ISB Launches ‘AI Factory’ to Accelerate Responsible AI Innovation Across India
Hyderabad, October 30: The Indian School of Business (ISB) has announced the launch of the AI Factory, a pioneering initiative under its AI Venture Initiative (Aivi), designed to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The initiative aims to transform India’s rapidly growing AI potential into scalable, market-ready, and socially responsible solutions.
Held at ISB’s Hyderabad campus, the launch event drew over 650 participants, including entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, and corporate leaders — a reflection of India’s growing focus on artificial intelligence as a driver of national innovation and economic growth.
A Platform for Responsible and Inclusive AI
The AI Factory seeks to serve as a collaborative ecosystem where academia, industry, and startups come together to co-create AI solutions that address some of India’s most pressing challenges — from healthcare and agriculture to enterprise transformation.
According to ISB, the platform is built around six foundational components that will help innovators, researchers, and startups design and scale ethical AI solutions:
- AI Labs and Testbeds – providing experimentation and validation environments for AI tools.
- Discovery Marketplace – connecting researchers and startups with investors, industry partners, and resources.
- Scale Support – helping ventures transition from lab to market with mentorship and funding guidance.
- Infrastructure Access – enabling startups to use advanced computational resources and cloud platforms.
- Responsible AI Frameworks – promoting transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI development.
- Research-to-Venture Model – supporting technology transfer and commercialization of academic innovations.
Industry and Policy Leaders Unite for AI Growth
The AI Factory’s launch event featured more than 30 distinguished speakers, including:
- Abhishek Singh, CEO of the India AI Mission and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY),
- Prof. Madan Pillutla, Dean, Indian School of Business,
- Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog and former President of NASSCOM, and
- Piyush Shah, Co-founder of InMobi and President of Glance.
In his address, Abhishek Singh highlighted the importance of collaboration between academia and government in building India’s AI-first ecosystem, emphasizing that initiatives like ISB’s AI Factory align closely with the Digital India and IndiaAI missions.
Debjani Ghosh lauded ISB’s efforts to make AI innovation more inclusive, noting that access, transparency, and ethical governance are critical for India’s digital transformation.
Bridging Research and Entrepreneurship
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Bhagwan Chowdhry, Faculty Director of ISB I-Venture, said the AI Factory represents a “landmark moment” for ISB’s innovation ecosystem.
“The AI Factory represents a landmark moment for ISB, where we aim for a convergence of talent, research, and industry to turn cutting-edge breakthroughs into solutions that create tangible impact across India’s AI ecosystem,” said Prof. Chowdhry.
The initiative combines ISB’s academic expertise with entrepreneurship mentorship, enabling innovators to translate research into business ventures. By fostering responsible AI development, ISB intends to position the AI Factory as both a technology incubator and a policy thought-leadership hub for the country’s evolving AI sector.
Early Collaborations and AI Startups in Focus
The AI Factory has already begun working with several AI-driven startups focusing on healthcare, agriculture, and enterprise technology. These early projects exemplify the initiative’s commitment to using AI for social and economic good.
Some of the ongoing collaborations include:
- AI-powered biological modelling tools to predict and track Alzheimer’s disease progression,
- Robotics-driven agriculture solutions aimed at improving farm productivity and sustainability,
- AI agents for businesses that streamline customer interaction and automation, and
- Vernacular AI tools designed to make digital services more inclusive across India’s linguistic diversity.
These startups are expected to benefit from ISB’s multi-disciplinary faculty expertise, mentorship, and access to the school’s global research network.
A Strong Network of Partners
To ensure holistic support for AI-driven innovation, ISB’s AI Factory has partnered with several industry leaders, technology providers, and academic collaborators, including:
- Mphasis Foundation
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- T-Hub
- T-AIM (Telangana AI Mission) powered by NASSCOM
- Jupyter AI Foundation
- IIIT Hyderabad
- KMC Manipal
These partnerships bring together computational infrastructure, domain expertise, and funding opportunities, enabling startups and researchers to accelerate their AI solutions from concept to commercialization.
Building an AI Ecosystem for the Future
The AI Factory comes at a pivotal time when India is rapidly becoming one of the world’s leading hubs for AI research, innovation, and adoption. According to a NASSCOM report, the Indian AI market is projected to reach $17 billion by 2027, driven by investments in AI-led digital transformation across sectors such as finance, education, and healthcare.
ISB’s initiative is designed to complement these national ambitions by ensuring that AI innovations emerging from Indian research labs are ethical, inclusive, and globally competitive.
In an official statement, Prof. Madan Pillutla, Dean of ISB, noted that the AI Factory aligns with ISB’s broader mission to support India’s digital transformation through innovation and policy research.
“Our goal is to make ISB a focal point for responsible AI innovation — one that brings together research excellence, startup incubation, and public-private collaboration,” Pillutla said.
A Catalyst for India’s AI Future
By integrating entrepreneurship with cutting-edge research, the AI Factory seeks to nurture an entire generation of AI entrepreneurs and researchers capable of solving India’s unique challenges — from agricultural productivity to healthcare accessibility and education reform.
Experts believe that such initiatives are essential for making India not just a consumer of AI technology but a global leader in responsible AI development.
Final Thoughts from TheTrendingPeople.com
The AI Factory by ISB marks a significant step toward realizing India’s ambition of becoming a global AI powerhouse. By fostering responsible innovation, nurturing startups, and promoting academic-industry partnerships, ISB has set a powerful precedent for how higher education institutions can lead the next wave of technological advancement.
In a rapidly evolving AI landscape, initiatives like the AI Factory ensure that India’s digital growth is not just fast — but also fair, ethical, and inclusive.