Gorakhpur University to Launch ₹1.5 Crore AI Lab Under PM‑USHA Scheme

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University is setting up a ₹1.5 crore state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) laboratory under the PM-USHA scheme, reported The Daily Jagran, a regional daily. The AI Lab is aimed at boosting advanced technical education, research, and innovation in Uttar Pradesh.

Key Highlights of the Initiative

• Project Cost: ₹1.5 crore (₹15 million)
• Institution: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University
• Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA)
• Objective: Provide students and researchers access to cutting-edge AI technologies

About PM-USHA Scheme

• Launch: June 2023 by the Ministry of Education
• Purpose: Strengthen higher education institutions with accessibility, equity, accountability, affordability, and quality
• Alignment: Linked to NEP 2020, focusing on knowledge-driven institutions

Strategic Importance

• For Students: Hands-on exposure to AI tools, ML, and data science
• For Research: Enables advanced projects in automation and predictive analytics
• For Region: Positions Gorakhpur as a hub for emerging technologies
• For India: Supports national agenda of globally competitive universities

Potential Challenges

• Infrastructure readiness: internet, computing clusters, faculty training
• Talent retention in a Tier-2 city
• Scalability and sustained funding
• Integration with industry needs

Comparison: AI Labs in Indian Universities

University / Initiative	Funding	Focus Area	Strategic Impact
Gorakhpur University (PM-USHA)	₹1.5 crore	AI, ML, Data Science	Regional tech hub, NEP 2020 alignment
IIT Hyderabad AI Research Centre	₹20+ crore	Deep Learning, Robotics	National-level innovation leader
IIIT Delhi AI Lab	₹10 crore	Applied AI, Healthcare, NLP	Strong industry collaboration
Anna University AI Centre	₹5 crore	AI in engineering	State-level technical education boost

Why This Matters

This initiative is a milestone for democratizing AI education in India. By bringing advanced labs to state universities, the government ensures students outside metro cities gain equal access to frontier technologies. It’s about reshaping the talent pipeline for India’s digital future.

NSBT’s New AI Lab with Findability Sciences Turns Students into Builders of the Future

Nath School of Business & Technology (NSBT), a social initiative of Shri N. Kagliwal and part of MGM University, has joined hands with global AI leader Findability Sciences to establish a cutting-edge AI Lab in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, extending their existing partnership. Findability Sciences also has a similar long standing partnership existing with Worcester institute, USA and NSBT finds itself fortunate to treat this path here.

This initiative does not treat industry and academia as separate silos — rather, it dissolves the boundaries. At NSBT, we believe that education and enterprise must not merely collaborate but interweave. This AI Lab will be a shared space where students, faculty, and professionals build, think, and solve together.

Students enrolled in the BCA (Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) program will gain hands-on exposure to generative AI, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP). Through direct engagement with enterprise-grade platforms (such as Findability’s Agentic AI), global mentorship, and real-world projects, students will develop both technical competence and industry fluency.

Anand Mahurkar, Founder & CEO, Findability Sciences, “At Findability Sciences, our journey in Shambajinagar has always been anchored in talent, not location. Collaborating with NSBT, we’re bringing world-class AI infrastructure and mentorship right here—to create an ecosystem where students solve real problems, contribute to global innovation, and uplift their own communities.”

A hallmark of the initiative is the Graduate Qualifying Project (GQP) — a capstone experience where every final-year student tackles a real-world challenge co-mentored by NSBT faculty and Findability engineers. These aren’t academic case studies, but working AI solutions — giving graduates an immediate edge in careers and entrepreneurship.

“Quality tech education, jobs, and innovation can emerge from small towns, not just big tech hubs,” said Harsh Vardhan Jajoo, Director of NSBT.

This initiative positions Sambhaji Nagar as an emerging AI innovation hub, empowers local talent with global tools, and pioneers a future where learning and innovation thrive in the same ecosystem.

IBM Launches watsonx AI Labs in NYC, Acquires Seek AI

IBM has launched watsonx AI Labs, a new innovation hub in New York City, designed to accelerate AI adoption and support developers, startups, and enterprises. Located at One Madison, the lab aims to foster collaboration between IBM engineers and external innovators, helping businesses unlock real-world AI value.

Ritika Gunnar, General Manager, Data & AI, IBM, said, "This isn't your typical corporate lab. watsonx AI Labs is where the best AI developers gain access to world-class engineers and resources and build new businesses and applications that will reshape AI for the enterprise. By anchoring this mission in New York City, we are investing in a diverse, world‑class talent pool and a vibrant community whose innovations have long shaped the tech landscape."

IBM is also acquiring Seek AI, a New York-based startup specializing in AI agents for enterprise data, which will serve as a foundational part of the lab. The initiative taps into NYC’s thriving AI ecosystem, which has seen over $27 billion in funding since 2019.

