Yesterday, Lucidity, a Bengaluru based company that helps businesses manage cloud storage more efficiently, raised $21 million in a Series A funding round led by WestBridge Capital. The funding follows a previous investment from BEENEXT in June 2024, bringing Lucidity’s total funding to $31 million.

Lucidity’s platform automates cloud storage management, helping businesses reduce costs by up to 70%. It works across major cloud providers—AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—adjusting storage space automatically based on demand. This means companies don’t have to manually manage their cloud storage, saving time and resources.

“The need for cloud storage resources is growing with ongoing advances in AI and a simultaneous need to reduce overall cloud spend. Lucidity fundamentally transforms how enterprises manage and orchestrate their cloud storage infrastructure,” said Rishit Desai, partner at WestBridge Capital. “Lucidity’s unparalleled platform increases storage efficiency and significantly reduces costs for customers of all sizes.”

Founded in 2021, Lucidity has seen rapid growth, reporting a 400% year-over-year increase. Large companies, including World Market, Dometic, a global airline, and a major credit ratings firm, use Lucidity’s technology to better manage their cloud storage and cut expenses.

“Many enterprises struggle with properly managing their cloud storage, as it’s a challenging area to solve that hasn’t received proper attention until now,” said Lucidity co-founder Nitin Bhadauria. “Lucidity delivers the only platform that automatically manages and optimises block storage in real-time across all three major cloud providers while significantly reducing costs.”

Customers have praised Lucidity’s impact. Brian Lupson, director of operations & governance at Iron Mountain, shared, “We used to spend countless hours provisioning our cloud block storage. With Lucidity, we were able to not only free up that time by automating our storage management, but were able to save significant cost on our annual block storage spend.”

Similarly, Ram Kesavan, sr. director of engineering at World Market, said, “Lucidity removes the possibility of our servers running out of disk space as it manages disk space expansion when needed.”

With the new funding, Lucidity plans to grow its team and further improve its platform to help businesses manage storage more efficiently.“The adoption of cloud continues to accelerate yet cloud storage is often an afterthought and can be difficult to right-size,” said Dan O’Brien, chief solutions officer at Presidio. “Lucidity is a game-changer in cloud storage management, helping enterprises optimise storage utilisation, enhance performance, and significantly reduce costs.

The post Lucidity Secures $21 Million in Series A Funding Led by WestBridge appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

The Adobe suite is widely popular among professionals, thanks to its grace in integrating AI to assist creative workflows. Expanding on its existing AI-powered offerings, Adobe has now introduced a new Firefly app, along with the launch of its video model, making it a multimedia generation tool for users.

Adobe states that the Firefly video model is the industry’s first commercially safe AI video generation model, which powers ‘Generate Video (beta)’ in the Firefly application, as well as ‘Generative Extend (beta)’ in Adobe Premiere Pro. 

The company claims that it generates IP-friendly video content that can be used in production and has been trained on content that Adobe has permission to use.

It is important to note that the video model is available in public beta, which means you should be cautious about production use cases.

To get access to the video model, customers have to opt for Firefly Standard or Pro subscription plans. The plans include different limits for generating videos, images, or vectors as per the customer’s requirements. 

The Firefly app integrates with the Adobe Creative Cloud applications, including Premier Pro, Photoshop, Express, and more.

To generate a video clip, one must simply type in a text prompt, control the camera angle for the shots, and create various design elements as assets. At the moment, the model supports up to 1080p resolution, and it plans to support 4k resolution soon.

David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s digital media business, said, “Firefly is designed for creative professionals looking for unmatched creative control and IP-friendly tools that can be used safely and effectively in both ideation and production.” 

“We’ve been thrilled to hear from beta customers who’ve found it a game-changer for ideating concepts and producing stunning videos, and we can’t wait to see how the creative community uses it to bring their stories to the world,” he added.

While Adobe has tried its best to protect the creator’s work, it remains to be seen how Firefly performs for creators and how they use it.

The post Adobe Adds New AI-Powered Video Model to Its Arsenal appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

New research from OpenAI highlights the results of their reasoning models (o-series models) and how LLMs have evolved from amateur competitive programmers to competing with the world’s best. 

OpenAI’s latest AI model, o3, earned an impressive 2724 rating on CodeForces, placing it in the 99.8th percentile. It also secured a gold medal-level score at the 2024 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).

According to the research, o3 outperforms the o1-ioi model, which is specifically fine-tuned for IOI. This proves that reinforcement learning is more effective than hand-crafted approaches.

At IOI 2024, o3 competed under standard conditions and crossed the gold medal threshold. On CodeForces, it ranked among the top 200 programmers globally, competing with elite human coders.

“General-purpose reasoning capabilities developed through reinforcement learning are now outperforming carefully hand-crafted, domain-specific solutions,” said Ethan Mollick, associate professor at The Wharton School. “Rather than building specialised systems for specific tasks, large, general-purpose models can achieve superior results through better reasoning abilities.”

The research is part of OpenAI’s ongoing efforts to assess its models’ performance in competitive programming and broader software engineering. 

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude model series, also released a report on Monday which highlighted AI’s influence on the workplace.

The findings revealed that approximately 36% of all occupations incorporate AI for at least a quarter of their tasks. Moreover, 57% of AI applications enhance human capabilities, while 43% focus on automation. However, only 4% of occupations rely on AI for at least 75% of their tasks.

The study identified software development and technical writing as the primary areas where AI is utilised. In contrast, AI plays a minimal role in tasks that involve physical interaction with the environment.

The post OpenAI’s o3 Wins Gold at International Olympiad in Informatics 2024 appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Over the past few years, humanoids have become the talk of the internet, thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), synthetic data and robotics. Companies worldwide are racing to deploy intelligent, autonomous humanoids that can work alongside humans in industrial environments.

As seen in recent collaborations between major AI and robotics firms, such as Apptronik, Google DeepMind, NVIDIA and Foxconn, companies strive to create versatile robots capable of dynamic, real-world tasks. 

With an increasing focus on efficiency, safety, and automation, humanoids are poised to become an essential part of the workforce. Companies like FigureAI, Tesla, UBTECH, Agility Robotics, and Addverb are now exploring humanoids.

In an interview with AIM, Satish Shukla, co-founder of Addverb, discussed the company’s plans to launch its humanoid this year and his views on the future of humanoids.

Shukla believes it will take another three to four years for humanoids to become as prevalent as humans. “For every human, we probably might have one humanoid,” he said.

Addverb focuses on AI, computer vision, and gesture-based control to expand its portfolio of autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic solutions. The company also claims to address industrial bottlenecks in warehouse operations, e-commerce logistics, and security automation.  

Humanoids to Enter Soon

As per Shukla, Addverb aims to launch its first humanoid robot in Q4 (October to December) of 2025. Unlike traditional robotic automation, humanoid robots offer the advantage of seamless integration into human-centric environments without requiring major infrastructure changes.  

“We don’t see it as a consumer product per se, but it could find application in…a burger joint, but not for a personal user or consumer-based,” Shukla added. 

The robot could function in workplaces such as warehouses, healthcare facilities, and security operations, where automation has yet to fully replace manual processes. He also noted that while humanoid robotics is advancing, widespread adoption will take time.  

These robots will evolve through iterative upgrades, ensuring robustness and adaptability for various industries. The company is leveraging its partnerships with Reliance and other innovation-focused firms to refine and test its humanoid solutions before a large-scale rollout.

In November last year, Addverb’s co-founder and CEO, Sangeet Kumar, said that the company would initially unveil 100 robots in 2025, which would be used across various industries, including energy and retail.   

He noted that the humanoids are advancing at a pace comparable to those in the US, China, and Europe in terms of speed, height, and dexterity. The focus is on commercialising military-grade robots and exploring their deployment on Mars.

Trakr 2.0 Advances Quadruped Robotics  

Trakr 2.0, to be launched at LogiMAT India 2025, is an upgraded version of Addverb’s quadruped robot designed for industrial, security, and healthcare applications. It features a payload capacity of 20 kg, a 90-minute battery life, and stereo cameras for improved autonomous navigation.  

Unlike conventional wheeled robots, Trakr 2.0 operates on four legs, allowing it to traverse complex industrial terrains. It takes the company from “wheeled robotics to legged robotics”, according to Shukla. The robot is intended for warehouse automation, security patrolling, and disaster management applications.  

Addverb previously introduced quadruped robots for warehouse coordination, but Trakr 2.0 expands its use cases to healthcare logistics, surveillance, and industrial maintenance. 

“There will be a fleet of quadrupeds that will display agility, coordination, better planning, efficiency and overall collective intelligence of how a group of quadruped can perform different tasks,” Shukla said.

The robot’s integration with AI-based perception systems positions it as a potential alternative to traditional security and monitoring solutions. The stereo cameras enhance vision-based navigation, allowing the robot to function in low-light and dynamic environments.

Shukla expressed that the robotics and automation industry requires a specialised skill set, but the availability of trained professionals remains limited. Addverb acknowledges this gap and focuses on hiring young engineers willing to learn and experiment. Addverb has a global workforce, with professionals from over 60 nationalities contributing to product development. The company runs internal upskilling programs to prepare training graduates from campuses.

Warehouse Automation Gets Smarter with Gesture-Based Picking

Syncro is Addverb’s collaborative robot designed to automate picking operations with AI-driven precision. It enhances efficiency by executing pick-and-place tasks with minimal manual intervention. 

With a payload capacity of up to 10 kg, an extended reach of 1,300 mm, and a speed of 1 m/s, Syncro ensures faster order fulfilment while maintaining 99.9% picking accuracy.  

The robotic picking arm grips and lifts items from storage containers with precision. Customisable end-of-arm tooling and multi-axis movement make it adaptable for handling various stock-keeping units (SKUs). Syncro also facilitates decanting by efficiently transferring items from source bins to destination bins, optimising warehouse automation.

Another innovation, HOCA (high-order carousel automation), is an advanced batch-picking system designed for warehouses that require high-volume, space-efficient automation.

