IIT Kharagpur to establish India’s first Physical AI school with Rs 35 crore investment

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur plans to create India's inaugural specialized academic institution centered around Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI), backed by a funding of Rs 35 crore. This visionary project, known as the Benjamin Gupta School of Physical AI, will be inaugurated through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by IIT Kharagpur, its distinguished alumnus Vinod Gupta, and the IITKGP Foundation USA.

The Vinod Gupta family is contributing Rs 12.5 crore, while an anonymous former student will be providing Rs 10 crore, with IIT Kharagpur contributing the rest of the funds.

The school will be named in honor of Vinod Gupta's late son, Benjamin Gupta. Distinct from traditional AI, which primarily focuses on data, algorithms, and digital systems, Physical AI integrates AI with scientific principles, real-world sensing, and intelligent control mechanisms. This interdisciplinary field aims to develop intelligent systems capable of understanding and navigating the physical world, exploring areas such as physics-informed machine learning, scientific AI, digital twins, intelligent robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensing, and AI-based experimentation.

The institute emphasizes the development of AI systems that are dependable, explainable, and responsible, particularly for critical applications where precision and safety are paramount.

Academic programs at the school are expected to commence in the next academic session, pending the requisite approvals. These programs will be tailored for students, researchers, and working professionals from diverse backgrounds, including engineering, physical sciences, life sciences, and medicine. A particular emphasis will be placed on blending domain expertise with contemporary AI skills.

Suman Chakraborty, Director of IIT Kharagpur, elucidates that the school endeavors to transcend AI's often perceived "black-box" nature by fusing algorithmic prowess with foundational scientific and domain-specific knowledge. Furthermore, the school plans to forge collaborations with various entities, such as industry leaders, healthcare organizations, research laboratories, startups, and international partners, to foster research, technology advancement, and professional upskilling in Physical AI.