7 reasons why Hyderabad may be poised to become India's AI hub

Hyderabad is rapidly advancing in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the state government intends to develop it as an AI hub.

Telangana IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu recently announced that the city will host a global AI summit in July. He said the decision is aimed at making Hyderabad the AI capital of the world. The Telangana government has also decided to set up an AI Excellence Centre in line with its objective.

The state plans to set up an AI and machine learning centre on the lines of the T-Hub startup incubator launched in Hyderabad by the science and technology department of the Union government. AI technology will be used in the state for verification of agricultural produce, pensioners, and spotting potholes on roads.

The Revanth Reddy government says Hyderabad has all the markings of a future AI hub:

'Best livable city'

Hyderabad is the best livable city in the country, it is claimed. The city boasts various prestigious institutes such as IIT, NIT, Triple IT, ISB, Mahindra, Tata Skill Universities, centres of national and international IT companies, etc.

Youth are studying tech courses in 165 engineering colleges in Telangana. There is no dearth of candidates in Hyderabad who have the necessary tech skills to work in corporate companies, says the government. Ikea, Lulu, Amazon, Flipkart, Metro, and D-Mart are expanding their operations in Hyderabad.

Good climate, security

Hyderabad is the best city in terms of climate, it is claimed. Moreover, the city is considered safe from a defence point of view. Besides, till date, there has been no propensity to major natural calamities like earthquakes.

Former IITian and software engineer Bojedla Naresh Babu from Hyderabad told The Federal Telangana that Hyderabad has become a centre for international companies due to its climate, infrastructure, and human resources.

Hub of global firms

Hyderabad has become the main centre for the tech major Google and e-commerce giant Amazon. Microsoft's second main campus is also located in Hyderabad. Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft have also set up centres there. 

AI Global Summit

Telangana State IT Department Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told The Federal Telangana that preparations are underway to hold an AI conference on July 1 and 2. The AI ecosystem will be developed by inviting companies specialising in it, he said.

The Telangana government has already started preparations to set up an AI City spread over 500 acres of land in partnership with leading companies. Plans are being made to develop the fields of AI, robotics, and computer vision. It has been decided to create 500 AI-related job opportunities by 2025 by setting up 150 start-up companies.

Increased IT exports

Hyderabad is the hub of IT exports as a result of which job opportunities have increased. The IT sector has progressed with the establishment of T-Hub, WeHub, Rich, Telangana Innovations Network, and TSIC incubators.

Earlier, IT exports were pegged at Rs 57,258 crore, but now they have increased to more than Rs 2,41,275 crore. Similarly, the number of IT professionals has gone up from 3.23 lakh to 9 lakh.

New AI-based jobs

Technology experts have estimated that 1.5 lakh people will get AI-based jobs in the next couple of years. With this, IITs have introduced many new courses to give special training to the youth in accordance with the AI changes.

IIT-Madras has launched an AI MSc course in association with Birmingham University, UK to produce AI experts. Students are evincing interest in joining this course given the news that AI is the future. Hyderabad Triple IT and IITs have published more than 300 research papers on AI.

Boost for AI startups

On the other hand, T-Hub is giving preference to AI and encouraging the formation of startups. Telangana AI Mission and Nasscom have jointly produced a report on Artificial Intelligence.

T-Hub will organise special lectures this month on world-class learning management systems and various AI applications. T-Hub will also host a panel discussion in the last week of March on barriers to implementing AI technology in an organisation and strategies to overcome them. Tech experts believe that if AI expands in Hyderabad, more job opportunities will be created.