The system can handle payloads of up to 54 tons while operating within a compact picking zone of 5–10 square metres.

Its design enables automated goods retrieval, eliminating the need for manual aisle navigation. The system claims to ensure an accuracy rate exceeding 99%, reducing errors in inventory management and optimising order fulfilment workflows.  

According to Shukla, HOCA is built for e-commerce fulfilment centres, dark stores, and large-scale industrial storage. The batch-picking feature allows multiple orders to be processed simultaneously, a function aimed at businesses experiencing seasonal demand spikes. 

Moreover, Brisk, another launch by the company, introduces gesture-recognition technology into warehouse operations, allowing workers to execute tasks with minimal manual effort. The system incorporates a glove-based EAN reader that facilitates barcode scanning, accelerating the order processing cycle.  

Designed to reduce non-value-adding movements, Brisk replaces traditional walking-and-picking workflows with an automated goods-to-person system. 

The interface adapts to varied lighting conditions, ensuring smooth operation in low-visibility warehouse environments.  

Brisk builds on Addverb’s existing work in computer vision, reinforcement learning, and AI-driven automation. The product will target e-commerce, large-scale retail warehouses, and manufacturing hubs where manual picking inefficiencies impact productivity.  

Why Reliance?

Reliance is a strategic investor in Addverb, which provides a platform for developing and testing automation solutions across multiple industries. With business verticals spanning petrochemicals, retail, digital services, fashion, e-commerce, and new energy, Reliance offers a broad environment for deploying robotics and automation technologies. 

As Shukla explained, Addverb has worked on several key projects within Reliance, including a remote ultrasound solution, a 5G-enabled robot for the Jamnagar Refinery, and automation for returns handling in retail, grocery, and fashion operations.

This partnership enables Addverb to scale its solutions rapidly, allowing for real-world testing in a collaborative environment. 

Implementing automation at Reliance’s operational scale gives the company a controlled environment to refine its products before expanding globally. The relationship also accelerates product development and market entry, helping Addverb bring innovations to market faster.

While Reliance plays a crucial role in infrastructure and deployment, Addverb is also working with Intel, NVIDIA, and Siemens to develop robotics and automation solutions. 

While Addverb competes with major industrial robotics firms, including ABB, which focuses on industrial robotic arms, mobile robots, and cobots, competitors rely heavily on simulation and synthetic data for robot path planning. 

Addverb takes a different approach by controlling the entire end-to-end supply chain, from conceptualisation to deployment. The company has dedicated in-house teams for research and development, embedded systems, electrical engineering, manufacturing, and software development.  

This structure allows Addverb to reduce hardware complexity, cost, and weight. The ability to implement over-the-air (OTA) updates ensures continuous improvement post-deployment. 

Addverb has also developed custom controllers, enabling better optimisation of robotic functions. With over 350 customers and its own manufacturing facility, the company generates large-scale real-world data to refine automation systems.

The post ‘Soon, We Might Have One Humanoid for Every Human,’ Says Addverb Co-Founder appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 is a three-day, invite-only event held at ITC Grand in Goa. This conference is designed specifically for Global Capability Center heads, senior executives, and technology leaders who are focused on driving operational excellence and digital transformation in India. The summit brings together decision-makers who manage and expand GCC operations across the country. Discussions center on how to accelerate growth in an era marked by economic shifts and digital disruptions.

At this conference, the focus is on actionable insights rather than theoretical ideas. Leaders will discuss how to transform GCCs from traditional cost-saving units into dynamic innovation hubs. Topics include cross-border collaboration, compliance strategies, workforce development, and the integration of emerging technologies. The goal is to equip leaders with practical tools to navigate the challenges of a fast-changing global market.

• Dates: 20-22 June 2025
• Venue: ITC Grand, Goa
• Audience: 100+ GCC Heads
• Contact: info@aimmediahouse.com
• Format: Invite-only, three-day residential conference

Learn More about MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 >

Expert Speakers and Key Sessions

The summit will feature more than 30 in-depth sessions led by over 100 top GCC leaders from across India. Esteemed speakers such as C. P. Gurnani, former CEO and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, and Nayeema Kouser, Centre Head at Kraft Heinz Global Capability Centre, will be sharing their expertise. Other industry pioneers, including Rajesh Puneyani, Kamal Sharma, Pawan Sachdeva, Kaushik Das, Thameem Kamaldeen, and Lalitha Indrakanti, will offer their insights on a wide range of topics.

Each session is designed to provide clear, actionable strategies that GCC leaders can apply in their own operations. Discussions will focus on navigating uncertainty, adapting to digital disruptions, and harnessing the power of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Leaders will learn how to transform challenges into opportunities through case studies, panel discussions, and interactive roundtable sessions.

Review the session schedule >

Networking and Residential Experience

The residential format of the MachineCon GCC Summit offers a unique chance for sustained, meaningful networking. Over the three days, participants will enjoy more than 1,200 minutes of networking time with over 150 GCC leaders and 70+ exhibitors. The extended format allows for deeper conversations that go beyond brief interactions at a one-day event.

Networking sessions include structured icebreakers, informal dinner events, and dedicated one-on-one meetings. These sessions are designed to help you build strategic partnerships and establish lasting relationships with peers who share similar challenges and ambitions. The relaxed environment of Goa also provides an opportunity to experience local culture and hospitality, making it easier to connect on a personal level.

Recognizing Excellence with GCC Awards

A major highlight of the summit is the GCC Excellence Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements in innovation, process optimization, and digital transformation within the GCC ecosystem. The awards are designed to honor organizations that have set new standards in talent development, operational excellence, and strategic innovation.

Award categories include best innovation in process optimization, excellence in talent development and management, outstanding contribution to digital transformation, leadership in sustainability and CSR, best collaboration and partnership model, and emerging technology pioneer. These awards not only celebrate past accomplishments but also serve as a benchmark for future progress within the industry.

The awards process is open and transparent, with no participation fee, ensuring that all eligible GCCs have the opportunity to be recognized for their achievements. The awards ceremony will be a key networking event during the summit, where leaders gather to applaud success and discuss how to drive the industry forward.

Consider nominating your organization for one of the GCC Excellence Awards and encourage your peers to do the same to share your successes with the industry.

Sponsorship and Strategic Partnerships

MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 offers exclusive sponsorship opportunities that provide direct access to over 100 influential GCC decision-makers. Sponsorship packages include prominent display of your brand’s logo on banners and digital screens throughout the venue, as well as dedicated engagement sessions that allow you to interact directly with attendees.

Sponsors have the chance to host breakout sessions, demo stations, and interactive workshops. The residential, multi-day format ensures that your brand enjoys extended visibility and deeper engagement compared to traditional one-day conferences. This environment is ideal for showcasing your products and solutions to an audience that is keenly interested in the latest advancements in digital transformation and operational excellence.

By partnering as a sponsor, your organization will not only gain exposure but also build strategic relationships that can lead to new business opportunities. Sponsorship is a way to align your brand with the forefront of innovation in the GCC sector, reinforcing your position as a thought leader in the industry.

Contact AIM Media House to discuss sponsorship packages >

Agenda and Future Vision

The agenda for the MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 is carefully structured to cover all critical aspects of GCC operations and growth. The three-day program begins with a registration and check-in session, followed by an opening keynote that sets the stage for the discussions ahead. The agenda includes a mix of keynote presentations, panel discussions, interactive case study roundtables, and fireside chats.

Day one introduces the main themes of the summit, including strategies for navigating economic uncertainties and adapting to digital disruptions. Day two dives deeper into specialized topics such as agile methodologies, cybersecurity, strategic tech investments, and the future of work. The day also features a detailed look at successful case studies from leading GCCs. Day three concludes with focused workshops and a closing networking reception that reinforces the key takeaways and prepares participants for future challenges.

The agenda is designed to be both comprehensive and practical. It is meant to not only discuss the current state of the GCC ecosystem but also to forecast future trends and opportunities. With insights from top industry leaders and data-driven research, the summit offers a clear vision for how GCCs can evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global market.

Join Us in Shaping the Future

MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 is set to become the most powerful conference in the GCC landscape in India. With a focus on actionable strategies, practical case studies, and deep networking opportunities, the summit provides a unique platform for leaders to collaborate and innovate. The event is more than a conference—it is a strategic forum for shaping the future of digital transformation and operational excellence across the GCC ecosystem.

Every session, networking event, and discussion is designed to offer clear takeaways that can be implemented immediately within your organization. The summit not only celebrates excellence through the GCC Awards but also fosters an environment where ideas can be shared and partnerships can be formed to drive the industry forward. In a time when change is constant and the business landscape is increasingly complex, MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 offers the clarity and direction needed to lead confidently into the future.

If you have received an invitation to this exclusive event, your participation is a key part of shaping the next phase of GCC innovation in India. The ideas exchanged and relationships built here will help define the industry’s future and drive sustainable growth for years to come.

Confirm your participation now by contacting AIM Media House at info@aimmediahouse.com. Join us in Goa and be a part of the transformation that will set new benchmarks for the GCC ecosystem.

The post India’s Most Powerful GCC Conference is Now in Goa appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Saudi Arabia has announced a $1.5 billion investment in Silicon Valley-based AI startup Groq to expand AI inference infrastructure in the region. The agreement, revealed at LEAP 2025, Saudi Arabia’s leading tech event, strengthens the Kingdom’s AI computing capabilities and advances its Vision 2030 goal of building an AI-powered economy.

The funding builds on Groq’s previous work in the region, including the rapid deployment of the largest AI inference cluster in the Middle East in December 2024. The cluster, installed in just eight days, serves increasing global demand for AI compute power.

Groq operates from a data center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, providing AI inference capabilities through GroqCloud. 

At LEAP 2025, Groq CEO Jonathan Ross, alongside Saudi Aramco CTO Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter and Tareq Almin, demonstrated real-time AI applications, including reasoning large language models (LLMs), Saudi Arabia’s locally developed model Allam, and text-to-speech models in both English and Arabic.

