IIT Madras, CAMS expands FinTech lab partnership for AI, startups, research and professional education

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) are expanding their partnership through the CAMS IIT Madras FinTech Innovation Lab (CIFIL). The next phase will focus on financial technology research, startup support, industry collaboration and professional education.

The two organisations signed an agreement for the expanded collaboration on August 12, 2026, at the IIT Madras campus. CIFIL was originally set up in 2022 through a partnership between IIT Madras and CAMS under CAMS' CSR initiatives.

The lab's expanded focus will include AI in financial services, digital payments, blockchain and tokenisation, cybersecurity, regulatory technology, WealthTech, InsurTech, digital lending, data analytics and financial inclusion. It will also work on research portfolio, intellectual property, technology transfer and taking research-based solutions towards commercialisation.

IIT Madras, CAMS expand FinTech partnership

Talking about the journey of CIFIL and the next phase of the collaboration, Mr Anuj Kumar, managing director, CAMS, said, "As we renew our partnership with IIT Madras, we look forward to fostering an environment where bold ideas can be explored, challenged and shaped into solutions that create long-term value for the financial services ecosystem."

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The partnership will also give students more opportunities to work on industry-linked projects through research, internships, hackathons, expert interactions and startup mentoring. The aim is to give students practical exposure to challenges in financial technology while building their research, innovation and entrepreneurial skills.

CIFIL will support fintech startups and entrepreneurs through mentoring, technical and faculty expertise, industry networks, validation support, research collaborations and innovation challenges. The lab will also connect promising startups with industry opportunities and help them work on financial services challenges.

Professional education gets new focus

The partnership will also expand professional education through programmes including the professional certificate programme in FinTech and certificate programme in personal financial planning. These are designed for professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, students and aspiring fintech leaders.

Industry partners will be able to collaborate with IIT Madras faculty and researchers on business and technology challenges, evaluate emerging technologies, develop proofs-of-concept and undertake applied research. CIFIL will also facilitate interaction between industry, academia, startups and regulators.

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Since its launch, CIFIL has supported fintech research projects, national hackathons, startup incubation and pre-incubation initiatives, as well as executive education programmes. Its work has covered digital payments, AI, blockchain, cybersecurity and wealth management.