Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma Offers ₹1–2 Crore to Indian AI Model Builders

Indian founders building their own AI models have a potential new backer—and an offer of help reaching customers. Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma offered personal cheques of ₹1–2 crore at Cypher 2026 in Bengaluru, alongside access to Paytm’s distribution network. PTI reported the offer on October 7, in a story published by Rediff.

His money, Paytm’s customer reach

Sharma drew a clear line between his personal commitment and the company’s finances. He said he could not commit Paytm’s funds to these bets because it is a listed company. The Hans India also described that distinction in its October 8 coverage of the offer.

The company’s contribution would instead be distribution: helping founders put their products in front of customers through Paytm’s network. Sharma presented two routes for builders—join his company or create their own venture with his backing. The invitation was aimed at entrepreneurs willing to develop AI models themselves.

He described ₹1–2 crore as a starting cheque, not necessarily the limit of his support. Sharma said he could increase the amount if enough serious builders committed to the effort. This remains an offer of backing, rather than an announcement of completed investments.

Either come over, join us, or build your own and take money from me.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, speaking at Cypher 2026, as quoted by PTI

Ownership without abandoning foreign models

Sharma’s argument was about where the underlying technology is built and owned. He said Indian companies have become good at creating applications on models developed elsewhere, while much of the core capability remains outside the country. He urged founders to build systems and technology for global use.

That does not mean cutting off access to foreign models. Sharma framed the goal as ownership rather than isolation: India could continue using models from abroad while developing several of its own. His funding invitation favors building domestic capability without demanding an exclusive choice between the two.

He also challenged the idea that a shortage of money is the main obstacle. Sharma said India has enough capital, resources and intention to support model development. In his view, the harder test is whether founders will stick with difficult work over the long term.

Sharma put the cost of building an AI model at less than $100 million. That is his estimate, not a budget attached to the personal cheques. His remarks paired confidence in the availability of funding with an insistence that ambition requires sustained commitment from the people doing the building.

He pointed to Paytm’s internal work as an example of developing capabilities around a company’s own needs. At Cypher, Sharma said its risk engines and fraud systems are built internally, and that Paytm has retrained models for its requirements. Those remarks described existing work, not a new model release.