“It’s an honor for Groq to be supporting the Kingdom’s 2030 vision,” Ross said. “We are excited to work alongside Saudi innovators to shape the next chapter of AI.”

The investment positions Saudi Arabia as a key player in AI infrastructure while addressing the region’s growing need for advanced computing solutions. Groq continues to provide AI inference technology for enterprises and developers through cloud and on-premise solutions.

The post Saudi Arabia Commits $1.5 Billion to Expand AI Infrastructure with Groq appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

The United Nations observes the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11 every year to highlight the importance of equal access to and participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The day serves as a powerful reminder that gender equality in STEM is not just a goal but a critical factor in shaping a more inclusive and innovative world.

While India boasts the highest percentage of female STEM graduates in the world – nearly 40% in 2021-22 – only 14% of STEM jobs in the country are held by women. This highlights a critical issue in the tech industry – the ‘leaky pipeline’. Women often exit the workforce at key life stages, including marriage or childbirth, and, sometimes, when family responsibilities intensify. This has led to the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles, innovation, and research.

A study by BiasWatchIndia highlighted the gender disparities within STEM fields. Engineering, for instance, has the widest gender gap, with women representing only 9.2% of faculty members. Fields like biology see slightly higher female representation, at 25.5%. The overall gender gap, however, remains a significant challenge. 

This trend underscores the systemic barriers women face, especially in traditionally male-dominated disciplines such as engineering, physics, and computer science. One question remains: how can women in tech achieve a sustainable work-life balance while overcoming these challenges?

What Women Leaders Think

Women leaders in tech are at the forefront of driving change, pushing for inclusive cultures, and redefining work-life balance. Here are a few stories that provide insights into how women can thrive professionally while maintaining personal well-being.

In a conversation with AIM, Suprabha Mysore, vice president of software development at TransUnion Global Capability Centre (GCC) in India, emphasised the importance of balance for true success. “We can never be great at our work if work is the only thing that we do! True success lies in finding a balance between all the things that matter to us,” she said. 

Suprabha’s perspective highlights that success is not just about career achievements but also about nurturing other aspects of life, such as relationships, health, and personal happiness.

Birlasoft’s chief operating officer, Selvakumaran Mannappan, shares a similar view. He said that work-life balance remains a critical challenge for women in tech, often impeding career growth and retention. Mannappan advocates for workplaces that prioritise flexibility, mentorship, and career development. 

“True inclusion means women in tech can lead, innovate, and grow without sacrificing work-life balance, aspirations, or opportunities,” he stated.

Birlasoft’s Empowered Women Leadership program is one such initiative. It equips women with the skills they need to progress into senior roles and fosters a culture where women can balance their personal and professional aspirations.

Kavitha Krishnan, vice president of AI innovations in procurement at SAP Labs India, also stressed the importance of intentional focus and balance. For her, mornings are sacred, a time for deep focus and high-impact tasks. 

“Work-life balance is about making intentional choices,” she explained. For Kavitha, maintaining a focus on health through exercise, mindful eating, and proper rest forms the foundation of her well-being, allowing her to tackle both work and personal life with energy and creativity.

Medhavi Singh, country head at Criteo India, told AIM that the conversation about work-life balance goes beyond flexible hours or remote work arrangements. “True leadership in tech is about prioritising the well-being of those who make business success possible.”

At Criteo, Medhavi emphasised that a supportive culture allows women to excel in their careers while maintaining personal well-being. Whether it’s through adjusting work schedules or providing opportunities for personal growth, creating a flexible work environment is key to empowering women.

Meanwhile, Rekha Sahay Ghosh, head of marketing and communications at Sasken Technologies, said, “It’s about prioritising tasks, being flexible, and setting clear boundaries.”

Efforts Towards Gender Diversity

Efforts to close the gender gap in engineering have been propelled by women like Sudha Murthy, who became the first woman in India to study mechanical engineering, paving the way for future generations.

The Infosys Foundation has taken steps toward increasing gender diversity by partnering with the ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu. The initiative aims to establish Centres of Excellence for Women and Youth Empowerment across 450 colleges in India, offering skills training and job placement assistance to rural learners. The program also includes soft skills development and coding practice sessions to ensure participants are prepared for real-world tech industry challenges.

Similarly, TalentSprint’s Women Engineers (WE) program, supported by Google, is creating an inclusive ecosystem for women in tech. The program has attracted over 1.3 lakh applicants from diverse backgrounds, offering scholarships, mentorship, and career opportunities. With 39% of participants from low-income families and 25% from rural areas, WE aims to empower aspiring women engineers and support their growth in high-growth tech careers across India.

The post How Women in Tech Navigate Work-Life Balance & Career Growth appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

OpenAI has outlined its plans to release GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 to simplify product offerings and enhance AI usability. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief, shared the update in a post on X.

“We want AI to ‘just work’ for you; we realise how complicated our model and product offerings have gotten,” Altman said. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the current model picker, saying, “We hate the model picker as much as you do and want to return to magic unified intelligence.”

GPT-4.5, internally referred to as Orion, will be the next release and the last non-chain-of-thought model. Following this, OpenAI plans to unify the o-series and GPT-series models, enabling systems that can integrate all tools and determine optimal thinking time for tasks.

GPT-5 will be introduced in ChatGPT and the API as a system incorporating various OpenAI technologies, including o3. OpenAI will not release o3 as a standalone model. Altman said that GPT-4.5 or GPT-5 could be released within weeks or months.

ChatGPT’s free tier will offer unlimited access to GPT-5 at the standard intelligence level, subject to abuse thresholds. “Plus subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at a higher level of intelligence, and Pro subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at an even higher level of intelligence,” Altman said. These models will include capabilities such as voice, canvas, search, and deep research.

Meanwhile, according to recent reports, OpenAI is progressing in its plan to develop custom AI chips to reduce reliance on NVIDIA. The company is preparing to finalise the design of its first in-house chip in the coming months and intends to send it for fabrication at TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

OpenAI is also engaged in discussions with SoftBank to secure an investment of up to $25 billion. 

Most recently, X chief Elon Musk and a group of investors made a bid to buy OpenAI for around $97.4 billion. The bid aims to acquire the nonprofit organisation that controls OpenAI. The group includes Musk’s AI company, xAI, investment firms like Vy Capital, and notable investors such as Ari Emanuel.

However, Altman reaffirmed that the company is not up for sale, stating, “The OpenAI mission is not for sale.”

The post OpenAI Announces Roadmap for GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

California-based Confluent, the data streaming giant founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, has announced a strategic partnership with Jio Platforms Limited to integrate its data streaming platform with Jio Cloud Services. 

This agreement positions Confluent as the first data streaming platform available on Jio Cloud. It enables businesses in India to leverage real-time data for next-generation applications, including generative AI.  

Confluent Cloud will now be accessible on Jio Cloud Services, simplifying data streaming adoption for Indian enterprises. The partnership also includes Confluent Platform as a managed service, catering to public and private sector organisations with enterprise-grade security and governance at scale.  

Kiran Thomas, president and CEO of Jio Platforms Limited, highlighted the significance of data streaming in India’s digital evolution. “We’re on the precipice of rapid transformation in India, and data streaming is a must-have for businesses to stay ahead of consumer trends, including advancements in AI,” he said. 

Data streaming is increasingly recognised as essential for innovation. According to Confluent’s 2024 Data Streaming Report, 94% of IT leaders in India believe data streaming accelerates product launches, while 95% see it as a driver of AI development.  

“Confluent with Jio will enable more organisations in India to harness the power of data streaming to fuel their businesses with real-time data and provide better services to its citizens,” said Erica Ruliffson Schultz, president of field operations at Confluent. 

She also mentioned that the partnership with Jio is a huge leap forward in making data streaming easily accessible and pervasive.

On Jio Cloud Services, Confluent will support data streaming across four core principles: streaming, connecting, processing, and governing data. The companies aim to accelerate India’s digital transformation through this collaboration.

Not Just Jio, But Also Databricks

Confluent has also recently expanded its partnership with Databricks to make real-time data integration easier for businesses, as announced by Jay Kreps, co-founder and CEO at Confluent. 

While many companies struggle to connect their AI and analytics with real-time operations because their data is siloed and difficult to manage, the company said this collaboration is aimed at helping businesses move data between systems effortlessly and securely.   

It allows businesses to instantly apply AI-driven insights, allowing them to make better, faster decisions without manual effort. For AI to be useful, it needs fresh, high-quality data. With this integration, AI models can continuously learn from real-time events, improving accuracy and automation. 

Confluent and Databricks are likely to roll out deeper product integrations in the coming months, ensuring AI-powered insights can seamlessly flow between analytical and operational systems. 

The post California-based Confluent Partners with Jio Platforms to Advance GenAI Development in India appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Snowflake has launched Cortex Agents, a fully managed service aimed at integrating, retrieving, and processing structured and unstructured data at scale.

Cortex Agents plan tasks, execute them using tools, and refine responses for improved accuracy. Available via a REST API, the service integrates into applications using Cortex Analyst for structured data (SQL generation) and Cortex Search for unstructured data retrieval. 

The new solution, now in public preview, enables businesses to build AI-driven applications with advanced governance and security features.

The Cortex Agents framework integrates Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, which enhances reasoning, coding, and workflow execution within Snowflake’s secure perimeter.

Cortex Agents review user queries and break them into structured and unstructured components. For example, a business user can request top distributors by revenue (structured) and then ask about contract details (unstructured). The agent disambiguates queries, splits tasks, and selects tools for execution.

Cortex Analyst, a fully managed LLM-powered Snowflake Cortex feature, generates SQL for structured data, while Cortex Search retrieves insights from text, audio, and images. The system ensures governed access and compliance while mapping business terms to structured data using semantic understanding. 

Snowflake reports that Cortex Analyst has achieved 90% accuracy in text-to-SQL use cases.

On the other hand, Cortex Search has outperformed OpenAI’s embedding models by 12% in unstructured data retrieval accuracy. It supports large-scale indexing, improved affordability, and customisable vector embeddings.

