IIT Kharagpur has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding with alumnus and philanthropist Vinod Gupta and the IIT Kharagpur Foundation, US, to establish India’s first dedicated AI school, an institution aimed at applying artificial intelligence to physical systems and engineering challenges.
The Benjamin Gupta School of Physical AI will receive an estimated Rs 35 crore in funding. The Vinod Gupta family will contribute Rs 12.5 crore, another alumnus will provide Rs 10 crore, and IIT Kharagpur will fund the remaining amount. The money will support dedicated infrastructure for the institute’s artificial intelligence department and related interdisciplinary academic and research activities.
According to IIT Kharagpur, the school will focus on moving AI beyond data-driven algorithms and digital applications towards systems that can understand, predict and interact with the physical world. Its work will combine artificial intelligence with engineering, science, medicine, biological systems and real-world technologies.
The proposed research areas include physics-informed machine learning, scientific AI, digital twins, intelligent robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensing, computational engineering and AI-enabled experimentation. These areas are closely linked to how physical infrastructure and industrial systems are designed, monitored and operated.
The institute said the school’s research is expected to address advanced manufacturing, energy, climate and environmental technologies, agriculture, healthcare, medical devices, infrastructure and next-generation engineering systems. The focus places the institution within a growing effort to connect AI research with sectors where software must interact with machinery, materials, buildings, energy networks and other physical environments.
IIT Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty said the next major advance in AI would involve changing how humans understand, engineer and interact with the physical world. He said the school would help India move from being a user of AI technologies to becoming a creator of intelligent physical systems.
Academic programmes are expected to begin from the upcoming academic session, subject to approvals. The proposed offerings include hybrid master’s programmes, executive education, professional certification courses and specialised interdisciplinary modules for students, researchers, working professionals, engineers, scientists and medical graduates.
The school has been named after Benjamin Gupta, Vinod Gupta’s late son, who died at the age of 28. Benjamin was pursuing a joint JD/MBA programme at The George Washington University and had been associated with former US Representative Rahm Emanuel and the US Department of State. Gupta, a Life Fellow of IIT Kharagpur, said the initiative was personally meaningful because it honours his son’s memory.
The immediate next step is the development of the school’s dedicated infrastructure and academic programmes, subject to the required approvals before the proposed courses can begin.
