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Proposed initiative aims to advance Industrial AI innovation, skilling, and AI ecosystem development
Industrial AI CoE is envisioned as a platform for enabling ecosystem development and adoption of Industrial AI innovations leveraging scalable asset management platforms and sovereign AI technologies
Vadodara, Gujarat – June 30, 2026: IBM (NYSE: IBM), the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, and the Indian AI Research Organisation (IAIRO) today announced their intent to establish an Industrial Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (Industrial AI CoE) in Gujarat. Industrial Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the application of AI technologies across asset-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, energy, utilities and supply chains to enhance efficiency, safety, resilience, and quality within real-world constraints. The Industrial AI CoE aims to serve as a hub for Industrial AI innovation, skilling, and ecosystem development, supporting Gujarat's vision of becoming a leading destination for Industrial AI leveraging sovereign AI technologies.
The Industrial AI CoE, will serve as a Living Lab, envisioned to drive technology innovation, demonstrations, and pilot programs to enable creation and adoption of industrial applications of Artificial Intelligence that leverage and advance sovereign AI technologies. The initiative also aims to facilitate knowledge exchange across the AI ecosystem through workshops, conferences, technical sessions and stakeholder engagements, fostering collaboration between industry, academia and government.
Additionally, the Industrial AI CoE will promote skill development and capacity building through academic partnerships, research initiatives, hackathons, and training programs in emerging AI technologies. It is further intended to serve as a focal point for collaboration on the development of AI frameworks, reference architectures, standards, and best practices to enable responsible and scalable AI adoption. The initiative will encourage innovation and applied research to strengthen Gujarat’s AI ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of Industrial AI solutions.
Dr. Amit Sheth, Founding Director, Indian AI Research Organisation said, “The next generation of industrial systems will require AI that combines learning with domain knowledge, human expertise, and trust. Translating these capabilities into real-world impact requires an ecosystem where research, policy, and enterprise innovation evolve together, and Gujarat's industrial leadership provides a strong foundation for that transformation. This initiative will help advance indigenous innovation, nurture world-class talent, and translate frontier research into real-world impact, strengthening India's leadership in trustworthy Industrial AI in collaboration with the Government of Gujarat and IBM.”
Sriram Raghavan, General Manager, IBM Software, India and Software Innovation Lab said, "Scaling the application of AI is rapidly emerging as a strategic imperative for manufacturing and industrial organizations aiming to enhance operational resilience and unlock new productivity gains. Realizing this opportunity requires not only advanced AI models, but also access to real-time and historical data, enterprise-ready platforms, governance, and ecosystem partnerships. We look forward to collaborating with the Government of Gujarat and IAIRO to help create a platform that fosters innovation, develops skills, and accelerates the adoption of sovereign AI technologies."
As part of the collaboration, IBM and IAIRO intend to serve as technical and strategic advisors to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, providing expertise in Industrial AI technologies, sovereign AI technologies, asset management platforms and related best practices to scale AI adoption in the industry sector.
The Indian AI Research Organisation (IAIRO) is a national organization for foundational and applied artificial intelligence research. Headquartered in GIFT City, Gujarat, IAIRO operates under a public–private partnership model and focuses on research excellence, talent development, ecosystem building, and the creation of AI systems of national and global relevance. For more information, visit http://iairo.ai; LinkedIN
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
Media Contact:
IAIRO
Shreya Mishra: shreya@consociaadvisory.com
Dollvy Agrawal: dollvy@consociaadvisory.com
IBM
Prasanna S.R | prasanna.s.r@ibm.com
Antonetta Kumar | antonkum@in.ibm.com
