BENGALURU: United States Ambassador Sergio Gor commemorated the country’s 250th year of independence at the US Mission’s National Day reception in Bengaluru on Sunday. At the event, he launched the TRUST Fellowship, a new public-private partnership, bringing together American and Indian researchers to advance work in critical technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing and biotechnology.
“Every week our embassy strives to deliver real results. The limitless potential with India is real, and we are working tirelessly to deliver tangible outcomes,” Gor said, acknowledging private benefactors like Kris Gopalakrishnan (Pratithi Investments) and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Mazumdar-Shaw Philanthropy), and institutes like the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru (IISc), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) for the fellowship. The programme will fund stipends for US-origin postdoctoral researchers and early-career faculty to pursue 12-month collaborative research projects with Indian institutions from September.
“I want to see the TRUST Fellowship be a catalyst to get more leaders to step up, which will attract more fellows into the programme and more breakthroughs to reach the market,” Gor added.
The ambassador also announced an expanded US Commercial Service presence in Bengaluru, aimed at giving American companies greater support, including export counselling, market intelligence, and connections with vetted local partners.
“American enterprises need stronger support, sharper market intelligence and wider doors in this market. That is precisely what this expansion delivers. It means American companies taking a direct stake in Bengaluru’s growth engine,” Gor said. He also alluded to cooperation between the two countries in space as an indicator of their ambitions, citing recent joint missions and ongoing discussions between the two countries’ space agencies on lunar exploration.
