AI Meets Governance: IBM Launches Lucknow Centre

IBM has officially announced the inauguration of its AI GovTech Innovation Centre in Lucknow on February 22, 2026. The initiative is designed to position AI as core infrastructure for modern governance, helping governments tackle rising citizen expectations, regulatory complexity, and exponential data growth.

Key Highlights

• Purpose: The centre will serve as a collaborative platform to design, validate, and scale trusted AI solutions for governance, focusing on productivity, transparency, and service delivery.
• Location: Situated at Platinum Mall in Sushant Golf City, Lucknow, the facility has a 500-seat capacity and marks IBM’s first software lab in Northern India.
• Focus Areas: Generative AI and Agentic AI technologies, with applications tailored for government and enterprise use cases.
• Leadership Presence: The inauguration was attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, and IBM India MD Sandip Patel.
• Strategic Vision: Yogi Adityanath emphasized that the centre will strengthen tech-driven governance and highlighted Uttar Pradesh’s ambitions in deep tech, robotics, drone technology, medical technology, and quantum computing.

Why It Matters

This centre positions Lucknow as a growing hub for GovTech innovation in India, aligning with the state’s roadmap to lead in AI and quantum computing. It also reflects IBM’s broader strategy to embed AI into public sector infrastructure, ensuring scalable and replicable solutions for governance worldwide.

“AI will define the next era of government effectiveness and economic competitiveness. Around the world, and especially in India, we are seeing governments move decisively from exploration to execution. It is encouraging to see this level of openness to responsible AI adoption,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM. “The Lucknow center brings together IBM’s global AI leadership and a strong local talent ecosystem, with proximity to leading engineering and academic institutions. Together, this enables us to translate AI ambition into measurable public impact,” he added.