Bangalore: ImpactAI Foundry, a new Bangalore-based initiative, has launched a hands-on programme to help India’s nonprofits integrate artificial intelligence into their operations. With applications now open for its June 2026 pilot cohort, the programme offers participating organisations two months of structured workshops, dedicated tech mentorship, and practical support to build AI tools tailored to their specific challenges.
Despite growing interest in artificial intelligence, most nonprofits in India have been unable to move from awareness to action. The barriers are consistent: a lack of accessible guidance, and capacity-building programmes that rarely move beyond theory. ImpactAI Foundry was built to close that gap.
The initiative is led by Arjun Balaji, Jyothika Raju, and Imtesal Hussain, who are currently completing their Master’s in Public Administration at Columbia University. The founding team brings together technical backgrounds with deep roots in Bangalore’s civil society. The initiative is part of the powered by Decoded Futures, ata Tech:NYC Foundation initiativenetwork.
“We grew up in Bangalore and have seen firsthand how much the social sector here does with very little. AI shouldn’t be something that only well-resourced organisations can access. We’re here to make sure that the nonprofits doing the most important work are not the ones left behind.” Arjun Balaji, Jyothika Raju & Imtesal Hussain, Co-Founders, ImpactAI Foundry
The programme is intentionally platform-agnostic, focusing on use-case-driven adoption rather than any specific software. Each participating organisation is paired with a volunteer tech mentor from Bangalore’s technology community, who guides their team through the process of identifying where AI can add value and building a tool that fits their existing workflows. The commitment for mentors is light, making it accessible to professionals from across Bangalore’s tech sector who want to contribute meaningfully to the city’s social ecosystem.
ImpactAI Foundry is open to nonprofits across all sectors education, healthcare, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, and more where AI has the potential to meaningfully increase efficiency and impact. The pilot cohort will work with six to eight Bangalore-based organisations, with plans to scale the model to other Indian cities following pilot validation.
Applications for the June 2026 cohort are open at impactaifoundry.com. Organisations working in Bangalore’s social sector, as well as technology professionals interested in volunteering as mentors, are encouraged to apply.