This move strengthens IBM’s position in enterprise AI, focusing on domain-specific AI solutions for industries like finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity.

IBM's acquisition of Seek Al is a strategic move to strengthen its enterprise Al capabilities, particularly in natural language data analysis. Seek Al specializes in converting natural language queries into database searches, making complex data more accessible for businesses in regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and government.

By integrating Seek Al into watsonx Al Labs, IBM is doubling down on its mission to scale Al adoption and provide businesses with explainable, compliant Al solutions 1. The acquisition also aligns with IBM's broader push to expand its Al ecosystem, fostering collaboration between startups, researchers, and enterprise clients.

Additionally, IBM is leveraging New York City’s AI talent pool to drive innovation, positioning itself as a key player in enterprise AI development. This move could accelerate AI adoption across industries while reinforcing IBM’s leadership in AI-driven business intelligence.

Piyush Goyal Inaugurates AI Lab as Galgotias commits to scale investment to INR 50 Crores into AI-Driven Future

Strengthening its leadership in future-ready education, Galgotias University inaugurated a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education Lab. The event marked a significant announcement of scaling the University’s investment in AI-driven growth to INR 50 Crores over the next three years. In presence of Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, the university reaffirmed the strong commitment to enhancing educational infrastructure with a mission to embed innovation, hands-on learning, and advanced technology into the heart of its academic ecosystem.

The event was witnessed participation of prominent leaders that included Shri Brijesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh; Mr. Aman Gupta, Co-founder and CMO of boAt; alongside Mr. Suneel Galgotia, Chancellor, and Dr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO, Galgotias University.

The new AI Lab is equipped with next-generation infrastructure to provide students with real-world exposure to AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies. The lab is designed to accelerate innovation, encourage interdisciplinary learning, and nurture industry-ready graduates.

Marking the occasion, Dr. Dhruv Galgotia said, “This AI Lab is a testament to our commitment to create a world-class, innovation-driven university. At Galgotias, we are not just teaching students about the future—we are building it with them. We aim to consistently contribute to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 through cutting-edge research, technology integration, and skill-first learning. This initiative will power the expansion of AI-based infrastructure, research capabilities, and global academic collaborations.”

Designed to provide students with round the clock access to advanced computing, the lab is installed with NVIDIA GPU-powered systems that support high-performance AI applications differentiating it from standard computers. The move will democratise access to experiential learning enabling students to bridge the gap between theory and application.

Galgotias University has been at the forefront of educational transformation that also includes the recent launch of India’s first AI-powered Active Learning Block, developed in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Among other initiatives, the university is also exploring collaborations with leading global tech companies to set up labs for cybersecurity, machine learning, and robotics. With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, industry alignment, and global engagement, the university continues to set benchmarks in higher education.

The newly inaugurated AI Lab will also serve as a hub for innovation, faculty development, and industry collaboration, bridging the gap between academia and the rapidly evolving demands of the AI economy.

Infosys to Establish AI Lab in London With University of Cambridge

Infosys is collaborating with the University of Cambridge to establish a new Al Lab in London. This lab aims to harness the power of Al to drive positive impact for clients, academia, and students.

The collaboration will leverage Infosys' industry expertise and Cambridge University's world-class education and research capabilities to address real-world challenges.

Additionally, Infosys unveiled its new and expanded Living Labs in London's Canary Wharf, which will serve as a hub for innovation activities. These labs will help clients accelerate their digital transformation journeys by leveraging emerging technologies like Infosys Topaz (an Al-first offering using generative Al technologies) and Infosys Cobalt (a cloud-powered solution for building robust digital architectures.

The London Living Labs and the AI Lab are housed within Infosys’ new state-of-the-art premises spread over 25,000 sq. ft. with a capacity for 200 employees. Designed using biophilic principles, the new workplace seamlessly blends adaptive and modular design and sustainable practices to create a truly modern environment offering a range of creative and collaborative spaces. The premises have also received a Gold SKA Rating, the highest standard, in recognition of the facility meeting the most rigorous sustainability criteria focusing on energy efficiency, water use, waste management, and environmental impact. The office marks an important milestone in Infosys’ journey of over 25 years in the UK.

The labs will offer interactive demonstrations, workshops, and personalized consultations to help organizations envision and implement their digital transformation strategies.

The opening of the Living Labs was marked by the presence of United Kingdom’s Minister for Digital Government and AI, Feryal Clark, University of Cambridge’s Head of Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Professor Colm-cille Caulfield, and over 100 attendees including clients and partners.

From Infosys, Sushanth Tharappan (EVP & Head-HR), Karmesh Vaswani (EVP & Global Head Retail, Consumer Goods & Logistics), and Tarang Puranik (EVP & Head of Delivery for Europe) were present.

