Wadhwani Institute receives $2 million grant from Google to create AI tech for pest control

In order to create AI tech for pest control, Mumbai based- Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence has received a $2 million grant from Google. These AI-based technologies could help reduce crop losses in cotton farming, through integrated pest management. 

Besides this, Google Cloud and AI experts will also be offering credit and consulting to Wadhwani Institute, which is among 20 recipients of the grant. 

Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, said, “We received thousands of applications to the Google AI Impact Challenge and are excited that Wadhwani AI was selected to receive funding and expertise from Google. AI is at a nascent stage when it comes to the value it can have for the social impact sector, and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this work and considering where there is potential for us to do even more.”

Raghu Dharmaraju, Wadhwani AI’s VP Products, and Programs, stated, “Small farmers worldwide depend heavily on government and non-profit programs to figure out what to do at every step of the crop cycle. By using AI to augment human capabilities and overcome systemic challenges in these large-scale programs, we can help millions of farmers. Pest management is just the beginning.”

Dr. P Anandan, CEO of Wadhwani Institute for AI, added, “Wadhwani AI’s mission is to use AI to help improve the lives of the billions of poor and underserved communities throughout the world. Agriculture is one of the critical domains in which we apply our efforts. We are grateful to Google and delighted to have their support and the benefit of their deep expertise and experience in developing AI solutions at scale.”