New Delhi:
Google on Thursday said it is setting up an artificial intelligence research unit at Bengaluru as the tech giant looks to continue developing products for India and taking them to global markets. Google Research India, the artificial intelligence (AI) lab, will focus on advancing fundamental computer science and AI research.
Apart from the Google team led by AI scientist Manish Gupta, the company will also partner with the research community across the country to focus on tackling challenges in fields like healthcare, agriculture, and education.
"We are incredibly inspired by India. With a world-class engineering talent, strong computer science programs and entrepreneurial drive, India has the potential to contribute to advancements in AI and its application to tackle big challenges," Google Vice President Next Billion Users and Payments Caeser Sengupta said.
He added that the company is rolling out new products and adding features to existing ones to help even the first-time internet users.
"Future is not about just tech but about inclusion, empowerment and economic opportunity. India inspires us," Sengupta said at Google for India event.
Sengupta said under its Internet Saathi programme with Tata Trusts, about 80,000 'Saathis' have been trained, who in turn have trained 30 million women.
Sengupta said in the last 12 months, Google Pay has grown more than three times to 67 million monthly active users, driving transactions worth over USD 110 billion on an annualised basis across offline and online merchants.
About two-thirds of the transactions are coming from tier-II and -III cities and towns.
Google Pay, which competes with players like Paytm and PhonePe, is introducing the 'Spot' platform that will enable merchants to create branded commercial experiences and reach new customers.
Earlier, advancing its commitment to building a future-ready workforce, Microsoft eartlier announced the launch of AI Digital Labs in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in the country.
The institutes covered under this program include BITS Pilani, BML Munjal University, ISB, Kalpataru Institute of Technology, KL University, Periyar University, Karunya University, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, SVKM (NMIMS) and Trident Academy of Technology. With the edge of the Intelligent Cloud Hub program, these institutions will emerge as learning centers of intelligent technologies and innovation hubs of path-breaking solutions.
AI and intelligent technologies are becoming all-pervasive today, driving change across businesses and communities. The evolution of AI and other emerging technologies is expected to create new jobs. Workers at all levels of organizations will need to be skilled for these jobs. These shifts in the talent landscape will require new ways of thinking about skills and training to ensure that the new workforce is prepared for the future and there is sufficient talent available for critical jobs.
According to a recent Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific study ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI’, lack of skills, resources and continuous learning programs emerged as one of the top challenges faced by Indian organizations in adopting AI to accelerate their businesses.
“As AI becomes mainstream, organizations will require talent with skillsets that are very different from what exist now. Educators and institutions are integral to the skilling revolution taking root in the country. With the right technology infrastructure, curriculum and training, we can empower today’s students to build the India of tomorrow,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.
Microsoft India plans to train 5 lakh youth in artificial intelligence across the country over the next three years and set up AI labs in 10 universities.
The company would also upskill 10000 developers in emerging technology areas.
The software major said 700 organizations including government bodies in the country are using its AI solutions now and nearly 60% of them are large enterprises.
Microsoft said it is seeing faster transformation across businesses in India and that is resulting in sharp rise in demand.