A new academic school focused on Physical AI will begin offering programs in the upcoming session, targeting students, researchers, and working professionals from engineering, physical sciences, life sciences, and medicine, with an emphasis on blending domain expertise with AI capabilities.

IIT-Kharagpur announced India’s first dedicated academic school for Physical Artificial Intelligence, named the Benjamin Gupta School of Physical AI.

The project has a total investment of Rs 35 crore, with funding from the Vinod Gupta family and an anonymous alumnus, and the remainder from IIT-Kharagpur.

The school will operate under a memorandum of understanding with IIT-Kharagpur, Vinod Gupta alumnus, and the IITKGP Foundation USA, and will be named in memory of Vinod Gupta’s late son, Benjamin Gupta.

Institute director Suman Chakraborty said the initiative aims to move beyond black-box AI by integrating algorithmic techniques with fundamental scientific and domain-specific knowledge.

Physical AI is defined as AI that emphasizes intelligent systems interacting with the physical world, incorporating scientific principles, real-world sensing, and intelligent control beyond data-driven approaches.

Key focus areas include physics-informed machine learning, scientific AI, digital twins, intelligent robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensing, and AI-enabled experimentation, with emphasis on reliable, explainable, and responsible AI for safety-critical applications.

The school seeks to foster collaboration among academia, industry, healthcare institutions, research labs, startups, and international partners to accelerate research, technology development, and professional reskilling.