AMD Acquiring EU's Largest Private AI Lab for $665 Mn To Expand Enterprise AI Solutions Globally

AMD has recently made a announced that it is expanding its enterprise AI solutions by acquiring Silo AI, Europe's largest private AI lab. In an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $665 million, AMD is set to enhance its open-source AI software capabilities for efficient training and inference on AMD compute platforms.

Silo AI, based in Helsinki, Finland, specializes in end-to-end AI-driven solutions, serving customers like Allianz, Philips, Rolls-Royce, and Unilever. Their expertise will further accelerate AMD's AI strategy, benefiting global customers with tailored AI models and solutions.

It is worth to note that Silo AI has been a pioneer in scaling large language model (LLM) training on LUMI, Europe’s fastest supercomputer powered by over 12,000 AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs.

Founded in 2017 by group of visionary individuals, Silo AI is Europe's largest private AI lab and on a mission to build a flagship AI company. They collaborate with industry leaders to create smarter products and businesses by integrating cutting-edge AI into core operations. The company expertise spans machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. Notably, they've successfully implemented over 200 AI solutions across diverse markets, serving clients like Allianz, Philips, Rolls-Royce, and Unilever.

Silo AI CEO and co-founder Peter Sarlin will continue to lead the Silo AI team as part of the AMD Artificial Intelligence Group, reporting to AMD senior vice president Vamsi Boppana. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2024.

“Across every industry, enterprises are looking for fast and effective ways to develop and deploy AI solutions for their unique business needs,” said Vamsi Boppana, senior vice president of the Artificial Intelligence Group at AMD. “Silo AI’s team of trusted AI experts and proven experience developing leadership AI models and solutions, including state-of-the-art LLMs built on AMD platforms, will further accelerate our AI strategy and advance the build-out and rapid implementation of AI solutions for our global customers.”

Silo AI has introduced the multilingual large language model (LLM) called Poro 34B. It addresses language bias in AI and exhibits best-in-class performance for low-resource languages while excelling in English. Silo AI has also launched Poro, a revolutionary open-source AI model with a special focus on European languages. Poro aims to extend multilingual AI capabilities significantly, empowering developers and researchers.

Silo AI marks the latest in a series of acquisitions and corporate investments to support the AMD AI strategy. AMD has invested over $125 million across a dozen AI companies in the last 12 months and also acquired Mipsology and Nod.ai to expand the AMD AI ecosystem, support partners and advance leadership AMD computing platforms.

In 2022, AMD completed the all-stock acquisition of Xilinx, a leading FPGA maker, in a deal worth $49 billion. This strategic move strengthens AMD's position in high-performance and adaptive computing, combining their complementary products and IP.

AMD also acquired Pensando Systems, enhancing their innovation and diversity. Pensando brings expertise in areas like smart networking and software-defined infrastructure.

Samsung R&D Institute and VIT Sets Up SEED Lab, a State-of-the-Art Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & Data Engineering Lab

Lab provides millennial and Gen Z students an exciting opportunity to conduct research in emerging tech areas and help find solutions to real-world problems

Engineers at Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore will mentor the students to make them industry-ready

Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore has collaborated with Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) to set up a ‘Samsung Student Ecosystem for Engineered Data (SEED) Lab’, providing students and faculty an exciting opportunity to delve into thel world of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data engineering.

At the lab, students and faculty members of VIT will get to work on joint research and development projects on emerging cutting-edge tech areas such as mobile tech, speech and text recognition and machine learning, with senior engineers at Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore (SRI-B).

Samsung has already launched two SEED labs in Karnataka earlier. Through the initiative, more than 250 students have been engaged on AI and big data-related projects.

“At Samsung, we believe in leveraging the power of the ecosystem. Our strategic partnership with VIT, Vellore not only reflects our commitment to fostering cutting-edge research but also reinforces our dedication to nurture talent and upskill our workforce. With VIT, we are forging new frontiers in research and innovation, while nurturing the next generation of digital leaders. Together, we are embarking on a journey to unlock the limitless potential of research and learning in the fast-evolving technology and business landscape. This will further Samsung’s unwavering commitment to its vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia,” said Mohan Rao Goli, Chief Technology Officer, SRI-B.

The Lab at VIT, Vellore plans to leverage the capabilities of academia in executing AI & Data-centric projects by building an end-to-end pipeline for data which includes collection, engineering (curation, labelling, etc.), carrying out data research projects & experiments, data management and archival.

Collaborative research projects will be open to third and fourth year B.Tech and M.Tech students, and Ph.D. scholars at VIT. Students will also be encouraged to publish papers jointly with SRI-B engineers.

