As part of the initiative, the company said it has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to set up a joint research centre that will work on areas including AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies and retail innovation.
Bajaj Finserv said companies within the group plan to invest between ₹1,500 crore and ₹2,000 crore over the next five years in startups and early-stage firms working across AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, fintech and consumer technology platforms.
The company said the programme will focus on startups from seed to Series B stages and will be managed by a dedicated investment team.
According to Bajaj Finserv, the initiative is aimed at building scalable and low-cost technology solutions in India while combining academic collaborations, startup investments and in-house research capabilities.
The collaboration with IIT Bombay will initially focus on developing AI applications such as voice AI and small language models for the banking, financial services and insurance sector, alongside research in cybersecurity and quantum technologies.
The initiative will also explore innovations in physical retail experiences and operational systems for stores, the company said.
Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv, said the company sees technology-led innovation as a key driver of growth in financial services and added that private sector investment in research and development needs to increase in India.
The company cited a recent NITI Aayog report that highlighted India’s relatively low private-sector contribution to research and development spending compared with advanced economies.
Bajaj Finserv said the platform may later expand into areas such as digital financial inclusion, health technology and climate risk management.
The company described Finserv Intelligence as a long-term initiative that will gradually widen its research and investment activities and support the commercialisation of technology solutions developed in India.
