19 hrs ago
IIT Madras to Launch AI Venture Studio for Research Startups
IIT Madras is creating a programme called AI Studio to help turn research ideas into companies.
It will focus on artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science.
Researchers and entrepreneurs from IIT Madras and other institutions can apply.
Applicants will first take part in training and a bootcamp.
Some teams will then enter the main six-month programme.
They may receive money, computing power, laboratory access and expert advice.
The programme will help teams test whether customers want their products.
Successful ventures may eventually become formal companies connected to the IIT Madras Incubation Cell ecosystem.
IIT Madras’s Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI will launch an AI venture studio called AI Studio.
The initiative will turn artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science research into viable, scalable companies.
Selected teams will receive seed funding, computing credits, laboratory and data access, mentoring and product-market-fit support.
Applicants will complete training and a bootcamp before selected ventures enter a six-month development programme, extendable by up to three months.
Applications for the inaugural cohort open on October 3, with two cohorts planned annually and a path toward formal spin-outs.
- Who
- The Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, in collaboration with the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, will lead the initiative.
- What
- AI Studio, a venture studio designed to develop artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science research into viable and scalable companies.
- Where
- The initiative will operate within the IIT Madras ecosystem in Chennai, including its research laboratories and Incubation Cell ecosystem.
- When
- Applications for the inaugural cohort will open on October 3; the programme plans to run two cohorts each year.
- Why
- To move research from the laboratory through product development and market validation toward commercially viable companies and formal spin-outs.
Key facts
- Organiser
- Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras
- Collaborator
- School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT Madras
- Focus areas
- Artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science
- Support
- Seed funding, cloud and compute credits, laboratory and data access, mentoring, an entrepreneur-in-residence and product-market-fit support
- Programme length
- Six months, with a possible extension of up to three months for ventures approaching an institutional funding round
- Selection
- An initial training and bootcamp stage will precede selection for the full studio programme
- Schedule
- Two cohorts annually, with inaugural applications opening on October 3
Quotes
Prof. Balaraman Ravindran
Head of the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras
“Selected teams gain expert mentoring, technology, resources, and customer access to help founders thrive and founders selected for the AI Studio cohort will have access to seed funding, WSAI’s research laboratories, data and research resources, mentoring from faculty and domain experts besides a structured entrepreneurship training. They will also benefit from a defined path towards further funding and spin-out.”
thehansindia.com
“The AI Venture Studio takes that mission a decisive step further — not just publishing research, but building the companies that carry it into people’s lives. With the depth of our research and the strength of the IIT Madras ecosystem behind each venture, we are uniquely placed to do this at scale.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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