The SEED Lab, which is a collaborative initiative between SRI-B and VIT for 5 years, is spread across 4,000 sq ft. In its initial phase, the Lab has been equipped with facilities such as a green room with lighting equipment to conduct experiments in varied lighting conditions, devices & accessories, image quality analysis tools, among others. It also has robust backend infrastructure to store, process and archive large volumes of data. Additionally, the Lab is also capable of hosting close to 75 members within, who can work inside the Lab. In the subsequent phases, the in-house capabilities of the Lab will be expanded with dedicated facilities that enables work on areas such as 3D, AR/VR, among others.

“Today, our world is becoming increasingly data-centric, and along with AI, it continues to transform the way we live, work and do business. Samsung SEED lab is a great initiative that gives students the opportunity to learn and work under SRI-B engineers on research projects that address the issues facing the world,” said Dr. G Viswanathan, Founder & Chancellor, VIT, Vellore.

All students will receive certificates for their contribution at the end of each project from SRI-B.

Samsung has been working with students across top engineering colleges in Karnataka on various R&D projects on areas such as AI, ML, Internet of Things & Connected Devices, and 5G networks, as part of the very popular students’ engagement programme named Samsung PRISM. 

 

NCERT Now Deemed-to-be-University; Edu Minister Suggests AR/VR and AI Labs in 7 Regional NCERT Centres

Last Friday, Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, informed that NCERT has been given the status of a Deemed-to-be-University.

The minister, Mr. Pradhan, also inaugurated a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory of the Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), a constituent unit of NCERT.

Hereafter, the 'deemed university' status will now allow NCERT to offer its own graduate, post-graduate and doctoral degrees and have autonomy in terms of introduction of programmes, course structure, conducting examinations and management, among others.

Established in 1961, NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) has been an autonomous organisation of the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.

NCERT on becoming a research university will offer opportunities for global collaborations and contributions to the global educational landscape.

In addition to this, NCERT will also be developing educational material in all 22 languages with the help of software like Anuvadini.

Mr Pradhan also emphasized developing content in mother tongue. Resently, India’s Science & Technology Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh, also informed that Medical education has commenced in Hindi and soon Engineering studies will also begin in Hindi and translation of Engineering books has commenced in eight languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati & Bengali, across the country.

Further, Mr Pradhan also suggested setting up Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence labs in all 7 regional centres of NCERT. To make India the global hub of research and innovation these centres should be equipped with the latest technologies from around the world with future-ready infrastructure, he added.

The Minister also urged NCERT to standardize the Teachers’ training curriculum to NCERT in its Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).

The Minister also informed that NCERT has developed "Jadui Pitara" — a play-based learning-teaching material tailored for children between the age group of 3-8 years.

3i Infotech's FutureTech and SRM Valliammai Engg. College, Chennai To Build 1st of Its Kind AI Lab

3i Infotech’s Business Unit - FutureTech Signs MoU with SRM Valliammai Engineering College, Chennai

To Build a First-of-its-Kind ‘AI Lab’, Making Learners Industry Ready

FutureTech, housed inside IIT Madras Research Park, Chennai, solidifies its commitment to expanding Campus to Corporate Goals through this MoU

FutureTech, a business unit of 3i Infotech Limited, as the accelerator and transformation partner for the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Computer Science at SRM Valliammai Engineering College, Chennai. This partnership aims to establish a path-breaking AI Lab within the institute’s campus. The collaboration will foster a mutually beneficial relationship for both the partners through promoting knowledge exchange, research opportunities, and academic growth. This Campus to Corporate initiative expands the idea of FutureTech to bridge the learning gap between academia-industry. In early 2022, 3i Infotech opened its office in IIT Madras Research Park, Chennai to establish FutureTech business labs to work on next-gen technologies.

The MoU was signed at the IIT Madras Research Park in the presence of Dr B. Chidhambararajan, Director SRMVEC, Dr M. Murugan Principal SRMVEC, Dr B. Vanathi, Professor and Department Head of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Dr B. Muthusenthil, Professor and Department Head of AI & Data Science (DS), and faculties from the Departments of CSE and AI & DS.

The scope of this partnership will be expanded to include other departments within the college, such as Information and Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. Each batch is expected to include 50 students with a faculty strength of 27 professors. The course structure will range from Level 1 - Level 4 encompassing - Introduction to AI and Data Science, AI Foundations, Introduction to AI Techniques, and AI in Production. This will further be extended to specializations in AI in healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, communication, transportation, environment, and education.

Additionally, the initiative of making the students industry ready will be highly leveraged through the well-rounded internship programme that will further be split into two stages: (1) Train the trainers: Training for the professors who want to constantly upskill on AI/ML/DL and other relevant technologies. (2) Train the students: Training, practical learning, and internship opportunities for the students on technologies and tools.

