AI City to come up on 200 acres near Hyderabad, says Telangana govt

Hyderabad, Sep 5 (IANS) The Telangana government on Thursday unveiled its vision of Artificial Intelligence City, an ambitious project that will come up on 200 acres near Hyderabad.

The state-of-the-art AI City will serve as a vibrant hub for the AI ecosystem, hosting an AI Advisory Council supported by an AI research and collaboration network, leading universities, global corporations, and innovative startups, as per the state government.

The AI City logo was unveiled by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at Global AI Summit 2024, which began here on Thursday.

The AI City will provide the ideal environment for collaboration, driving the development of next-generation AI technologies and solutions. It will host state-of-the-art data centers, and high-performance computing facilities, empowering organizations to innovate at scale. The facility will also give citizens direct access to the world of artificial intelligence. Through immersive experiences, educational programmes, and interactive demonstrations, the AI City will demystify AI, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of its potential across all sectors of society, the state government said.

The planned city will also create an AI-skilled population through AI Skilled University and Experiential Centre.

On this occasion, the state government also entered into partnerships with various companies and institutions for different components of the AI City.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said Telangana’s AI drive is not new as the state has already taken big steps.

"If we think of India's future, no city is as perfectly ready for it as Hyderabad. In our city, we not only embrace the future, but we also create it," he said.

"The AI summit today in Hyderabad is our declaration - we are ready for AI. We will create AI's future and set standards," he added.

Information Technology and Industry Minister D. Sridhar Babu said that while AI City takes shape, AI-driven companies can commence operations quickly by partnering with the World Trade Centre, Shamshabad offering two lakh square feet of office space as an interim measure.

The minister said the state government was committed to harnessing AI as part of its efforts to make Telangana a trillion-dollar economy in the near future and a 3 trillion-dollar economy in the next one decade. He stated that Telangana has emerged as a tech powerhouse, leveraging the existing IT ecosystem to transform Hyderabad into a leading global hub in deep tech innovations and products.

Sridhar Babu said the AI landscape has emerged as a major catalyst for growth with vast data resources, a talented workforce and a vibrant startup ecosystem combined with the government’s commitment to harnessing AI for social good.

Special Chief Secretary, IT, Jayesh Ranjan, said that the two-day Global AI Summit is the first-of-its-kind event. About 150 speakers from across the world will share their expertise at the summit being held with the main theme " Making AI work for everyone".

About 2,000 delegates including corporates, academia, startups and government officers are attending the conference which will have panel discussions on innovation, the future world, responsible AI, and governance.