Meta launches India-first gaming accelerator to power next-gen game studios with AI and VC muscle
Meta Platforms, the parent company behind Facebook, WhatsApp and more, has announced its maiden accelerator program in India to help developers create their next breakthrough game title. The Meta Gaming Accelerator aims to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity by identifying, training, and mentoring small and medium game developers, studios and businesses so they can build world-class games at scale and at par with their global peers.advertisementIn a release shared with the media, Meta said it plans to pick 20-30 emerging Indian developers and studios in its launch phase, without mentioning the criteria of selection. Once picked, these developers and studios will have access to a structured curriculum, over a period of three months wherein they will be offered strategic guidance across 'monetisation, user acquisition, cross-border scaling, and AI-led game development,' with a special focus on how they can integrate Meta's AI tools, including Llama, into game creation and optimisation processes.Generative AI has touched almost every aspect of our lives today. Gaming is also benefiting from some of this capability, reducing turn-around time while enhancing mechanics, whether it be through seamless character development or changing the way some of these games have traditionally been sold and played. Meta including AI in its course for developers isn't surprising. But at the same time, initiatives like the Meta Gaming Accelerator are the need of the hour since they can help dispel fears and concerns that AI will spike unemployment by giving deserving people the tools and opportunity to sharpen their skills and, basically, be AI-ready.advertisement
The program is being launched in partnership with four leading Venture Capital Funds: Bitkraft Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Lumikai Fund, and Elevation Capital. Towards the end, Meta will host a demo day where participating developers will demonstrate how they leveraged its ecosystem to solve real-world growth challenges. Meta says the event will be attended by investors, Meta leadership, and industry stakeholders, providing a platform to not just showcase but also open avenues for potential funding and acquisition.'India's gaming community is a hotbed of creativity and innovation, but to unlock its full potential, we need to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity. That's why we're launching the Meta Gaming Accelerator – to provide Indian gaming developers with access to cutting-edge ad tools, expert mentorship, and critical guidance that they need to scale their businesses and take on the world,' Arun Srinivas, Managing Director and Head, Meta (India) said in a prepared statement. 'By combining expert sessions from Meta with structured guidance from the country's top Venture Capital firms, we hope to not just empower local success stories but also create a launchpad for Indian gaming companies to scale globally.'
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