Speaking on the alliance, Mr Thompson P. Gnanam, MD & Global CEO, 3i Infotech said, “We believe this academia-industry partnership will be a gamechanger to bridge the skill-gap in the industry and will pave the way for many more such initiatives. With the world rapidly progressing towards adopting AI, it’s important that an intervention of this nature between academia and industry is made paramount. While we are excited to announce this future-ready learning program, tailored for passionate and qualified students who are eager to explore the realms of AI/ML/DL research, we also strongly believe that it is important for Professors of Practice to be brought into this curriculum design to ensure ‘Campus to Corporate’ is a smooth transition.”

Speaking at the signing event, Mr Damodharan Padmanaban, Global Head Cognitive Computing, 3i Infotech said, “The very core structure of technology will remain the same irrespective of the extent of its development over the years. The gamechanger aspect of tech will only be an enhanced problem-solving mechanism in the complex business solutions, where we can make the AI work for us instead of being overtaken by it. In the contemporary world, a facet of utmost importance is the real-world application of learning. However, being trained through a certain course is distant from actually performing a task in the ever-evolving complex business scenarios. It is here that this AI Lab will play a pivotal role in making the learning realistic and future ready”.

Speaking on the initiative, Dr S. Ramachandran, Director Academic, SRM Group said, “SRM has a rich legacy of academic excellence with a strong bent towards research and innovation. Our professors are highly regarded within the country’s educational ecosystem, who are always eager to upskill and stay abreast around emerging trends and technologies. In this endeavor, we are delighted to partner with FutureTech in setting up a next-gen innovation lab that will completely upskill and give our students a competitive advantage in the market. This initiative will inspire curiosity among our students and hopefully generate new knowledge and discoveries. To achieve this, the learners will be offered comprehensive resources and ample technical guidance for them to learn and innovate. They will have access to essential resources such as servers, deployment support, and a suite of powerful AI developer tools”.

Other propositions offered by the programme are the holistic support system, social entrepreneurship, and decentralized learning ecosystem for the students where they will be trained in terms of their ability to solve real-world business problems through use cases. The training model will facilitate an ecosystem where the students and professors will have the flexibility and control over their educational journeys. Individuals can choose their preferred learning resources, pathways, and pace, fostering a personalized and self-directed learning experience. It will also enable learners to connect and interact directly with one another, fostering knowledge sharing, collective problem-solving, and the development of social networks based on shared interests or expertise.

About 3i Infotech

3i Infotech Limited incorporated in 1993 and headquartered in Mumbai, India, provides information technology services and software solutions. Since its inception the company has 25+ years of experience in delivering business value to its clients across multiple industry verticals. 3i Infotech has emerged as a leading name in propelling the current wave of digital transformation initiatives, with deep domain expertise across BFSI, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail, and Government sectors. The company currently stands with a strength of 8000 employees and over 500+ clients across the globe.

It operates through three key segments, (1) Enterprise Services (includes ADMS, ISMS, Testing, Classic BPS, MVS etc.), (2) Professional Services (includes Human Capital Mgt. Services) and (3) Digital Business Services (includes IT & Digital Consulting, Application-Automation-Analytics (AAA), Digital Infrastructure Management Services (Digital IMS), CloudFirst, Oracle COE, Global Command Centre (GCC), Cyber SOC, Digital BPS, Cognitive Computing Services, 5G Lab as Service, Private 5G, IoT, Cyber Security Services, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), AgriTech, Telecom Media Entertainment (TME), Edge Computing, Edge Analytics, NuRe Campus, FutureTech, etc.)

Website: https://www.3i-infotech.com/

CropIn Launches AI Labs; To Bring Predictive Intelligence to Every Acre of the World's Cultivable Land

A team of Researchers and Scientists in AI/ML, Earth Observation, and Agrisciences will focus on computing global agriculture assets, with a target to build intelligence for 1/3rd of the planet's cultivable lands by 2025

• To strengthen the existing Earth Observation & AI science research team, Cropin will hire experts from these domains in 2022
• CropIn AI Labs to focus on bringing Earth Observation and AI-Science together to re-imagine agriculture and ensure sustainable usage of land and resources
• CropIn’s platform is capable of computing crop intelligence at planet scale, computing 0.2 billion acres of cultivable land so far in 13 countries including India, Nigeria, and Bangladesh covering 32 crops
• Based in India and Europe, the Cropin AI Labs team will compute over 1.2 billion acres of cultivable lands across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, LATAM, and Africa regions by 2025

Cropin, the agritech pioneer, building the first global Intelligent Agriculture Cloud, announced that it has set up a new AI Labs. With an initial team of 30 members comprising Earth Observation Scientists, Data Scientists, Agronomists and AI/ML Researchers, the AI Labs will focus on studying and "computing" cultivable lands worldwide. Leveraging the contextual convergence of earth-observation data, geo-fenced field data, AI models and knowledge built and tested over the years, Cropin's AI Labs scientists will bring intelligence to every acre of the world's farmlands.

