas of 5G networks, entertainment, internet of things (IoT), cloud and security, he said.83966503The telecom operator is also investing in its 5G network, entertainment unit, customer experience, and B2B areas such as IoT, cloud, security and communications. “All these areas are fair game for startups to work with us. And because we are making investments in those fields, we believe we can help startups in these areas,” said Nair.As part of its accelerator programme, Bharti Airtel buys stakes in startups and helps them grow to raise their series A funding. The telco commits to partnering with them operationally to scale them up and get customers. “We also see if the startup’s product can actually help one of Airtel’s own strategies... when you look at the youngest startups, there’s still so much guidance missing to the CEOs on how to grow your business. We provide that to them,” he said.The telco is also devising a device strategy to complement its upcoming 5G networks.