IIT Madras, Walmart launch Center for Tech Excellence

The centre will work towards building an open-sourced, domain-agnostic platform that will develop engineering analytics solutions, making them widely accessible.

The centre will build a repository of case studies to accelerate AI adoption in the manufacturing and retail industries. (Photo credit: IIT-Madras)

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and Walmart Global Tech (WGT) will jointly establish the Walmart Center for Tech Excellence. The centre, as per IIT-M, will be dedicated to empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the manufacturing and retail sectors. It will work towards developing solutions that will help MSMEs adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) along with the digitisation to drive operational efficiency and profitability.

Addressing the launch event, Prof V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras said, “The growth of MSMEs is very crucial for economic prosperity. IIT Madras has initiated many projects in this direction including the one that helps MSMEs in reducing energy consumption. The research carried out through the Walmart Center will immensely value the MSMEs.”

Moreover, the centre will work towards building an open-sourced, domain-agnostic platform that will develop engineering analytics solutions, making them widely accessible. Additionally, it will build a repository of case studies to accelerate AI adoption in the manufacturing and retail industries. These case studies will also be leveraged to deliver skilling programs focused on the basics of AI and its application in the sectors, as per IIT Madras.

Suresh Kumar, Global CTO and CDO, Walmart Inc. said, “As a people-led, tech-powered organisation, we believe in using technology to serve people—and not the other way round. The Walmart Center for Tech Excellence reiterates our commitment to communities and purpose to help people live better. As an IITM alumnus, I am especially proud of our ongoing partnership. I’m both excited and confident about the potential of our centre to drive innovation in AI and make a positive impact in the MSME community in India.”