Google announced the list of 10 news startups for its second cohort of the Google News Initiative (GNI) Startups Lab India, a 12-week catalyst program created in collaboration with Anymind Group and T-hub.
The GNI Startups Lab is a journalistic startup acceleration program designed to help independent early-stage news startups innovate and develop sustainable business models by mentoring them with a network of experts.
With over 110 applications received from across India, Google has chosen ten news startups for the second cohort of the GNI Startups Lab India program.
The list includes Democratic Charkha, Feminism in India, Ground Report, Medical Dialogues, Pratidhvani, Queerbeat, Southlive, Truescoop, The Mooknayak, and Telugu Post.
Despite having just ten news startups, it seems to be a diverse cohort covering various types of journalism, including investigative, political, climate, medical, youth, and local news organisations that give a voice to underrepresented communities.
This cohort features newsrooms from around the country, producing news in multiple Indian languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu.
Google has always focused on authoritative journalism and fact-checked news, and going with this value it has been collaborating with the news industry by various programs to support them in their efforts towards digital transformation.
Google News Initiative is one such program launched in 2018 to collaborate with journalists, publishers, and industry leaders to help build a resilient future for news around the globe.
As per the official website of the Google News Initiative, it has supported 7000+ news partners in more than 120 countries and territories through more than $300 million in global funding to date.
With the mission of making a more informed world, Google is continuously working with news companies around the globe through its various programs. The second cohort of the GNI Startups Lab India program is an example of its work aligned with this mission.
