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 The Walmart Center for Tech Excellence, set up at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to develop solutions for MSMEs, was inaugurated on Wednesday.

Set up by Walmart Global Tech, part of the US-based retail chain Walmart Inc, it will develop solutions that will help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) along with digitisation to drive operational efficiency and profitability, a statement said.

It will work towards building an open-sourced, domain-agnostic platform that will develop engineering analytics solutions, making them widely accessible. Additionally, it will build a repository of case studies to accelerate AI adoption in the manufacturing and retail industries. These case studies will also be leveraged to deliver skilling programmes focused on the basics of AI and its application in the sectors.

Walmart Center for Tech Excellence was launched at an inaugural event in the presence of Walmart Inc's Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) Suresh Kumar,Walmart Global Tech SVP & Country Head Balu Chaturvedula, IITM Director, Prof. V. Kamakoti, IITM Dean, Global Engagement, Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, and Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula.

In his remarks at the inaugural ceremony, Suresh Kumar. said, “As an IITM alumnus, I am especially proud of our ongoing partnership. I am both excited and confident about the potential of our centre to drive innovation in AI and make a positive impact in the MSME community in India."

Prof Kamakoti said: "The growth of MSMEs is very crucial for economic prosperity. IIT Madras has initiated many projects in this direction including the one that helps MSMEs in reducing energy consumption. The research carried out through the Walmart Center will be of immense value to the MSMEs."