First time in India, Google to directly mentor 25 startups

For the first time in India, Google will directly mentor 25 startups on topics like design thinking, marketing and business development. The five-day event called Launchpad-slated for the first week of November- will see Google employees across the globe share their industry expertise with the startups who will be housed in Google's Bangalore office.

Earlier this week, the search company announced a similar program in Brazil. "It will be a first of its kind in Asia. It may then be rolled out to places like Tokyo," said Sunil Rao, country head of startup ecosystem at Google India. The Launchpad program already exists in Israel as a one-week pre-incubation program for early stage startups where each day is dedicated to a specific subject and includes presentations, one-on-one mentorship and focused work.

Google executives said the focus of the Launchpad is not to pick companies for future investments. Till date, Google has been active in the Indian startup scene through its sponsorship of the Nasscom 10,000 Startups programme. So far, Google Ventures has not invested in an India-based company. Google Capital, the growth equity arm of Google has invested in Chennai-based Freshdesk, which is headquartered in San Francisco.