NPCI partners with IISc Bangalore for joint research on blockchain and AI technology

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has entered into a strategic partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, for advancing research in blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. 

The multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to foster innovation and develop scalable solutions in the fintech domain.

Establishing a 'Centre of Excellence'

The partnership will enable the establishment of the “NPCI-IISc Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Deep Tech Research & Development.” The initiative is designed to be a hub for cutting-edge research, focusing on areas such as scalable blockchain platforms and multi-modal analytics over fintech data.

The CoE will serve as a crucible for developing models and software prototypes that could revolutionize the payment landscape.

Leveraging the expertise of faculty members 

The partnership will leverage the expertise of faculty members from five departments at IISc, who will work alongside NPCI researchers.

These teams will tackle practical challenges in scalability, privacy-preserving designs, neural networks, Graph AI, and Large Language Models (LLM), among other areas. IISc's reputation as a pioneer in technological research will play a crucial role in addressing these complex issues.

NPCI highlights its potential to enhance consumer experiences

Vishal Kanvaty, Chief Technology Officer at NPCI, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, highlighting its potential to enhance consumer experiences through emerging technologies. 

"This latest development marks an important step towards achieving that goal, and we take immense pride in collaborating with IISc. As our nation progresses towards digital sustainability, we recognize the significant potential for research in deep technologies such as blockchain and AI to further enhance the payment landscape, and we are grateful to have the bright minds assist us in this ambitious endeavour," Vishal said.

Prof Navakanta Bhat, Dean, Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences, IISc, said, "We are delighted to partner with NPCI in the emerging areas of deep tech and fintech analytics. This partnership will not only foster cutting-edge research and the development of models and software prototypes, but also nurture professional development through workshops and training programmes. We look forward to the exciting outcomes that will emerge from this new Centre of Excellence."

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