Snowflake also introduced Cortex AI Observability, powered by TruLens, for the evaluation and tracing of AI agents. “AI observability can evaluate agent performance using techniques such as LLM-as-a-judge, allowing customers to refine and optimise their applications,” Snowflake said.

Snowflake sees AI agents as a transformative force for enterprises, automating complex tasks and improving efficiency across industries such as finance, engineering, and customer support. “As LLMs continue to advance, agents will collaborate, plan, execute, and refine tasks, driving efficiency and reducing costs,” the company said. 

The post Snowflake’s New Cortex Agents Bridge AI and Enterprise Data Like Never Before appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

IIT Madras and ISRO have developed and booted an indigenous aerospace-grade semiconductor chip based on RISC-V, an open-source Instruction Set Architecture. 

The ‘IRIS’ (Indigenous RISCV Controller for Space Applications) chip was developed from the ‘SHAKTI’ processor baseline. This highlights India’s efforts toward self-reliance in semiconductor technology for space applications.  

Professor V. Kamakoti, director at IIT Madras, led the SHAKTI microprocessor project at the Prathap Subrahmanyam Centre for Digital Intelligence and Secure Hardware Architecture (PSCDISHA).

The project is backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the ‘Digital India RISC-V’ (DIRV) initiative. 

IIT Madras called this a “breakthrough in India’s self-reliance in space tech” in its post on X. The post further broke down the manufacturing process and claimed that the IRIS chip “will power ISRO’s space missions, ensuring advanced fault tolerance & computing reliability.”

V. Narayanan, chairman of ISRO, also hinted that a flight test may be coming soon! Furthermore, Kamakoti also took to X to display a demo of the chip.

@iitmadras & @isro successfully developed and booted an aerospace-grade, SHAKTI-based semiconductor chip (@ShaktiProcessor) —a breakthrough in India’s self-reliance in space tech!

This Made-in-India processor was:
Designed & tested by IIT Madras
Developed with ISRO… pic.twitter.com/Sit9pQP566

— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) February 11, 2025

How was the Chip Made?

This Made-in-India processor was manufactured at SCL (Semiconductor Laboratory) Chandigarh and packaged at Tata Advanced Systems in Karnataka. The motherboard was further developed by PCB Power in Gujarat and assembled by Syrma SGS in Chennai.

“After RIMO in 2018 and MOUSHIK in 2020, this is the third SHAKTI chip we have fabricated at SCL Chandigarh and successfully booted at IIT Madras,” Kamakoti said. 

The fact that chip design, fabrication, packaging, motherboard development, assembly, software, and booting all happened within India validates the strength of the country’s semiconductor ecosystem. 

The IRIS chip is designed for a range of applications, including IoT and strategic computing needs. This effort aligns with ISRO’s goal of indigenising semiconductors for command and control systems and other critical functions in space missions.  

The ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) in Thiruvananthapuram initiated the development of a 64-bit RISC-V-based controller and collaborated with IIT Madras on specifications and design. The final configuration was tailored to meet the computing requirements of ISRO’s existing sensors and systems.  

The design also supports future expansion through multiple boot modes and hybrid memory/device extensions. Extensive software and hardware testing ensured high reliability and performance.   

Kamaljeet Singh, director general at SCL Chandigarh, highlighted the role of SCL, saying, “Fabricated in our 180 nm technology node, the processor underwent extensive design validation and testing. SCL remains committed to supporting academia and startups.” 

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ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has dropped a family of joint image-video generation models called Goku. The models seem to be named after the popular anime character ‘Goku’ from the Dragon Ball series. 

This comes right after the company teased a video AI model that generates videos from images, dubbed OmniHuman-1.

Researchers claim that the Goku models help create product videos featuring AI-generated influencers, marketing avatars, landscape demos, visualising Chinese poetry, portrait video demos, and more.

The research paper attributes the model’s ability to generate high-quality videos to several key factors. One is the implementation of a rectified flow (RF) formulation for joint image and video generation and the employment of a 3D joint image-video VAE to compress inputs into a shared latent space. 

Moreover, the architecture features a Transformer network with full attention, enhanced with techniques like FlashAttention, sequence parallelism, Patch n’ Pack, 3D RoPE position embedding, and Q-K normalisation.

The paper also states that the Goku models demonstrate superior performance in both qualitative and quantitative evaluations, setting new benchmarks when compared to competitors like Luma, Open-Sora, Mira, and Pika.

Goku achieved 0.76 on GenEval, 83.65 on DPG-Bench for text-to-image generation, and 84.85 on VBench for text-to-video tasks. You can see the benchmark results below. 

“We believe that this work provides valuable insights and practical advancements for the research community in developing joint image-and-video generation models,” the researchers said.

The model’s ability to generate high-quality product videos featuring AI-generated influencers and other realistic visuals could hugely benefit content creators, influencers, marketers, and others.

The post ByteDance Unveils Goku to Take on Google’s Luma and OpenAI’s Sora appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

TVS Motor Company on Tuesday announced plans to invest ₹2,000 crore in Karnataka over the next five years to establish a Global Capability Centre (GCC) and expand its production and engineering facilities in Mysuru. 

This initiative aims to boost innovation, attract top talent, and strengthen research capabilities, supporting the company’s 2030 growth targets.

The investment was revealed at the Global Investors Meet (GIM), Invest Karnataka 2025, where TVS Motor managing director Sudarshan Venu outlined the company’s vision.

Venu stated that they envision a capability centre that will attract top talent and innovative ideas and possess research capabilities to serve as the birthplace of next-generation bikes.

The company has signed an agreement with the Karnataka government, which includes plans to set up a test track and build new office infrastructure. The centre will bring together engineers, designers, and AI/ML experts to drive future innovations.

Venu stated that the proposed plan seeks to provide substantial solutions for both personal and commercial mobility, establishing new standards

Expansion Plans in Mysuru

According to reports, TVS Motor already operates a manufacturing facility in Mysuru with over 3,500 employees and an annual production capacity of 1.5 million vehicles. The factory caters to both domestic and export markets, generating ₹7,600 crore in revenue, with ₹1,200 crore from exports alone.

With the new investment, TVS aims to double its exports and overall revenue from Mysuru operations.

The post TVS Motor to Set Up GCC in Karnataka with a potential investment of ₹2,000 Crore appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

The Adani Group has partnered with Singapore’s ITE Education Services (ITEES) to launch the world’s largest finishing school in Mundra (Gujarat), as announced by Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, on X.

The initiative aims to train over 25,000 learners annually, supporting India’s skill development and employment efforts.  

The facility will also incorporate AI-driven immersive learning and advanced innovation centres to enhance technical training. The programme is aligned with the Make in India movement, aiming to strengthen the country’s workforce by equipping learners with industry-relevant skills.  

Gautam Adani (left) with Suresh Natarajan (right), CEO at ITE Education Services

ITEES, known globally for technical education, will bring expertise in curriculum development and training methodologies. The partnership marks a significant step in advancing India’s vocational education and workforce readiness.  

The finishing school is part of Adani Group’s broader efforts to bridge the skill gap in India. The training programme is expected to contribute to economic growth by preparing professionals for various industries.

Last year, Adani Group acquired 25 acres of land parcel in the Pimpri industrial zone of Pune’s Haveli locality from Finolex Industries for around Rs 471 crore. The company plans to develop a large data centre on this land.

The Adani Group’s data centre business is led by AdaniConneX, a 50:50 joint venture between Adani Enterprises and US-based global hyperscale data centre provider EdgeConneX. The plan was to develop 1 GW of data centre capacity over the next decade.

With this move, it aimed to become one of the top three data centre operators by 2030, capitalising on India’s increasing digitisation.

At the beginning of 2025, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) also announced plans to construct what could become the world’s largest data centre by capacity in Jamnagar, India. 

This development comes in the backdrop of a global surge in investments in AI infrastructure.

Reliance executives have not yet commented on the project, which is estimated to cost between $20 billion and $30 billion. Currently, the conglomerate has approximately $26 billion on its balance sheet, which could be used to finance the venture.

The post Adani Group, Singapore’s ITEES to Launch the World’s Largest Finishing School With AI-Driven Learning appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Oracle is embedding AI across every layer of its technology stack.  In an exclusive interaction with AIM, Palanivel Saravanan, vice president of cloud engineering at Oracle India, said that the company is integrating AI into its infrastructure, platforms, databases, and SaaS applications.

“Oracle was the first to launch bare metal instances with GPUs to power AI model training, including large language models (LLMs),” Saravanan said. The company has built a supercluster with 130,000 GPUs housed in a large-scale data centre, making it one of the world’s largest AI training infrastructures.

AI in Databases

Beyond infrastructure, Oracle provides an AI-ready platform that allows developers and customers to use AI for diverse purposes, such as summarisation, visualisation, and identification. The company has built AI as a service, ensuring that it is embedded in the data layer and applications.

Oracle’s Select AI allows users to interact with databases using natural language without needing to know SQL or the underlying data structure. 

“Users can query the database in 50 languages and extract insights instantly, making decision-making more efficient for businesses,” Saravanan explained. This feature benefits industries such as banking, where managers can access customer transactions and make real-time decisions without complex coding.

Moreover, Oracle has embedded LLMs directly into MySQL HeatWave, enabling AI to operate closer to enterprise data. This approach ensures faster response times and improves efficiency. 

The service, known as Oracle HeatWave GenAI, integrates LLMs and vector processing within the database, allowing users to leverage generative AI without requiring AI expertise or data movement.

“We are moving beyond structured data by embedding vector search capabilities, enabling businesses to manage and query unstructured data such as customer feedback and location details more efficiently,” Saravanan said.

He further added that their latest Database 23ai has over 300 AI features. 

“Every database customer is taking advantage of 23ai. Cognizant, the largest Oracle Applications user, is a case in point. They use our ERP, financial system, and various other applications,” said Saravanan, adding that they now want to build an agent to interact with the database and get the right queries responded to much faster than with traditional methods like report building. 

He explained that 23ai with autonomous capabilities introduces machine learning functionality that allows the database to perform performance fine-tuning autonomously. 

