ITC Infotech to set up its first global AI hub in city
Times of India | 10 January 2025
Kolkata: ITC Infotech, the wholly owned subsidiary of diversified corporate giant ITC, is setting up its Global AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengal.
The CoE will act as a central hub for ITC Infotech, through which it will service its global clientele while acting as the core for ITC Group's digital initiatives. The company currently services clients in 40 countries.
ITC Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri told TOI that he felt Kolkata was the optimal place for its first cutting-edge global AI hub. It would eventually have two global hubs, one in Kolkata and another in Bengaluru. Puri indicated that a formal announcement on this would come during the forthcoming Bengal Global Business Summit.
"We believe that Kolkata is an optimal and logical location for our first cutting-edge global AI hub given Bengal's key advantages, including strong support by state govt, an impressive talent pool of engineering/AI/statistics resources across institutes like IIM, IIT and ISI, low cost of doing business, ease of commute and a good quality of life," he said.
According to Puri, ITC Infotech was adding 25%-30% manpower every year. Currently, 10% of manpower is here, and in the next 3-4 years, 25%-30% of the company's manpower will be based out of Kolkata.
He pointed out that a dedicated team of AI specialists will incubate new ideas, implement and disseminate advanced AI/ML (machine learning) solutions by leveraging cutting-edge innovations in AI and ML. The CoE will promote AI skills and capabilities building and collaborate with academia in Bengal.
Puri said developing the AI ecosystem for Bengal was expected to help create value-added services in the state, besides a vibrant start-up ecosystem offering high-end jobs, while attracting quality talent.
The global hub would be housed at ITC Green Centre Campus, which is a state-of-the-art IT facility with an investment outlay of Rs 1,600 crore when complete. So far, Rs 1,000 crore has been invested in the facility. The total campus would have 17 floors with a 14 lakh square feet area, one of the biggest for the IT company. ITC Infotech currently has a total manpower of 11,000 globally, and in Kolkata, the number of employees is around 1,000.