The complex process of 'Agri asset computation' brings together hyper local historical and forecasted weather data, soil information, agro-climatic conditions, seed genetics, global crop sowing and harvesting patterns, management practices, agronomical knowledge, land records, farmer KYC and other farming insights, all under one umbrella. Cropin’s proprietary knowledge graphs are created on trillions of farm pixel datasets that continuously grow and multiply in time & space, allowing the company to build and implement the various AI models in any country in the shortest possible time. Cropin is doubling down efforts in solving some of the most complex challenges and opportunities in this industry with the launch of this initiative.

In a first of its kind initiative in the global agriculture ecosystem, this move will help accelerate digital adoption in the sector and transform agriculture into a sustainable, efficient, and data-driven industry:

• According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the global population will hit 10 billion people by 2050, and the world needs to produce 56 per cent more food than produced in 2010
• Cropin's global farmland computation initiative will have a deep impact on the $3 Trillion food production value chain by 2025
• Reduce food losses by 35% thus safeguarding food security and sustainability
• Enable $0.5 Trillion agri lending globally and significantly improve the livelihoods of 2 billion+ farmers

Commenting on the launch of Cropin AI Labs, Krishna Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, CropIn, said, "At Cropin, we are constantly focused on building technology that can enable and transform the agriculture sector. Right from our founding in 2010, when no category called agritech existed, to today, we see the industry evolving from the digitization of farming to intelligent and data-driven agriculture. Over the past few years, our Earth Observation & AI science research teams have built global intelligence models for agriculture that are already unmatched in terms of accuracy and scalability in the real world. Cropin's AI Labs will help us accelerate this effort to compute and bring the benefits of predictive intelligence to every acre of the world's farmlands."

The company's AI/ML-powered predictive risk monitoring and mitigation solutions have registered a revenue growth of more than 110X between 2019 and 2022 and now account for 65% of Cropin's revenues. Cropin’s Data and Insight Platforms provide businesses with actionable insights on crop identification and yield estimation; crop health monitoring, biotic and abiotic stress risk mapping, predicting harvest, irrigation & water usage management; and greenhouse gas emission monitoring and climate-smart agriculture advisories.

Praveen Pankajakshan - VP, Data Science & AI, CropIn, said, "The history of agriculture is replete with examples of continuous innovation and transformation. Technology adoption in the agriculture sector has been abysmally low in comparison with other industry segments. The primary reason being that these solutions were built elsewhere and retrofitted for agriculture use cases. Cropin’s AI Labs is on a mission to solve the most complex and challenging research problems in Agriculture by custom-building these solutions as an intelligence stack for all the world’s farmlands and help accelerate this transformation. These are foundational blocks that play a critical role in future-proofing agriculture and influence the future of food security. We are excited and determined to fuel the next wave of agriculture transformation for our planet. Cropin is revolutionizing the ‘AICulture for Agriculture’ and what is good for the planet is great for us!"

About Cropin

Founded in 2010, Cropin is a pioneer in the Agtech space, building the first global Intelligent Agriculture Cloud. Cropin's platform enables various stakeholders in the agri-ecosystem to leverage digitization and AI at scale to make decisions that increase efficiency, scale productivity, and strengthen sustainability. Cropin has worked with 250+ customers and has digitized 16 million acres of farmland, improving the livelihoods of more than 7 million farmers. It has built the world's largest and most diverse farming data insights over a decade, spearheading a global 'Ag-intelligence' movement with a knowledge of 488 crops, and 10000 crop varieties in 56 countries. With its AI/ML platform tailor-made for the agriculture ecosystem, Cropin has computed 0.2 billion acres of farmlands across the globe.

Google launches AI Research Lab in Bengaluru; To Launch WiFi in Gujarat Villages

Google at its 5th edition of ‘Google For India’ event announced the opening of ‘Google Research India’, an artificial intelligence (AI) research lab in Bengaluru, to "tackle big problems", the technology giant announced on Thursday during its fifth edition of Google for India event.

The newly launched lab will be led by Manish Gupta, a SEM (Society for Experimental Mechanics) fellow, and Professor Milind Tambe, who is Director of Harvard Centre for Computation & Society, will serve as director of AI for social good.

According to Google, Professor Tambe will build a research programme around applying AI to tackle big problems in areas like healthcare, agriculture, or education.

All aboard for Google Research India? AI, AI.
🔊Jay Yagnik talks about how the Bangalore-based center aims to deliver world-class research and bring the benefits of AI to everyone. #GoogleForIndia

▶️ https://t.co/2xqmGyuQBL pic.twitter.com/eLH7TMHVcK

— Google India (@GoogleIndia) September 19, 2019

The team at Google Research India lab will focus on two pillars -- 1) advancing fundamental computer science and AI research by building a strong team and partnering with the research community across the country; 2) applying this research to tackle big problems in fields like healthcare, agriculture, and education while also using it to make apps and services used by billions of people, more helpful.