This means that tasks such as applying security patches and scaling the database—whether up or down in response to repairs—are handled automatically.

However, Oracle faces competition from Azure Microsoft, which offers Azure Cosmos DB, a fully managed NoSQL, relational, and vector database that integrates AI capabilities for tasks like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Azure also provides Azure Cognitive Search, which leverages AI for advanced search and data analysis.

According to Saravanan, Oracle, like other cloud services, lets companies bring their own LLMs to the cloud. The company handles the training and updates for these models. When they are added to MySQL, Oracle offers AI Quick Actions, giving customers a faster and more dependable way to use the models.

AI Quick Actions is a feature within Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Data Science that simplifies the deployment, evaluation, and fine-tuning of LLMs. 

RAG and AI Agents 

Saravanan said Oracle is incorporating AI agents into its SaaS applications across ERP, HCM, SCM and CX. “These agents are built for specific use cases, such as customer support in financial services or safety compliance in manufacturing,” Saravanan said.

Notably, last year at CloudWorld 2024, Oracle announced the integration of over 50 specialised AI agents into its Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite. 

The company is also advancing RAG, allowing businesses to bring proprietary data closer to AI models. “RAG enables enterprises to generate AI responses that are contextualised with their own data, ensuring accuracy and relevance,” Saravanan said. 

“AI works best when the data is best,” he concluded, highlighting Oracle’s commitment to delivering AI solutions that maximise business value.

The post Oracle is Weaving AI into Every Layer of Tech appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Enfabrica Corporation, the California-based leading innovator in AI networking, has announced the opening of its India R&D centre in Hyderabad, strengthening its global presence and expanding AI infrastructure capabilities. 

This move underscores the company’s commitment to scaling silicon and software product development while leveraging India’s deep talent pool.

The Hyderabad centre will focus on accelerating the delivery of Enfabrica’s cutting-edge Accelerated Compute Fabric SuperNIC (ACF-S) silicon and networking software, designed to enhance the efficiency and scalability of AI infrastructure for Generative AI (GenAI) training, inference, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.

The company aims to significantly expand its workforce in India, with plans to quadruple its headcount by the end of 2025.

The company’s 3.2 Terabit/second ACF SuperNIC is engineered to be the fastest and most resilient GPU network interface controller, capable of supporting AI clusters ranging from 2,000 to over 100,000 GPUs. By optimising network design, the technology aims to enhance AI framework performance while reducing capital and operational expenses.

“Computer technology has always advanced at the speed and capacity set by interconnect and scaling capabilities,” said Shrijeet Mukherjee, chief development officer at Enfabrica. “There is a tremendous opportunity for expansion in this market and Enfabrica is well positioned to help lead that evolution. We are proud to establish our very own hub in Hyderabad, leveraging the massive Indian talent pool to drive further innovation.”

India’s Growing AI EcosystemIndia’s AI market is on track to reach $8 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate of over 40% from 2020 to 2025. The country’s digital infrastructure, combined with its diverse demographic and economic landscape, presents a strategic advantage for scaling AI applications. 

Backed by Strong InvestmentFounded in 2020 by Silicon Valley veterans Rochan Sankar and Shrijeet Mukherjee, alongside key engineers from Broadcom, Google, Cisco, AWS, and Intel, Enfabrica has rapidly emerged as a leader in AI networking. 

The company recently announced the general availability of its 3.2 Tbps ACF SuperNIC and secured a $115 million Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to $260 million. With strong investor backing, Enfabrica is poised for further growth and innovation in the AI infrastructure space.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in an interview with British media outlet Sky News on Tuesday that the company would like to work with China. Altman made the comment when he was asked if he was worried about the country’s progress. 

However, responding to a question about whether the US would let him do that, Altman said, “I know that for sure, no. Should we try as hard as we can? Absolutely, yes.”

Altman’s statement follows the shockwave created by DeepSeek in the AI ecosystem, which has sparked concerns among several industry leaders who fear China’s rise. 

Recently, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said, “If we can close [export control loopholes] fast enough, we may be able to prevent China from getting millions of chips, increasing the likelihood of a unipolar world with the US ahead.”

Similarly, in an interview with CNBC at the Davos World Economic Forum 2025, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “We should take the development of China very seriously.” 

Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla echoed the industry’s strongest fear. In a blog post, he earlier said, “We may have to worry about sentient AI destroying humanity, but the risk of an asteroid hitting the Earth or a pandemic also exists. But the risk of China destroying our system is significantly larger, in my opinion.” 

Altman’s take on China seems refreshing, to say the least. 

In a podcast with The Times on Monday, while speaking about China’s DeepSeek, Altman said, “They did some nice work. I think there’s also some nice pieces of product work like showing the chain of thought.” He went on to praise the research behind DeepSeek’s model, although he feels “it isn’t a big update” to the ecosystem. 

OpenAI reportedly has evidence that DeepSeek trained on its models and is investigating this with Microsoft. However, Altman recently revealed that the company does not plan to sue DeepSeek right now. 

Altman is Still a Fan of Open Source 

In the same interview with Sky News, Altman added, “I think we should probably open source somewhat more.” 

In a Reddit ‘ask-me-anything’ (AMA) session, he said, “I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open-source strategy.”

This comes at a time when industry leaders are rooting for the development of more open-source models, owing to DeepSeek’s recent success.

Meanwhile, Chamath Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist, said in an interview, “I think in the war of open versus closed, open has won.” 

Palihapitiya believes OpenAI is now considering to open source what they’re doing in some way.

That said, OpenAI has released multiple open-source models and tools in the past. The company’s second iteration of the GPT model was also made available for open-source use. 

The post ‘We’d Like to Work With China,’ says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday unveiled the Gujarat Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy (2025-30) at GIFT City, Gandhinagar. The policy aims to make the state a leading hub for GCCs. 

Under the policy, the Gujarat government plans to set up at least 250 new GCCs, attracting over ₹10,000 crore in investment and creating more than 50,000 jobs. The scheme also offers financial incentives, including capital and operational expenditure support, employment assistance, skill development initiatives, and tax benefits.

Speaking at the event, Patel highlighted Gujarat’s commitment to policy-driven growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “This initiative has opened new avenues for establishing Global Capability Centres in Gujarat. While these centres were initially set up as cost-saving units, they have now evolved into hubs for innovation and business resilience,” Patal said.

Key Highlights

To support businesses, the Gujarat GCC policy offers financial incentives, including capital expenditure (CapEx) support of up to ₹200 crore and operational expenditure (OpEx) support of up to ₹40 crore. 

It also includes employment incentives, covering up to 50% of one month’s salary for newly hired local employees, along with an interest subsidy of 7% on term loans, capped at ₹1 crore.

Moreover, eligible companies will receive full electricity duty reimbursement. 

The policy emphasises skill development, offering up to 75% reimbursement of training costs for students and working professionals. Furthermore, businesses can benefit from support for quality certification, with up to ₹10 lakh reimbursement to enhance industry standards.

Patel also emphasised Gujarat’s strong infrastructure, industry-friendly policies, and skilled workforce. “Gujarat is ready to become a global leader in the GCC ecosystem, supporting the Prime Minister’s vision of a developed India by 2047.”

The policy aligns with the Union Budget 2025, which includes a special plan to promote GCCs across India and expand job opportunities in smaller cities. 

However, Gujarat is not alone.

Last month, Sanjay Dubey, additional chief secretary at the Madhya Pradesh government, announced on LinkedIn the launch of a GCC Policy 2025.

The state cabinet approved the policy, which builds on the success of the Madhya Pradesh IT, Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES), and ESDM Investment Promotion Policy 2023. This move seeks to transform the state’s tier-2 cities into hubs of global innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
In 2024, the Karnataka government introduced the GCC policy 2024, aiming to bolster its reputation as a global innovation hub while creating 3.5 lakh jobs by 2029.

The post Gujarat Launches GCC Policy to Create Over 50,000 Jobs appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the AI Action Summit, which is currently underway in Paris. While highlighting India’s AI progress, Modi sent a clear message to the world: Invest in the country’s AI future.

“India is making remarkable strides in AI, leveraging it for public good. We urge the world to come and invest in our nation and bet on our Yuva Shakti!” he wrote on X. 

Pichai expressed his excitement about meeting the PM. He said they discussed AI’s potential in India and ways to work together on its digital transformation.

Besides co-chairing the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi also met with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, US vice president JD Vance, and a few other AI leaders at the summit. 

In his speech on Monday, he said, “AI is writing the code for humanity in this century.” He also expressed his views on the values that shape a powerful and responsible AI system and discussed building quality datasets free from biases. 

India will be hosting the next AI summit.

Modi reinforced the announcement made by IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw a few days ago, saying that “India is building its own AI model” and added that the country has the world’s largest AI talent pool. 

The IndiaAI Compute Facility, which has acquired 18,000 GPUs, will lead India’s initiative to build its AI models.Speaking at the Invest Karnataka 2025 inaugural event at Bangalore Palace on Monday, Union minister Rajnath Singh proclaimed, “Bengaluru will give India its first foundational artificial intelligence model.” The announcement underscores the city’s growing role as a leader in the next wave of technological innovation.

The post PM Modi Urges the World to Invest in India’s AI Future appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Accenture and Google Cloud are collaborating to accelerate the adoption of cloud solutions and generative AI in Saudi Arabia. The goal is to help businesses improve operations, create new opportunities, and enhance customer experiences while ensuring data security and compliance.

A recent report by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and Accenture suggests that generative AI could boost Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 4%. 

To support this growth, Accenture and Google Cloud are expanding their generative AI centre of excellence to Saudi Arabia. This will help businesses develop AI-powered solutions using Google Cloud’s technology and Accenture’s expertise.

“Being ready for continuous reinvention hinges on a modern digital core to rapidly seize every opportunity,” said Majid Altuwaijri, Accenture’s Saudi Arabia chair and country managing director. 

The partnership also aims to help companies like the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) leverage generative AI. GOSI has already used cloud technology to create a secure, scalable AI environment where its developers and researchers can experiment with the latest AI tools.

