CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is stepping up its push to build an artificial intelligence (AI) economy, with the state government planning two AI centres of excellence, a state-owned GPU computing cluster and a new Super App that will bring 500 government services to mobile phones.
The initiatives were announced by Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services Minister R Kumar in the Assembly on Tuesday. While the Vetri Tamil Nadu Super App will be developed at a cost of Rs 5 crore, a separate portal will also be created to collect feedback from citizens on government services. The government has allotted Rs 1 crore for this.
The Vetri Tamil Nadu Artificial Intelligence Centres of Excellence (VTN AI CoE) will be established through the Tamil Nadu Electronics Corporation (ELCOT). The first two centres will come up in Chennai and Coimbatore under a public-private partnership model at a cost of Rs 20 crore. The state-owned, ultra-high-performance GPU computing cluster will be set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore.
Startups and micro, small and medium enterprises in Tamil Nadu will be given free access to the computing infrastructure for developing AI products, potentially lowering one of the biggest entry barriers for smaller firms experimenting with AI.
The state is also seeking to address the gap between deep-tech innovation and commercialisation through TN DRIVE, a Rs 3 crore initiative offering design and engineering support, prototyping and ready-to-use production facilities.
The facility is intended to function as an open prototype manufacturing hub for deep-tech and frontier-technology startups. Other announcements include an AI-enabled Tamil Internet Language Lab, AI tools for e-office, health and agriculture schemes, and AI Advisory Council of academics and industry leaders.