#ICYMI here are the key announcements from the 5th edition of #GoogleForIndia.

▶️ https://t.co/4CI0mJzfuO pic.twitter.com/1pKBDm3WDy

— Google India (@GoogleIndia) September 19, 2019

Fast Public WiFi in Gujarat Villages

Google in its flagship event also announced the partnership with BSNL to bring "fast, reliable and secure public WiFi to villages in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar" and with National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) for their Skill India programme to make entry-level jobs easily discoverable online.

Google has also launched an initiative to help millions of Indians who use 2G phones get the information they need, without requiring data or an internet connection. The Vodafone-Idea Phone Line -- supported by the Google Assistant -- enables Vodafone-Idea users to call a single number free of charge (000 800 9191000), at any time, and ask for everything -- from sports scores, traffic conditions and weather forecasts or get help with homework. Starting 19th September, Google has expanded the service to all English- and Hindi-speaking Vodafone-Idea customers across India.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was a guest at the event, said, “Digital India was designed to ensure digital inclusion... I don't have a slightest doubt that Google has a crucial role in helping India achieve its goal of a trillion dollar digital economy.”

Talking about Bolo, a speech-based app that helps children learn to read, that Google launched in March 2019, Sapna Chadha, director of marketing, Southeast Asia & India, said, “Bolo has already helped 800,000 young Indians read stories more than three million times, and speak half a billion words.”

Bolo was already available in Hindi and English and now it has been expanded to five new Indian languages -- Bangla, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Google has also partnered with publishers like Chota Bheem and Katha Kids to provide more Indic-languages content.

Microsoft Launches AI Labs in 10 Indian Educational Institutes

Microsoft has announced yesterday the launch of 'AI Digital Labs' in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in the country and with this Microsoft aims to skill nearly 150,000 students for a future-ready workforce.

www.indianweb2.com first reported about this initiative in January this year.

These AI Labs will conduct a 3-year program in which Microsoft will support the selected institutions with best-in-class infrastructure, curriculum and content, access to cloud and AI services as well as developer support.

Microsoft will facilitate setting up of core AI infrastructure and IoT Hub as well as provide access to a wide range of AI developmental tools and Azure AI Services such as Microsoft Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning and Bot Services. Training programs for faculty will include workshops on cloud computing, data sciences, AI and IoT.

In addition, the faculty of these institutes will receive assistance in strategizing content and syllabus for project-based and experiential learning.

The educational institutes covered under this program include BITS Pilani, BML Munjal University, ISB, Kalpataru Institute of Technology, KL University, Periyar University, Karunya University, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, SVKM (NMIMS) and Trident Academy of Technology.

With the edge of the Intelligent Cloud Hub program, these institutions will emerge as learning centers of intelligent technologies and innovation hubs of path-breaking solutions.

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent technologies are becoming all-pervasive today, driving change across businesses and communities. The evolution of AI and other emerging technologies is expected to create new jobs. Workers at all levels of organizations will need to be skilled for these jobs. These shifts in the talent landscape will require new ways of thinking about skills and training to ensure that the new workforce is prepared for the future and there is sufficient talent available for critical jobs," said the company announcement.

A recent Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific study named ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI’ said that lack of skills, resources and continuous learning programs emerged as one of the top challenges faced by Indian organizations in adopting AI to accelerate their businesses.

[caption id="attachment_131208" align="aligncenter" width="300"] From left to right: Dr. Nandeeshaiah, Principal, Kalpataru Institute of Technology; Dr. R.N. Satpathy, Executive Director, Trident Academy of Technology; Joyjit Roy Ghatak Choudhury, Director- Information Technology & Knowledge Management, SRM Institute of Science and Technology; Krishnan Subramanian, Director, Digital Learning, BITS Pilani; Dr. Manoj K. Arora, Vice-Chancellor, BML Munjal University; Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India; Dr. P. Mannar Jawahar, Vice-Chancellor, Karunya University; Abhay Karhade, Advisor to President, SVKM & Chancellor NMIMS University for IT Services; Dr. Hari Kiran Vege, Head of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Associate Dean Academics, KL University and Dr. V. Natarajan Head, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Periyar University[/caption]

Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said in a statement, "As AI becomes mainstream, organizations will require talent with skillsets that are very different from what exist now. Educators and institutions are integral to the skilling revolution taking root in the country. With the right technology infrastructure, curriculum and training, we can empower today’s students to build the India of tomorrow."

Microsoft and its entities in India have over 9,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government organizations.

Last month, Microsoft held a 5-day specially curated online Artificial Intelligence (AI) program, which was aimed at enabling the developer community and workforce across organizations in India to harness the power of AI.