“Organisations need the combination of leading technology and services expertise to successfully deploy generative AI,” said Bader Almadi, general manager of Google Cloud in Saudi Arabia. “With Google Cloud’s advanced capabilities and Accenture’s industry expertise, customers will have access to the resources needed to plan, deploy and optimise generative AI projects.”

Beyond technology, Accenture and Google Cloud are committed to developing local talent. To help professionals gain skills in cloud computing and AI, they plan to offer training programs, hackathons, and hands-on labs. 

Accenture’s LearnVantage platform will provide upskilling programs, specialised academies, and certifications to support Saudi Arabia’s digital workforce.

The collaboration comes at a time when businesses in Saudi Arabia are eager to embrace digital transformation. 

By combining AI, cloud technology, and local expertise, Accenture and Google Cloud aim to drive innovation and ensure data security through Google’s Dammam cloud region.

Meanwhile, Australian telecommunications company Telstra and Accenture also announced plans for a joint venture (JV). This is aimed at accelerating Telstra’s data and AI strategy to enhance network leadership and improve customer experiences.

While the JV will develop specialised AI tools to optimise business processes and enhance workforce efficiency, Telstra’s data and AI teams in Australia and India will be offered roles in the JV, with training to advance AI fluency and critical skills.

The post Accenture, Google Team Up to Boost AI and Cloud Adoption in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Content management has come a long way since the early days of the internet. In the early 2000s, websites were the sole digital channel, and managing content was a straightforward but rigid process. Then came the social media revolution, followed by the android boom between 2008 and 2009. However, the real game-changer was the rise of cloud software, which completely transformed how content is created, delivered and managed. 

Traditionally, launching a website meant installing a content management system (CMS), where content creation and presentation were tightly linked. Eventually, as digital landscapes evolved, businesses needed more flexibility. This is when headless CMS, a modern solution that separates content creation from its presentation, was introduced.

Unlike traditional CMS platforms, headless CMS allows developers to use APIs to distribute content seamlessly across websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms. This separation of content and design not only empowers teams to work independently but also speeds up content updates, enhances user experience, and ensures consistency across multiple channels. 

Role of AI in Headless CMS

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in content management. Nishant Patel, founder and CTO at Contentstack, said, “AI today is largely centred around generative AI, which excels at content generation. Many marketing websites and mobile apps leverage AI tools built into our software to create dynamic content effortlessly.”

One of Contentstack’s AI-driven innovations is Brand Kit, a tool designed to capture a brand’s unique voice and tone. When companies use generative AI within their CMS, they ensure that the content aligns with their identity, which makes messaging more authentic and impactful.

Another breakthrough product, Automate, is changing the game in content integration. Patel shared a compelling use case from Golfbreaks, a travel company specialising in golf vacation packages. 

Previously, compiling these packages was a manual, time-consuming task that took days. By integrating AI-powered LLMs like Llama, Gemini, and OpenAI into Automate, Golfbreaks reduced this process to mere hours. The system curates deals, structures them in a suitable format, uploads them to its website, and prepares them for approval – all in record time.

Competition in the Field 

When it comes to the global adoption of headless CMS, North America is leading the charge. The US and Canada have been at the forefront because of their robust digital infrastructure, a thriving tech ecosystem, and a high concentration of businesses seeking agile content management solutions.

Sectors like e-commerce, media, and technology have embraced headless CMS to deliver seamless content experiences across multiple platforms. This early adoption has spurred continuous innovation, with both startups and established players driving the evolution of headless CMS solutions.

Speaking about competition, Patel said, “We focus on mid-sized companies and large enterprises like Fortune 2000 companies and major brands around the world that are using Contentstack to deliver their content. This includes websites, mobile apps, gaming software, and more.”

He mentioned that in the traditional content management space, there are incumbents like Adobe, Sitecore, and Optimizely, and they have recently started making investments in headless CMS. 

What’s Next?

The global headless CMS software market is on the rise. Valued at $0.71 billion in 2023, it’s set to skyrocket to $3.81 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 20.5%, according to Business Research Insights.

The surge is driven by businesses prioritising SEO, performance optimisation, and omnichannel content distribution. Headless CMS is becoming the backbone of modern digital experiences. The integration of AI, automation, and cloud-based collaboration is reshaping content management, making it more dynamic and future-proof.

For developers, marketers, and business leaders, adopting a headless CMS is more than just an upgrade; it could be a transformative shift. 

The post The Future of Content is ‘Headless’ appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Meta is in talks to acquire FuriosaAI, a South Korean AI chip startup, to strengthen its custom chip efforts amid an NVIDIA GPU shortage. According to reports, the deal could be finalised this month, but other buyers are also in discussions.

Founded in 2017, FuriosaAI developed RNGD, an AI chip optimised for Llama 2 and Llama 3. The chip is said to consume less power than NVIDIA’s H100 GPUs. 

FuriosaAI has raised 170 billion won ($115 million) from investors, including Naver and DSC Investment. CEO June Paik, formerly of Samsung and AMD, holds an 18.4% stake.

The talks come as South Korean rival Rebellions merged with SK Hynix-backed Sapeon, forming the country’s first AI chip unicorn. 

South Korea is ramping up AI investments, positioning startups like FuriosaAI as key players. If Meta proceeds with the acquisition, it could reduce the reliance on NVIDIA’s high-cost GPUs.

Meanwhile, even OpenAI is building its custom chip.

The company plans to finalise the design soon and send it to TSMC for production, with mass production expected in 2026. A team of 40 engineers, led by former Google employee Richard Ho, is developing the chip in partnership with Broadcom. The chip will be used for training AI models and improved over time.

Tech giants Microsoft and Meta have faced challenges in producing AI chips. OpenAI’s move aligns with industry efforts to reduce dependence on NVIDIA, which controls 80% of the AI chip market. Microsoft and Meta plan to invest $80 billion and $60 billion in AI infrastructure next year, respectively.

The chip will use 3-nm technology with features similar to NVIDIA’s, including fast memory and networking. 

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Verint, a global leader in customer experience (CX) automation, has announced the establishment of its new Global Innovation Centre (GIC) in Bengaluru. The firm plans to expand the GIC to approximately 1,000 employees by the end of 2026 and continue the expansion of its workforce by 15-20% every year.

The firm is looking to hire engineers specialising in AI, cloud, data design, and data science. 

In a conversation with AIM, Rob Scudiere, CTO of Verint, and Ajayy M Dawar, vice president of the GIC, elaborated on the rationale behind the establishment and how the innovation hub will contribute to the global R&D of the company.

Verint has been present in Bengaluru for over 20 years, making it a natural choice for the company’s first GIC. Scudiere, who has over 25 years of experience in the SaaS industry, emphasised Bengaluru’s role in driving Verint’s vision of being a pioneer in CX automation.

“Our technology solutions are designed to help organisations achieve AI-driven business outcomes, reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and enhancing customer experience. The incredible talent in Bengaluru is a key enabler of this vision,” Scudiere said.

Reinforcing this perspective, Dawar pointed out that Verint’s office in Bengaluru has seen significant year-over-year growth. “We have been investing in this facility, expanding by 40-50% annually. Beyond R&D, we also have customer care and other key functions based here, which gives us the leverage to focus on innovation,” he said.

AI Agents, Automation, and Bengaluru

With AI automation playing an increasing role in GCC operations, Verint aims to prioritise employee upskilling and reskilling at the GIC. 

“We have a great talent pool, and we continue to bring in experienced hires and fresh graduates from top IT universities,” Scudiere noted. Notably, the company has been actively hiring experienced AI and cloud professionals while collaborating with top universities to bring in fresh talent.

“We have a structured program for career development and training, covering areas like cloud computing, AI, and data science. Additionally, we partner with hyperscalers to leverage their training programs at reasonable costs. Our hackathons further foster an environment of continuous innovation,” Scudiere explained.

The executives revealed that while the firm is hiring from external avenues, it has internal plans to retain existing talent and continue developing them.

“This is a talent hub for us, and we’ve been investing in this facility year over year. It made sense to continue expanding in one location where we have established capabilities rather than branching out elsewhere,” Dawar added.

With the GIC’s focus shifting toward R&D and innovation, Scudiere highlighted some of the major contributions coming from its GICs globally. He believes Bengaluru will contribute in the same way. Rather than working on isolated projects, the centre will be fully integrated into Verint’s global strategy. 

One such innovation is the Data Insights Bot, an AI-powered solution that helps customers gain actionable insights and automate processes.

Moreover, Verint’s GIC will play a crucial role in developing TimeFlex, a tool that democratises how agents manage their schedules without supervisor intervention. “We are seeing significant business outcomes from TimeFlex, including increased employee satisfaction and reduced agent attrition,” Scudiere said.

The AI Agent Strategy for Verint

As part of Verint’s AI-driven CX strategy, the company has introduced a suite of AI agents under its Copilot brand. These AI-powered bots are designed to optimise customer interactions and streamline workflows.

Scudiere outlined the five core AI agents currently in deployment:

• Smart Transfer Bot – Ensures seamless transitions between self-service and assisted channels.
• Coaching Bot – Provides real-time guidance to agents during customer interactions.
• Knowledge Bot – Conducts behind-the-scenes research to deliver relevant information to agents.
• Call Summary Bot – Automatically summarises customer conversations for improved efficiency.
• CX/EX Scoring Bot – Monitors real-time sentiment between agents and customers, offering supervisors valuable insights.

These AI-driven solutions have delivered significant cost savings for clients, enabling them to reinvest in customer experience initiatives while improving operational efficiency. However, Dawar clearly stated that AI agents are not intended to replace human employees. 

“We see AI as an opportunity to enhance innovation, not as a replacement for people. This is just the beginning, and we are excited about the doors it will open for us and our customers,” he said.

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Positron, an AI chip startup that aims to go head-to-head with NVIDIA, has raised $23.5 million in funding from investors, including Flume Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, and Resilience Reserve. The company said it will use the fund to scale the production of its energy-efficient AI chips, offering businesses a more cost-effective alternative to NVIDIA’s hardware.

