February 13, 2026, Mumbai: IIT Bombay and Columbia University, USA signed and exchanged an MoU in the presence of Hon. Union Minister of Education Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan to establish a Center of AI for Manufacturing.
The function held at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi was also graced by Hon. Minister of State for Education Dr. Sukanta Majumdar as well as Secretary, Higher Education Dr. Vineet Joshi and Secretary, School Education & Literacy Mr. Sanjay Kumar and Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Mr. S. Krishnan.
Leading the delegations from IIT Bombay and Columbia University were IIT Bombay Director Prof. Shireesh Kedare and Columbia University Senior Vice Provost Prof. Soulaymane Kachani. Leaders of this initiative, Prof. Vishal Misra, Vice Dean for Computing and AI at Columbia Engineering and Prof. Mani Bhushan, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay, were also present.
The Ministry of Education has initiated four different AI centers so far. This “Columbia–IIT Bombay Center of AI for Manufacturing” is a joint research and translation Center aimed at building robust, scalable and human-centric AI systems for real-world manufacturing. Many industry partners are in the process of joining this Center.
Commenting on the development, Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said “The Columbia–IIT Bombay Center of AI for Manufacturing is a significant step in strengthening India’s manufacturing ecosystem through advanced, human-centric AI. By building open and interoperable industrial AI infrastructure, this initiative will support industry modernization, empower MSMEs, nurture startups, and develop future-ready talent. This partnership reflects our commitment to nation building — positioning India as a global leader in AI-driven manufacturing innovation.”
This new Center will address all areas of manufacturing including semiconductors, robotics, industrial manufacturing, process industries including pharmaceuticals, food processing, refining and petrochemical, construction and infrastructure development as well as transport and logistics.
Leveraging complementary strengths of Columbia University and IIT Bombay in various domains such as foundational AI, optimization, manufacturing and process engineering, this Center will develop end-to-end, interoperable industrial AI infrastructure – that addresses shop floor realities such as legacy equipment, noisy data, real-time constraints and multilingual workforces.
Through close engagement with industry partners, the Center will deliver applied research, customized solutions, talent development and startup translation, while releasing foundational datasets, models and interfaces as public goods to strengthen India’s varied manufacturing ecosystem, including MSMEs.
