Persistent, IIT Kharagpur tie up to push enterprise AI from pilot to scale

Mid-tier IT services company Persistent Systems has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-K) to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) innovation lab, in a bid to build talent and scale enterprise AI capabilities.

The AI Innovation Lab will be set up within the institute’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering and will focus on advancing research, strengthening industry-academia collaboration and creating a pipeline of AI-ready talent.

The move comes at a time when companies are looking to move AI from pilot projects to enterprise-scale deployment, with a growing need for skilled talent and applied research. The lab will support development of domain-specific AI solutions across sectors such as healthcare, education and financial services, with a focus on building secure and responsible systems.

The Pune-headquartered firm said the facility will be equipped with advanced computational and research infrastructure to support both theoretical and applied work, spanning system development and real-world deployment. The initiative is also expected to contribute to the company’s AI capabilities through reusable frameworks, domain insights and trained talent.

The partnership will additionally serve as a platform for broader collaboration across academia, industry and policy stakeholders, including international research engagement and cross-disciplinary work.

“India’s AI promise will be built on original research and deep engineering focused on real-world problems,” said Anand Deshpande, founder, chairman and managing director of Persistent Systems.

Siddhartha Mukhopadhyay, dean of alumni affairs at IIT Kharagpur, said the collaboration would bring industry perspective into the academic ecosystem and expose students to real-world challenges.

The initiative also aligns with IIT Kharagpur’s broader efforts to expand its AI research ecosystem and strengthen industry linkages as demand for skilled AI professionals continues to rise.

The announcement comes close on the heels of Persistent Systems reporting a strong March quarter, with net profit rising about 34% year-on-year to ₹529 crore and revenue growing roughly 25% to over ₹4,000 crore, driven by sustained demand for AI-led and digital engineering services, with demand across BFSI, healthcare and tech verticals.