The company, launched in 2023, is led by Mitesh Agrawal, with co-founders Thomas Sohmers and Edward Kmett.

“With this funding, we’re scaling at a pace that AI hardware has never seen before–from expanding shipments of our first-generation products to bringing our second-generation accelerators to market in 2026,” Agrawal said in a statement.

He added that their solution is growing rapidly because it outperforms conventional GPUs in both cost and energy efficiency while delivering AI hardware that eliminates reliance on foreign supply chains.

More Rivals to NVIDIA AI Chips 

Positron, as a startup, claims to have already shipped products to data centres and neoclouds around the US.

According to the company, their Atlas systems are presently achieving 3.5 times better performance per dollar and 3.5 times greater power efficiency than NVIDIA H100 GPUs for inference. Its servers powered by field-programmable gate array (FPGA) support models with up to a trillion parameters while offering plug-and-play compatibility with Hugging Face and OpenAI APIs.

The system uses a memory-optimised architecture that uses more than 93% of the bandwidth. Traditional GPUs often consume upwards of 10,000 watts per server, creating a major hurdle for data centres with limited infrastructure. However, the chip’s energy-efficient architecture makes it cost-efficient, allowing traditional data centres to harness AI computing without needing to overhaul the infrastructure completely.

Addressing the chip’s unique value proposition in a statement, one of the investors, Rob Reid, the co-founder of Resilience Reserve, said, “What sets Positron apart is not just its cost efficiency, but its ability to bring AI hardware to market at an unprecedented speed and provide high performance per watt. Their innovative approach is enabling businesses to scale AI workloads without the typical barriers of cost and power consumption.”

Positron mentioned that it has built a fully American supply chain, which ensures that its AI hardware is designed, fabricated, and assembled in the US. With developments like this, including OpenAI’s aim to produce AI chips, it should be exciting to see who succeeds in taking off NVIDIA’s AI crown.

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A research study commissioned by computing giant IBM revealed on Wednesday that most Indian companies made significant progress in executing their AI strategies last year. 

The study surveyed over 2,000 IT decision-makers worldwide, 224 of whom were from India. Among the ones surveyed in the country, 87% reported progress in their AI strategy, and 76% revealed that they had achieved results driven by return on investment (ROI).

About 89% of the Indian respondents said their companies have started more than 10 AI pilots in the last year. Furthermore, 93% of the Indian respondents said they will increase their AI investments this year. 

The majority of them reported looking for open-source solutions, and 48% revealed that more than half of the AI solutions being used are based on open-source technologies.

Among the companies that are yet to achieve ROI-driven results from AI projects, 33% expect to see savings within the next 12 months, and all of them believe they will achieve a positive ROI within three years. 

Only 1% of the surveyed Indian respondents revealed that their AI strategy had not made progress. 

The surveyed Indian companies revealed that they are focusing their AI investments this year on IT operations, software coding, and data quality management.  

The detailed report from IBM, outlining the findings from multiple countries worldwide, can be found here. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke at the AI Action Summit in Paris, where he said that India leads in AI adoption. According to him, India has one of the world’s largest AI talent pools. 

“India is building its own large language model. Considering our diversity, we also have a unique public-private partnership model for pooling resources like computing power,” he added. In this year’s Budget, the government allocated ₹2,000 crore for the IndiaAI mission – nearly a fifth of the scheme’s ₹10,370 crore announced last year. 

Moreover, AIM recently reported that Indian companies and startups are increasingly using AI-enabled coding tools. Although companies were initially hesitant to adopt such tools, they are now leaning toward them due to their benefits. 

Furthermore, a recent survey by GitHub revealed that 56% of Indian developers are using AI tools to help them boost their chances for employment owing to the skills they develop. Moreover, around 80% of them believe AI tools have improved code quality.

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Would you rather work from home or go to the office every day? Just a few years ago, employees had more control over this decision. But today, the choice is increasingly out of their hands as companies rethink work structures, balancing between hybrid and fully on-site models. 

The debate over remote versus in-office work continues to intensify. While some companies are leaning into flexible models, others are calling their workforce back. 

JPMorgan, for instance, recently announced that employees must return to the office five days a week starting in March 2025, ending its pandemic-era hybrid policy. A memo from the leadership acknowledged employee preferences but stated firmly, “We think it is the best way to run the company.”

This shift isn’t limited to Wall Street, India’s tech and IT companies are also refining their work models. Accenture, for example, has been allowing employees in Bengaluru to visit the office once every three months. However, starting February 2024, they will now be required to come in once a week. 

Infosys has also moved towards a more structured hybrid policy. By late 2023, the company mandated that employees must work in the office at least 10 days per month, making full-time remote work an increasingly rare option in 2025. 

Some leaders strongly advocate for in-person collaboration.

Rizwan Khan, VP of people and culture at Porter, told AIM, “At Porter, we believe direct, in-person interactions foster innovation, mentorship, and strong team bonds. On-site exchanges at the workplace drive employee motivation, enable mentorship, and promote knowledge sharing, all of which contribute to individual and collective growth.” 

He added that while the pandemic highlighted the challenges of fully replicating these benefits in a remote work environment, they also recognise the importance of flexibility for their employees. 

To support the team, the company has implemented a set number of work-from-home days annually and remains open to accommodating additional flexibility based on genuine needs.

Balancing Flexibility and Productivity 

The State of Recruitment Trends (SORT) survey provides insights into how hybrid work impacts businesses. Recruiters rate hybrid productivity at 6 out of 10, suggesting that while effective, it may not be optimal for all companies. 

At the same time, 73% of employees cite work-life balance as the most valued aspect of their work environment, reinforcing the idea that flexibility, when managed well, can support both well-being and efficiency. 

In an exclusive interaction with AIM, Venkataramani Suresh, CEO, foundit, mentioned, “Employee retention and satisfaction are paramount in today’s competitive talent market. Companies are under pressure to balance flexibility with productivity, creating work environments that meet the diverse needs of their workforce. 

“As businesses explore hybrid structures, the ability to manage distributed teams effectively while ensuring alignment with organisational goals remains a key challenge.” 

He further explained that the financial considerations of office space utilisation cannot be overlooked. Hybrid models offer potential cost savings, particularly as companies optimise their real estate footprints. However, recent trends suggest a subtle shift in the market. 

Many companies are optimising their office space costs, but a subtle market shift is underway. Hybrid roles have declined by 9% in the past six months, while in-office positions have risen by 7%.

The conversation about work models is complex, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Arvind Krishnan, president and CEO (wellness) at Happiest Health, believes that work preferences are subjective. While some find hybrid arrangements perfect, others are more productive working entirely from home. 

“Ultimately, someone has to pay for the work I do, so the nature of the job dictates what’s feasible. For example, if I were a surgeon, I wouldn’t say that I’d like to work from home; it just wouldn’t work! Some jobs simply require being on-site,” he said. 

What’s Next?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to reevaluate office leases as remote work led to increased office vacancies. By 2022, India’s office vacancy rate hit 16.4%, with major hubs like Bengaluru and Mumbai witnessing sharp declines in occupancy. Now, businesses are recalibrating their strategies. 

The 2024 SORT survey revealed that 33% of organisations have fully adopted a hybrid model, with another 9% in transition. Co-working spaces have also surged in popularity, with a 42% year-on-year increase, reflecting both cost-optimisation efforts and evolving employee preferences.

As companies like Infosys, Wipro, and Google India maintain hybrid models, others like TCS and Amazon are steering back to full-time office setups. foundit’s survey highlighted that 47% of companies continue to operate with a traditional five-day office schedule, while 33% have embraced hybrid models, 9% are transitioning, and 10% have gone fully remote. 

While the debate continues, one thing is clear, the future of work isn’t about choosing between home and office, but about striking the right balance between flexibility, productivity, and business needs.

The post What’s Pushing Companies to Choose On-Site Work Over Hybrid? appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

Apple has reportedly partnered with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to introduce AI features to iPhones in China, according to The Information.

The move comes at a time when iPhone sales in China have declined, partly due to a lack of advanced AI capabilities. With local competitors like Huawei integrating AI into their smartphones, Apple aims to stay competitive by leveraging Alibaba’s vast consumer data.

Apple initially considered working with Baidu, Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek but ultimately chose Alibaba. The partnership is expected to help the Cupertino-based giant navigate China’s strict regulatory environment while enhancing Siri, search, and personalisation features for Chinese users.

The delay in Apple Intelligence in China was due to its reliance on ChatGPT, which is unavailable in China. 

By collaborating with Alibaba, Apple may accelerate AI feature approvals and make iPhones more appealing in China. However, the deal also signals a rare shift for Apple, as it will need to integrate third-party AI into its tightly controlled ecosystem.

This partnership highlights the growing importance of AI in the smartphone market and Apple’s efforts to maintain its foothold in China. China is Apple’s second-largest market after the US, and securing a strong AI strategy in the region is crucial for the company’s competitiveness.

Previously, Apple Intelligence came under fire for sending out an incorrect notification on the iPhone regarding a BBC news report about the arrest of Luigi Mangione, the lead suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “Luigi Mangione shoots himself…” read a part of the notification. Following this, Apple paused the feature.

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Cybercriminals have increasingly been exploiting the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) with a new phishing scam that tricks users into downloading malware. Security researchers at CloudSEK have uncovered a sophisticated cyberattack called the ‘DeepSeek ClickFix scam’, which uses fake captcha pages and malware-infected downloads to steal login credentials.

How the Scam Works

Attackers have created a fake website (deepseekcaptcha[.]top) that looks very similar to DeepSeek’s official verification page. 

As part of this scam, users are asked to complete a fraudulent captcha verification. When clicked, the verification runs a hidden PowerShell command. This command installs two dangerous malware programs – Vidar Stealer and Lumma Stealer – that steal login details, financial data, and session tokens.

The stolen data can be used to hack accounts, including those on platforms like Steam and Telegram. To avoid detection, cybercriminals have used Cloudflare hosting, making it difficult for security systems to track and block the malicious site.

