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Karnataka to set up 1st govt-driven AI varsity: CM
Chief minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that Karnataka will set up India’s first government sponsored Artificial Intelligence university in Bengaluru
Chief minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday announced that Karnataka will set up India’s first government sponsored Artificial Intelligence university in Bengaluru.
Announcing the initiative at the Google I/O Connect India 2026 event in Bengaluru, he said the university would nurture advance research into AI and create closer collaboration between educational institutions, industry and government.
“Our vision is to make Karnataka an AI native State and integrate artificial intelligence into governance and public service delivery,” he said.
The proposed university forms part of a wider strategy to deploy AI across education, healthcare, agriculture, public services and small enterprises. “AI assisted teaching will transform education. Early disease detection and better medical support will strengthen healthcare. Farmers will receive AI driven advisory services. Government services will become faster and more citizen friendly, while small enterprises will improve their competitiveness by using AI tools,” the CM said.
Calling artificial intelligence the defining technology of the present, Shivakumar compared its potential impact with earlier breakthroughs that transformed industry, cities and communication. “Every generation inherits one technology that changes the course of human civilisation. The steam engine transformed industry. Electricity reshaped cities. The internet changed connectivity. Mobile technology made everything accessible. Today, artificial intelligence promises to transform human capability itself,” he said.
He added that Karnataka’s technology ecosystem had positioned the state to shape that future. Citing Swami Vivekananda’s exhortation to “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life,” he said Karnataka had embraced innovation as its defining mission.
According to Shivakumar, the state accounted for 40% of India’s software exports, Bengaluru was home to over 17,000 startups, and thousands of Global Capability Centres have set up operations in the state.
Shivakumar also invited Google to deepen its partnership with the state, saying the government wanted to apply AI to address Bengaluru’s traffic congestion. “Twenty five years ago, Bengaluru had a population of 7 million. Today it has grown to 14 million, and we are looking for solutions to manage that growth,” he said.
