BITS Pilani alumni contribute $3 million to endowment fund

Palakurthi’s current commitment follows their earlier donation of one million dollars to establish the Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR) in 2018.

The generous contributions of Prashanth, Anuradha, Sid Mookerji and Chaitanya epitomize the unwavering support of our esteemed alumni and for this we express our heartfelt gratitude, says Bits Pilani VC. (Representative image)

BITS Pilani Alumni Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi of 1978 batch, Sid Mookerji (Batch 1989) and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu (Batch 1998) have each pledged one million dollars to the BITS Endowment Fund.

Palakurthi’s current commitment follows their earlier donation of one million dollars to establish the Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR) in 2018.

Prashanth Palakurthi is a US-based technology entrepreneur, philanthropist and serves as the Chairperson of the Giving back Fund. In 2020, he was awarded the first-ever BITS Ratna award for his exemplary contribution to society, the Institute and its stakeholders. Anuradha, his wife, is the founder of Juju Productions and also serves as the Chairperson of MIT’s Heritage Arts of South Asia. Anuradha organised the Vax India Now event in 2021 — the world’s first Bollywood-Hollywood Virtual concert. Through their extensive charity work, the couple touch countless lives.

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The Mookerji Foundation, founded by BITS alumnus Sid Mookerji and his wife, Sophie Mookerji, has pledged one million dollars to support entrepreneurship development initiatives, including growing the PhD DRIVE (Deep-tech Research Innovation and Value Generation Entrepreneurship) program. Sid Mookerji is recognised as a leader in Retail Innovation, and is the Founder and Managing Partner of Silicon Road Ventures, a pioneer in shaping the future of global commerce.

“The generous contributions of Prashanth, Anuradha, Sid Mookerji and Chaitanya epitomize the unwavering support of our esteemed alumni and for this we express our heartfelt gratitude. Their support not only strengthens our competitive advantage, but also propels us to higher levels of excellence in education and research. We are deeply grateful for their continued commitment to the development of our institution,” said Prof Ramgopal Rao, Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani.

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