Google Sets Research Lab To Build On India’s Deeptech Ecosystem

At the Google For India event today (September 19), the company announced that it is setting up Google Research India — an artificial intelligence lab in Bengaluru.

At the Google Research Lab, the team will focus on two pillars

• advancing fundamental computer science and AI research by building a strong team and partnering with the research community across the country
• 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.

Manish Gupta will be leading Google Research India. Gupta is a renowned computer scientist and ACM Fellow with a background in deep learning across video analysis and education, compilers and computer systems.

Further, Professor Milind Tambe has joined in a joint appointment from Harvard University as Director of AI for Social Good. Professor Tambe will build a research program around applying AI to tackle big problems in areas like healthcare, agriculture, or education.

The lab in Bengaluru will be part of and support Google’s global network of researchers: participating in conferences, publishing research in scientific papers, and collaborating closely with each other.

The company said it is also exploring the potential for partnering with India’s scientific research community and academic institutions to help train top talent and support collaborative programs, tools and resources.

The AI sector has the potential to add $957 Bn to India’s GDP and boost annual growth by 1.3% by 2035, according to an Accenture report.

Recently, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build an Artificial Intelligence related resource platform — National Artificial Intelligence Resource Portal (NAIRP). This platform aims at making the search for AI learning resources much more simple and accessible to learners, practitioners and researchers.

Further, on the government’s end, think tank NITI Aayog, has been working on a national programme on artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the focus on fostering and developing AI industry in the country across stakeholders, Google’s Research Lab is joining the bandwagon of AI in India.

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