L&T Finance Launches Pitch Point 2026 AI Competition
L&T Finance Ltd., a leading Indian NBFC, has opened registrations for the second edition of its Pitch Point programme, a competition designed to identify and partner with early‑stage to growth‑stage artificial‑intelligence startups whose solutions can be applied in BFSI or non‑BFSI domains. The application window remains open until 31 October 2026, after which shortlisted applicants will undergo a virtual interaction round and five finalists will be selected to present live at the RAISE’ 26 event on 16 December 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The final shortlist will be announced on 1 December 2026.
The inaugural cohort saw Arrowhead AI, an enterprise voice‑AI startup, and SpoofSense, a provider of AI‑driven digital identity verification and fraud‑prevention solutions, emerge as winners. Both founders emphasized that Pitch Point shortened the path to enterprise validation, granting direct access to senior decision‑makers and third‑party credibility. Arrowhead AI now serves as L&T Finance’s voice‑AI partner across multiple verticals, while SpoofSense is leveraging feedback to refine its APIs for deep‑fake and liveness detection and is using the recognition to advance discussions across the financial services sector.
Dr. Debarag Banerjee, Chief Data & AI Officer at L&T Finance, stated that the programme is a strategic launchpad for high‑potential AI startups and a gateway to collaborative design partnerships that bridge cutting‑edge innovation with enterprise scale. He underscored L&T Finance’s vision to become a risk‑first, technology‑first, AI‑native retail financial services institution. Ms. Sushma Kaushik, Head of Innovation Fund at Larsen & Toubro, highlighted AI’s role in shifting financial services from reactive decision‑making to predictive intelligence and praised L&T Finance for creating a platform that encourages responsible, scalable AI deployment.
Applicants are required to propose solutions that align with any of L&T Group’s current or future offerings, including cyber security & fraud prevention, rural & agri‑fintech, generative AI applications, embedded finance solutions, alternate‑data‑based lending, AI‑driven credit scoring & risk assessment, regulatory technology, AI‑powered collections, enterprise agentic AI, image processing, geospatial sensing, portfolio optimisation, and quantum computing for BFSI.
L&T Finance’s broader corporate profile includes an AAA credit rating from four domestic agencies, a BBB/Stable long‑term rating from S&P Global Ratings, and a BBB‑ rating from Fitch Ratings. The company has received ESG leadership scores, is certified as a Great Place To Work®, and runs the “Digital Sakhi” CSR initiative focused on women’s empowerment and digital inclusion. Under its Lakshya 2031 plan, L&T Finance aims to transform into an AI‑native retail financial services institution, leveraging a customer base of over 3 crore for cross‑selling and up‑selling.
RAISE’ 26, launched in 2024, has become the largest AI‑themed gathering in the BFSI sector, attracting more than 4,500 participants, including regulators, unicorn founders, deep‑tech innovators, and media representatives.
For queries, startups can contact raise.pitchpoint@ltfs.com or visit the Pitch Point page at www.ltfraise.com/event/Raise/pitch-point.