Digital
OpenAI partners with IIT, IIM, Aiims in AI education drive
From IIT to AIIMS, six institutions bring AI into everyday learning
NEW DELHI: OpenAI has teamed up with six of India’s leading higher education institutions to weave artificial intelligence into the fabric of campus life, aiming to build a generation of graduates ready for an AI-first economy.
The first cohort spans management, medicine, engineering, creative disciplines and multidisciplinary education. It includes the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies and Pearl Academy.
The initiative is designed to go beyond basic access to AI tools. Instead, it focuses on helping students, faculty and staff use AI to deepen learning, sharpen critical thinking and accelerate research, all within responsible-use and academic-integrity frameworks.
OpenAI India head of education Raghav Gupta, said the shift is essential as workplaces evolve. He noted that nearly 40 per cent of core skills are expected to change by 2030, largely driven by AI. “Education institutions are a critical route to bridge the gap between what AI tools can do and how people are actually using them,” he said.
Over the coming year, the collaboration is expected to support more than 100,000 students, faculty members and staff. The programme will introduce campus-wide chatgpt edu access, structured onboarding, discipline-specific guidance and responsible-use policies tailored to each institution.
AI skills will be embedded into everyday academic workflows, from advanced prompting and coding to analytics, simulations, case studies and research support. The initiative will also bring hackathons, build days and research-to-deployment projects, culminating in industry days that connect campus innovations with startups and enterprises.
IIM Ahmedabad and Manipal Academy of Higher Education will also roll out OpenAI certifications, creating structured AI learning pathways in business and multidisciplinary programmes.
Beyond university campuses, OpenAI is collaborating with edtech platforms Physics Wallah, upGrad and HCL guvi to launch structured courses on AI fundamentals and practical ChatGPT use cases. The aim is to extend AI fluency to students and early-career professionals across the country.
Across the six institutions, the focus areas vary. IIT Delhi will concentrate on engineering research, prototyping and industry-linked innovation. IIM Ahmedabad will embed AI across management disciplines, from strategy and finance to entrepreneurship and public policy.
At Aiims New Delhi, the collaboration will explore AI-driven medical education, including simulation, clinical documentation and evidence synthesis, while setting safety and quality benchmarks. Manipal Academy will focus on cross-disciplinary research and large-scale AI literacy across programmes.
UPES plans to integrate AI across engineering, business, law, design and health sciences, positioning it as a core academic and operational tool. Pearl Academy will apply AI to creative workflows, from fashion and branding to digital media, giving students practical exposure to AI-driven design.
Taken together, the initiative signals a broader shift in Indian higher education from simply offering AI access to building institutions that think, teach and create with it at their core.
Digital
OpenAI’s Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele exits with two senior leaders
Trio behind compute push set to join new startup amid leadership reshuffle
SAN FRANCISCO: Peter Hoeschele, a key figure behind OpenAI’s early Stargate data centre initiative, has exited the company, according to a report by The Information.
The departure is part of a broader leadership shift, with two other senior executives, Shamez Hemani and Anuj Saharan, also set to leave in the coming days. All three are expected to join the same new startup, although details about the venture remain under wraps.
The trio played a central role in OpenAI’s Stargate effort, an initiative aimed at building large-scale data centre capacity in-house to reduce reliance on external infrastructure providers. Their exits mark a notable moment for the company’s compute strategy as it continues to scale rapidly.
OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to The Information, “We’re grateful for the contributions Peter, Shamez, and Anuj have made to OpenAI and wish them the very best in what comes next.” The company also pointed to the recent appointment of Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute organisation, signalling continuity in its infrastructure roadmap.
OpenAI has indicated that it does not plan to directly replace Hoeschele’s role, suggesting a possible restructuring of responsibilities within the team.
As competition intensifies in the race to build next-generation AI systems, leadership changes in core infrastructure teams are likely to draw close attention. For now, the spotlight shifts to what this departing trio builds next, and how OpenAI adapts as it scales its ambitions.
