Google India To Address Economic Challenges With AI/ML Based Innovation

For Google, India has been one of its largest markets. Besides providing its tech-based services, Google has also been promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, especially by leveraging newage technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the country.

Notably, the company recently has also set up an AI research lab in Bengaluru for finding solutions to India’s problems in education and healthcare sectors, among others.

Explaining more on how the Bengaluru-based AI lab is going to promote innovation, Anand Rangarajan, Google’s engineering director who heads the Bengaluru AI lab, told Livemint that the lab is part of Google’s global network of researchers working on leading AI researchers around the world.

Additionally, for fostering AI-based innovation at this centre, the team will focus on two pillars, i.e. advancing fundamental computer science and AI research and developing solutions to tackle problems in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and education.

Google plans to do so by building a strong team and partnering with the research community across the country. Moreover, the research will also work towards making Google’s apps and services more helpful.

Rangarajan said that the AI lab will primarily be operating in the fields of machine learning, computer vision, languages, speech, systems, and other related areas. “Google believes that India will play a key role in the development of these newage technologies,” Rangarajan added.

Google Bolstering Entrepreneurship In India

In the past, Google has been investing and partnering with Indian startups to build innovative solutions to challenges across core sectors of the Indian economy such as social, agriculture, healthcare, among others.

Rangarajan added that Google’s efforts for bolstering entrepreneurship in the country came under the umbrella of its ‘Google for Startups’ initiative. With this programme, Google is helping Indian startups to address market challenges, build and scale their products and to scale to global markets.

Further, to bolster the growth of Indian startups, Google is providing its expertise in AI and ML to them along with access to its latest technology, mentorship, and support.

Launched in July 2018, Google Launchpad Accelerator mentors early-stage startups on various aspects of their business, across the areas of technology, product strategy, marketing, UX/UI and leadership.

In March 2019, Google had selected an Indian not-for-profit organisation, Wadhwani AI, along with 19 other startups from all over the world under its Google AI Impact Challenge initiative. Notably, the programme was focused on using AI technology for social good.