India AI, an IBD under Digital India Corporation, and Meta have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a groundbreaking framework for collaborative efforts in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Emerging Technologies. The MoU marks a historic step towards fostering innovation and cooperation between the two entities, with the goal of making Meta’s open-source AI models accessible for use in the Indian AI ecosystem. The signing ceremony took place between Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO of India AI, and Shri Shivnath Thukral, Director & Head of Public Policy, Meta in India.

The MoU aims to promote joint research and development endeavors to address large-scale challenges by leveraging cutting-edge AI technologies, including Meta’s open-source solutions such as Llama and others. Shri. Abhishek Singh, CEO of India AI, stated, “India is leading the way in adopting digital technologies, and it is evident that AI and Emerging Technologies will play a pivotal role in extending the benefits of technology to a wider population. Through this partnership with Meta, our collaborative research and development efforts will tackle significant challenges using advanced AI technologies.”

Sir Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs, Meta, expressed, “Meta’s open approach to AI innovation aligns with India’s leadership on digital issues. Providing businesses, startups, and researchers with access to these technologies can unlock tremendous social and economic opportunities. ‘India AI’ is an exciting program, and through close collaboration between government and industry, we can strengthen India’s digital leadership and ensure AI tools are tailored to India’s unique needs.”

The collaboration between India AI and Meta will focus on advanced research and development in AI & Emerging Technologies, aiming for breakthroughs in AI technology and applications. Additionally, the organizations will explore the possibility of establishing a Centre of Excellence to nurture an AI & Emerging Technologies startup ecosystem. The partnership will also involve leveraging Meta’s AI research models, such as LlaMA, Massively Multilingual Speech, and No Language Left Behind, to create datasets in Indian languages. This initiative will enable translation and large language models, emphasizing low-resource languages and fostering social inclusion, government service delivery, and innovation using Generative AI, cognitive systems, and translation models.

Moreover, the collaboration aims to enhance accessibility to AI computing resources for researchers, startups, and organizations with limited resources. The knowledge-sharing and collaborative efforts in AI & Emerging Technologies will be facilitated through workshops, seminars, conferences, and other platforms. India AI and Meta are deeply committed to promoting AI & Emerging Technologies skills and expertise among researchers, professionals, and students in India, contributing to the growth of AI talent in the country.

Furthermore, ‘India AI’ and Meta will work together to raise awareness about the potential benefits and risks of AI among various stakeholders, including policymakers, businesses, civil society, and the general public. The two entities will collaborate on the development of comprehensive tools and guidelines to promote responsible AI practices.