HYDERABAD: The state government on Friday signed a MoU with the World Trade Centres Association (WTCA) for the establishment of a World Trade Centre Future City (WTCFC) within the proposed AI City.
With a built-up space of 10 lakh square feet, the proposed WTCFC will house companies at the forefront of AI and emerging technologies and is poised to be one of the largest capacity building initiatives in global AI domain.
IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said that the upcoming AI City is pivotal to the state government’s target of increasing IT exports from $32 billion to $200 billion. “This partnership is a testament to Telangana’s commitment to driving economic growth through global collaboration. It will accelerate our IT export goals and position Telangana firmly among the world’s leading AI innovators,” he added.
WTCA executive director (business development) Robin Van Puyenbroeck expressed admiration for the speed at which the WTC license for Telangana was granted. “Typically, securing a licence for a new World Trade Centre is a lengthy process. However, given the bold vision of Telangana’s leadership, we expedited the process, approving the licence within a record one week,” Puyenbroeck told TNIE.
AI City campus to have world class facilities
Touted to be a mini smart city, the campus in the AI City will house world-class office spaces, trade services, training facilities, retail and entertainment zones, co-living spaces, a luxury hotel, and a primary healthcare facility.
“In addition to office space, it’s going to have residences for employees to truly bring in the element of ‘walk to work’ enabling them to save valuable time on commutes and thus allowing them to improve their quality of life.
It’s going to bring all of these together, and that’s what really makes it the first of its kind,” Bhargava Srivari, vice-president, WTC Shamshabad, told TNIE on the sidelines of the AI Summit. It may be mentioned here that WTC Shamshabad is different from WTCFC. WTC Shamshabad is expected to be operational by the Q4 of 2025.
Srivari disclosed: “WTC Shamshabad will be a part of a 20 lakh sq ft facility, which will host GCC and other tech Fortune 500 companies as well. The idea is to expand it to one crore sq ft in a phased manner. WTC Shamshabad has also earmarked two lakh sq ft for AI and emerging technology companies to base their offices before expanding to the AI City. The area could go higher if there is demand from AI companies.”
Noting that the proposed AI City is going to take longer to develop, he said: “In the interim, during the development of the AI City, WTC is earmarking space for those AI related companies to come and start their operations at WTC Shamshabad. This can be for R&D or for any other AI related activity or emerging technologies.”
Explaining to TNIE about how AI is being used in the market, Puyenbroeck stressed efficiency. “Look at the global logistics right from creating efficiencies for shipments to trend shipments in industry to just computing, it is all about efficiency.
One of the main questions you see now in the market is how do you make money with AI. So it has to either help people save money or make money. By definition, it comes down to creating all sorts of efficiencies, just doing basic research. Earlier, you had to go to magazines and dig deep in things. Now the tools can provide you with so much information on your fingertips in a very short time.”
20 lakh sq ft to be the space at WTC Shamshabad, of which 2 lakh sq ft will be exclusively for AI companies
This WTC is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2025
It will be part of a 20 lakh sq ft facility and will host GCC and other tech Fortune 500 companies as well
This WTC may be expanded to 1 crore sq ft in a phased manner, based on demand
WTCFC proposed at AI City (Mucherla) to be 10 lakh sq ft. WTCFC to house companies at the forefront of AI and emerging technologies
The idea is to make it one of the largest capacity building initiatives in the field of global AI domain
World Trade Centre Association gave the licence for WTCFC in a record one week, given the bold vision of the Telangana government