Last October, Microsoft collaborated with Spektacom Technologies, a tech startup founded by former Indian national cricket team captain Anil Kumble, to launch an AI & IoT-enabled ‘Power Bat’, a cricket bat that provides players, coaches, commentators, fans and viewers with a new and unique way to engage with the sport and help improve their game. The bat is powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform using AI and Internet of Things (IoT) services.

In 2016, Microsoft opened one of its eight Cybersecurity Engagement Centers in the country, to address security needs of both public and private sectors.

Adobe To Set Up Artificial Intelligence Lab in Hyderabad

India is in luck nowdays when it comes to implementation of new age tech like Artificial Intelligence (AI) as just few days back, Maharashtra state government announced that it will be setting up India's first AI centre in Mumbai. Now, in a latest update US-based software giant Adobe Systems has announced that it will be setting up an artificial intelligence centre in Hyderabad.

The decision was announced during a meeting between Telengana Information Technology (IT) Minister KT Rama Rao and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF) that took off in Hyderabad on Monday.

“Adobe is thrilled to announce that we are starting an advanced AI lab in Hyderabad. As a global leader providing content creation and enterprise experience software solutions, driving innovative products is the core essence of our company. The abundance of tech talent in Hyderabad, coupled with the pro-business stance make this an exciting initiative for growth for Adobe,” said Narayen.

"Adobe’s new artificial centre in the city will give a new impetus to the technology ecosystem present in the city. This would also open up new employment opportunities for the youth in the city", said minister KT Rama Rao.

Notably, Adobe has amost one-third of its global workforce in India.

The above development was first reported in Economic Times.

In 2016, Adobe announced Sensei AI, its new artificial intelligence and machine learning-based platform that combines Adobe’s knowledge of working with photos, videos, documents and marketing data with a unified AI and machine learning framework.

Unlike other companies, Adobe says that it has no interest in building a general artificial intelligence platform -- instead, it wants to build a platform squarely focused on helping its customers be more creative.

Last August, IBM has opened of its first Machine Learning (ML) Hub in India, its fifth in the world. The hub, located in Bengaluru, is a physical space for organizations to visit for hands-on training on ML. Prior to that, tech giant Google too launched AI Studio, globally to foster & nurture machine learning startups worldwide.

Earlier this month, India joined hands with Japan to launch robotics and artificial intelligence in the defense segment.

Recently, India’s IT ministry has also constituted four committees to thoroughly study on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence for citizen use.

In September 2017, Karnataka state government had too announced that Bengaluru will soon have India’s first multi-faceted artificial intelligence and robotics centre to established in IIIT-Bengaluru campus.

Adobe To Set Up Artificial Intelligence Lab in Hyderabad

India is in luck nowdays when it comes to implementation of new age tech like Artificial Intelligence (AI) as just few days back, Maharashtra state government announced that it will be setting up India's first AI centre in Mumbai. Now, in a latest update US-based software giant Adobe Systems has announced that it will be setting up an artificial intelligence centre in Hyderabad.

The decision was announced during a meeting between Telengana Information Technology (IT) Minister KT Rama Rao and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF) that took off in Hyderabad on Monday.

“Adobe is thrilled to announce that we are starting an advanced AI lab in Hyderabad. As a global leader providing content creation and enterprise experience software solutions, driving innovative products is the core essence of our company. The abundance of tech talent in Hyderabad, coupled with the pro-business stance make this an exciting initiative for growth for Adobe,” said Narayen.

"Adobe’s new artificial centre in the city will give a new impetus to the technology ecosystem present in the city. This would also open up new employment opportunities for the youth in the city", said minister KT Rama Rao.

Notably, Adobe has amost one-third of its global workforce in India.

The above development was first reported in Economic Times.

In 2016, Adobe announced Sensei AI, its new artificial intelligence and machine learning-based platform that combines Adobe’s knowledge of working with photos, videos, documents and marketing data with a unified AI and machine learning framework.

Unlike other companies, Adobe says that it has no interest in building a general artificial intelligence platform -- instead, it wants to build a platform squarely focused on helping its customers be more creative.

Last August, IBM has opened of its first Machine Learning (ML) Hub in India, its fifth in the world. The hub, located in Bengaluru, is a physical space for organizations to visit for hands-on training on ML. Prior to that, tech giant Google too launched AI Studio, globally to foster & nurture machine learning startups worldwide.

Earlier this month, India joined hands with Japan to launch robotics and artificial intelligence in the defense segment.

Recently, India’s IT ministry has also constituted four committees to thoroughly study on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence for citizen use.

In September 2017, Karnataka state government had too announced that Bengaluru will soon have India’s first multi-faceted artificial intelligence and robotics centre to established in IIIT-Bengaluru campus.