In a first-of-its-kind development likely to elevate Andhra Pradesh to the country’s AI innovation hotspot, the state government has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based tech firm Nvidia. The partnership aims to transform AI education, skilling, research and startup acceleration in the state.
Central to this partnership is the creation of a proposed AI University in Amaravati. This institution should become a vehicle for world-best AI education and research, supported by state-of-the-art computational infrastructure.
As a founding member, Nvidia will help inform what tools, software platforms and hardware capabilities the university needs to help ensure the university produces world-class results.
Outside of the university, workforce development is another focus of the partnership. The initiative aims to skill a whopping number of 10,000 engineering students over the next two years in Andhra Pradesh.
Nvidia will play a major role, too, supporting the engineering colleges across the state with curriculum advice and technical training for engineering colleges up to graduation level for AI knowledge.
The partnership also applies to building a strong R&D environment. Nvidia will help in the identification and set-up of AI research labs that seek to address great technological challenges and finds ground breaking solutions across sectors. Both sides will actively promote the joint research on AI theory, as well as AI application.
The MoU also mentions a dedication to encourage the startup ecosystem. Andhra Pradesh government aims to help around 500 state based AI-focused startups to apply to the prestigious Inception Programme by Nvidia, thereby providing these startups with access to Nvidia’s global ecosystem, technical support and market opportunities. This is believed to be a game changer for the local startup landscape.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu termed it as a radical step towards sustainable agriculture and farmers’ welfare; and Andhra Pradesh (AP) IT Minister Nara Lokesh said, this partnership was a “game-changing step” in the state’s aspiration to lead the country in AI.
Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, Asia South, Nvidia, also reaffirmed Nvidia’s commitment to democratizing access to AI learning experience, facilitating research, and powering startups to innovate at scale. This coalition comes at a critical juncture for Andhra Pradesh- ushering in an economy that is future-ready and powered by innovation, research and entrepreneurship.