Cybersecurity Experts Warn AI Users to Stay Vigilant

According to CloudSEK’s threat intelligence lead, Sparsh Kulshrestha, this attack highlights how hackers are adapting to new technologies. 

“The DeepSeek ClickFix scam is a stark reminder of how cybercriminals continuously adapt to exploit emerging technologies. AI users must be extra vigilant when engaging with online verification requests,” he warned.

Cybersecurity experts warn that AI-related scams are becoming more sophisticated, making them harder to detect using traditional security tools.

How to Protect Yourself

CloudSEK recommends several precautionary measures to prevent phishing scams. Users should always verify website URLs before entering credentials to ensure they are on a legitimate platform. 

Users must also be cautious of captcha requests, as AI platforms do not repeatedly require verification. Unexpected prompts should be treated with suspicion. 

Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security, which prevents hackers from accessing accounts even if credentials are stolen. Organisations should also implement anti-phishing protection, such as email filters and domain monitoring tools, to detect phishing scams early. 

Lastly, keeping devices and security software updated helps protect against new and evolving threats.

The post CloudSEK Uncovers Fake Captcha Scam Targeting AI Users appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.

The Indian Army has been rapidly embracing AI and autonomous systems to enhance national security while minimising human risks in combat. As modern warfare evolves, the military is prioritising indigenous innovations, ensuring self-reliance in defence technology. 

This transformation aligns with India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, which seeks to reduce dependence on foreign military imports.  

India has been an early adopter of generative AI in defence. In 2018, the country established the Defence Artificial Intelligence Council (DAIC) to drive innovation. 

Despite its efficiency, AI in combat remains a challenge. While AI enhances operations, human decision-making remains superior in unpredictable battle scenarios. For now, AI’s role is focused on predictive maintenance and manned-unmanned operations. 

Meet Major Raj Prasad  

Major Raj Prasad, a service innovation officer in the Indian Army Corps of Engineers from the Army Design Bureau and the 7 Engineer Regiment, is at the centre of this change. He has developed groundbreaking innovations that could redefine battlefield tactics. 

Major Prasad has demonstrated homegrown defence solutions by developing twelve cutting-edge military technologies, four of which have already been inducted into the Indian Army.

Speaking to AIM at the Aero India 2025 event in Yelahanka, Bengaluru, he described his innovations as fully operational battlefield solutions designed to increase combat effectiveness and reduce casualties.  

His latest innovations, Xploder and the Mobile Reactive Mine System (MRMS), were showcased to defence minister Rajnath Singh at the India Pavillion. 

These revolutionary systems have also gathered national attention, even drawing interest from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Army chief general Upendra Dwivedi. Their induction into the Indian Army marks a significant shift in how India prepares for future conflicts.

Xploder: The AI-Powered Kamikaze  

One of Major Prasad’s most promising innovations is Xploder, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designed to enhance safety in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. 

This six-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle is built for high-risk scenarios where human intervention can be fatal.  

Xploder is capable of reconnaissance, explosive payload delivery, and (improvised explosive device) IED disposal. It can be remotely controlled to enter dangerous areas, identify threats, and neutralise them without risking human lives. 

“In the aspect of room intervention in counter-terrorism operations, going inside each and every room and searching is difficult due to the risk of casualties because the militant can be anywhere, and it is a long-drawn process. So, this is used for reconnaissance in case a militant is found,” Major Prasad said.

Additionally, it can function as a kamikaze device programmed to detonate in enemy hideouts, making it a formidable weapon in urban warfare. The Indian Army is already considering mass procurement of Xploder, signifying its importance in modern military strategy.  

MRMS: A Walking Mine Hunting Its Target  

Traditional landmines are static and pressure-activated worldwide, which pose risks even to friendly forces. Moreover, they are used for defence purposes, mostly to harass, deny, and delay the enemy. 

Major Prasad’s MRMS introduces a radical departure from conventional mine warfare. This advanced mine system mimics the mobility of a spider, actively searching for its target instead of waiting for them to step on it. He calls it a “reactive mine”.

The MRMS can be deployed via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones or ground vehicles, allowing it to be dropped directly into enemy zones. 

Once activated, it navigates towards enemy vehicles and detonates underneath them. This ability makes it a highly effective weapon for disabling armoured formations. 

“For example, if a tank (a column of a squadron of tanks) is coming, you can just send it across in the path of the tank, under the belly of the tank, and it can blast. This is going to create a big defensive aspect in the enemy’s area of response (AOR).”

With Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) partnering for its production, MRMS is set to become a crucial part of India’s defence arsenal.

Upcoming Innovations 

It doesn’t just stop here. Major Prasad is already working on new AI-driven combat systems to further modernise the Indian Army. 

One of his key projects is an AI-enabled mine detection system that aims to reduce the risks associated with traditional demining methods. He is also developing Agniastra, a multi-target portable remote detonation system capable of neutralising targets from five to ten kilometres away. These innovations indicate that India is not just catching up with global military technology but setting new benchmarks for autonomous combat systems.  

Moreover, the Indian Army also announced recently that it is set to retire 4,000 mules that have served in remote and mountainous regions and replace them with AI-powered robotic dogs. 

New Kids on the Block.

Jai Hind pic.twitter.com/PyNlzNmpDp

— Brigadier Hardeep Singh Sohi,Shaurya Chakra (R) (@Hardisohi) January 9, 2025

As displayed in the parade for 77th Army Day in Pune at the Southern Command Investiture Ceremony 2025, India is the second nation to feature this technology after China.

These robotic dogs are designed to replace mules in high-altitude warfare. These robotic quadrupeds can navigate challenging terrain while carrying payloads equipped with thermal cameras and 360-degree sensors. 

They can carry payloads of up to 12–15 kilograms and operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -40 to 55 degrees Celsius.

Globally, militaries in the US, China, and Russia are investing in robotic warfare, and India is following suit. The transition to robotic logistics reflects the growing importance of automation and AI in military operations.  

What’s Next? 

At the end of last year, the Indian Army collaborated with BEL to launch the Indian Army AI Incubation Centre (IAAIIC) in Bengaluru. Army chief Dwivedi virtually led the launch, underscoring the Army’s commitment to AI for operational excellence.

In just six months, systems like Vidyut Rakshak, Agniastra, and Xploder have moved from development to deployment, reinforcing India’s commitment to self-reliance. His previous development, the wireless electronic detonation system, has already been integrated, proving the Army’s commitment to rapidly absorbing indigenous solutions.

For the first time, the Transfer of Technology (ToT) has also been transferred to private defence manufacturers through the Army Design Bureau, fostering large-scale production and strengthening India’s defence ecosystem. 

Recognised by top leadership, this milestone reflects the Army’s dedication to technological evolution. As the ‘Year of Technology Absorption’ progresses, this seamless transition from innovation to induction is setting a new standard for India’s defence modernisation.

With the direction of displays this year, the coming years could see the mass deployment of smart, unmanned combat systems, from autonomous reconnaissance vehicles to AI-driven missile defence networks. By placing a strong emphasis on AI, automation, and indigenous production, the Indian Army is ensuring that it remains prepared for future conflicts.

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Invest Karnataka 2025 saw the signing of several significant memorandums of understanding (MoUs), reinforcing the state’s attractiveness to major investors. The Mahindra Group outlined plans to invest approximately ₹40,000 crore to expand its footprint in Karnataka, particularly in renewable energy and electric vehicles. 

Similarly, JSW Group committed ₹1.2 lakh crore toward increasing its steel production and setting up new facilities in the state.

While not all agreements were disclosed, industry leaders expressed confidence in Karnataka’s industrial-friendly policies and commitment to economic expansion.

In the semiconductor sector, US-based Lam Research inked an MoU with the Karnataka government, pledging ₹10,000 crore to strengthen the state’s growing role in chip manufacturing. 

Altogether, these and other investment commitments amount to nearly $115 billion, highlighting Karnataka’s business-friendly environment and focus on sustainable economic expansion.

Source: X

Launch of Industrial Policy

The Government of Karnataka has launched its Industrial Policy 2024-29, emphasising a streamlined single-window clearance system to enhance investor experience and facilitate ease of doing business. 

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar introduced the policy on the inaugural day of the Global Investors Meet—Invest Karnataka 2025, in the presence of chief minister Siddaramaiah, industries minister MB Patil, and other senior officials. 

The new industrial policy aims to accelerate economic growth, attract investments, and create 20 lakh jobs by 2029. With a target to boost the manufacturing sector’s annual growth rate to 12% and attract investments worth ₹7.5 lakh crore, the policy focuses on making Karnataka a leader in sustainable industrial practices. 

It also prioritises sunrise sectors such as Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM), Aerospace & Defense, Advanced Manufacturing, and Future Mobility. Additionally, the government aims to ensure balanced regional development by incentivizing industrial expansion in underdeveloped areas.

One of the key features of the policy is the recognition of logistics and warehousing as an industry, granting it the necessary support and investment avenues. 

To address skill shortages in the sector, the government will roll out specialised workforce training programs, including industry-connected workshops, vocational training, and technical courses in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). These efforts aim to bridge skill gaps and create a highly skilled workforce.

A major focus of the new policy is the introduction of flexible subsidy options for investors, allowing them to choose between Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) and Capital Subsidy, depending on their business needs. 

Additionally, sustainability initiatives receive significant attention, with incentives offered to industries implementing Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), air pollution control, energy efficiency measures, and electrification of thermal processes. Companies with Greenco certification will be eligible for additional benefits.

The policy also encourages the integration of Research & Development (R&D) centers and Global Capability Centers (GCCs) with manufacturing units by offering a 10% additional incentive. 

Speaking at the event, Union Minister Rajnath Singh said that Bengaluru will give India its first foundational AI model. “As India, Bangalore not only creates the future of India but also saves it, driving innovation and progress at national and global scale,” he said.

Anand Mahindra, Chairperson of Mahindra and Mahindra, at the Inaugural event of Invest Karnataka 2025. Source: AIM

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