Published: October 17, 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- AKTU Innovation Hub has secured an AI Centre of Excellence for Lucknow under the IndiaAI Mission.
- Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh puts the project at Rs 20 crore across four years, granted by MeitY.
- Kerala’s centre opened on September 30 with a first cohort of 15 startups. UP has not named a cohort yet.
AKTU Innovation Hub has secured an AI Centre of Excellence for Lucknow under the IndiaAI Mission, a Rs 20 crore project running four years.
Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh announced the approval and thanked the IndiaAI Mission. It put the project at Rs 20 crore across four years.
The IndiaAI Mission is a Rs 10,372 crore programme. The Union Cabinet cleared it on March 7, 2024, to run for five years under the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
What AKTU Innovation Hub Won and What It Covers
The centre sits with Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University in Lucknow. Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh is the university’s startup and innovation arm.
MeitY granted the approval. The money runs over four years, which makes this a build, not a one-time cheque.
The IndiaAI Mission runs on seven pillars. They cover compute, an innovation centre, datasets, application development, future skills, startup financing and safe AI.
Its common compute facility is built around 18,693 GPUs. That pool is the reason a state centre matters to a founder who cannot buy hardware.
What a State AI Centre of Excellence Actually Gives Founders
A state centre runs cohorts, lab access and compute, not grants alone. Kerala’s centre is the closest working example and it opened three weeks ago.
MeitY launched the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Thiruvananthapuram on September 30, 2026. Digital University Kerala runs it, and the first cohort has 15 startups.
That cohort spans healthcare, climate and disaster resilience, e-governance and agriculture. The brief there is applied AI that reaches users and markets, not papers.
One detail from Kerala matters most. Compute at that centre is needs-based and subsidised, not free, with a rate card still awaiting approval.
Read that as the likely shape in Lucknow too. A seat buys you cheaper compute and a lab, not a blank cheque.
The hub’s chief executive put it plainly:
“This breakthrough establishes a highly streamlined trajectory for UP AI startups aiming for success in the near future..”
Dr. Mahip Singh, chief executive, AKTU Innovation Hub, Lucknow. From a statement to StartupFeed.
Where Uttar Pradesh Sits Against Other States
States are moving at different speeds on IndiaAI centres. Kerala has launched, Odisha has approval, and Delhi announced two centres in April 2026.
| Centre | Status | Who runs it | Startup detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | Launched September 30, 2026 | Digital University Kerala | First cohort of 15 startups |
| Bhubaneswar, Odisha | In-principle approval | STPI | Industry partner putting in Rs 4 crore |
| Lucknow, AKTU | Secured, Rs 20 crore over four years | AKTU Innovation Hub | Cohort not announced |
Lucknow is not starting from zero. IIIT Lucknow already runs an AI Centre of Excellence that backs more than 15 AI and ML startups.
The city is also the site of the planned AI City at Nadarganj, spread across 70 acres. A second centre at AKTU adds a university route beside it.
What AKTU Innovation Hub Has Done So Far
The hub is not new to this work. It took 33 startups to the UP International Trade Show 2026 and runs the Startup Samvaad series with investors.
It also selects startups for state platforms alongside Startin UP. That selection muscle is what a cohort programme needs on day one.
AKTU affiliates hundreds of engineering colleges across Uttar Pradesh. The centre’s reach is therefore wider than one campus in Lucknow.
What UP AI Founders Should Do Now
No application window is open yet. Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh has announced the approval, not a cohort call.
Kerala named its 15 startups at launch. If Lucknow follows that pattern, the first cohort will be picked before most founders hear about it.
The practical move is to be visible to the hub before the call opens. Founders already in AKTU incubators and Startin UP lists sit closest to the door.
Watch for a cohort notice, a compute rate card and named focus sectors. Those three documents will tell you whether your startup fits.
What this means for you: If you run an AI startup anywhere in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow is about to get subsidised compute and a cohort programme you can apply to. Get on Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh’s radar now, before the first cohort call opens.
StartupFeed Insight
The number to watch is not Rs 20 crore. It is four years. A four-year grant buys staff, labs and repeat cohorts, which is what turns a centre into a pipeline rather than a ribbon cutting. Kerala is the tell. It launched on September 30 and named 15 startups the same day, which means selection happened quietly, months before the public saw anything. UP founders who wait for a notice will be late. Expect Innovation Hub Uttar Pradesh to name focus sectors before the end of 2026, and expect the first Lucknow cohort to come mostly from startups already sitting in AKTU-affiliated incubators.
By Harshvardhan Kothari, Technology and Policy Correspondent
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