Intel partners IIIT-Hyderabad for applied AI research

Hyderabad: Tech giant Intel on Monday said it has partnered with IIIT-Hyderabad, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Telangana government to set up a new 'Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Centre' that will focus on leveraging AI to solve challenges in key sectors like healthcare and smart mobility.

Through collaboration with industry, academia and government, the centre aims to drive high impact applied research, create population scale data sets, advance AI, develop technology through IP generation and foster entrepreneurship, a statement said. Inaugurating INAI, KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Industries, MA&UD, said, "The launch of INAI, the Applied AI Research Center in Hyderabad, is a key milestone in our digitalization journey. I strongly believe it is imperative for all ecosystem stakeholders to collectively work with a synchronous effort towards realizing our AI vision for enabling better governance and elevating quality of life for our people."

The Applied AI Research Centre was launched during the opening of all.ai 2020 Virtual Summit and AI For Youth Symposium. The research centre in Hyderabad -- INAI -- will act as a catalyst to accelerate India's leadership in AI by driving innovation and entrepreneurship, creating national assets such as curated data sets, computing infrastructure, tools and frameworks with the aim to attract global talent for high impact research towards social sector development, the statement said.

This collaborative effort by Intel has been catalysed by the Telangana government and is anchored at IIIT-H. PHFI is the founding healthcare partner in this initiative. "As India continues its transformation, adoption of technology-led innovations becomes important to solve the country's societal challenges in the critical areas of healthcare, smart mobility and the future of work," Intel Corporation Country Head, Intel India and Vice President, Data Platforms Group, Nivruti Rai said.

The need of the hour is for industry, government, academia and the public to work together to support development of technology with thoughtful consideration of its application in an ethical and inclusive manner, she added. The centre will leverage the broader computing strengths and academic expertise of IIIT-H, the technology leadership and architecture strength of Intel, the public health expertise of PHFI, as well as expertise from other domain and technology players to drive targeted outcomes in technology innovation, entrepreneurship development, job creation and international collaboration.