IIT Madras inaugurates research lab to develop emerging AI applications

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras has inaugurated a research facility today, April 27, 2023. Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrashekar inaugurated ‘Veena and Pratap Subrahmanyam Centre for Digital Intelligence, Security Hardware and Architecture’.

The facility will be working on 'SHAKTI', a IIT Madras-developed microprocessor and building a new class of computers to handle emerging AI applications. The center was funded by IIT Madras alumnus Pratap Subrahmanyam with a contribution of Rs 6.76 crore. The component called ‘ShaktiMAAN’ (‘MAAN’ for ‘Multiply and Accumulate Network’), will specialize in handling Deep Learning Inference.

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The key activities of this IIT Madras' centre include-

• RISC-V architecture compatibility test (ACT) for RISC-V international
• Secure shakti variant
• AI-ML accelerator (Shaktimaan)
• Shakti IP developments
• Out-of-order I-class variant of Shakti processor
• RISC-V verification activities
• DIR-V Initiative – start-ups incubated from V and PS - CDISHA lab

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Highlighting the importance of this research facility, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti, said: “A big thanks to Mr. Pratap Subrahmanyam for having sponsored this Centre, which has come at a very right time when India was to announce the Semiconductor Mission and when we were moving towards establishing fabrication facility. What we are looking at from this Centre is three important verticals. One is that we are designing hardware that needs to be secure, have certain basic ingredients that will make it execute certain applications that demand intelligence.”

Talking about the establishment, India Element Solutions, Inc. managing director, Ravi M. Bhatkal, said: “The Ministry has laid out a five-year vision document, which calls for quadrupling the electronics manufacturing base and capability in India over the next five years. Our vision and partnership with IIT Madras is to really help build this entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem on campus, to help build the workforce, help productize innovations and stimulate interdisciplinary research. Establishment of this centre is the first step in that direction and it is critical that we build a strong university-industry-Government partnership to achieve this vision.”