IIMA launches AI school backed by ₹100 crore endowment
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad inaugurated the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence, a new initiative designed to connect AI research with practical business and governance applications.
Chandrika Tandon and her husband, Ranjan Tandon, funded the school through a ₹100 crore endowment. The formal launch took place in Ahmedabad with IIMA leadership, including director Bharat Bhasker and board chairperson Pankaj Patel, alongside industry practitioners and faculty.
What the school will do
The school will focus on how organizations understand, govern, and implement AI systems. Rather than pure technical research, it emphasizes responsible adoption, leadership, and decision-making across industries and public institutions.
Chandrika Tandon said the school's emphasis on applied research in specific industry sectors will help IIMA "educate better future leaders and serve society with groundbreaking insights in partnership with industry."
Pankaj Patel described the launch as a "bold new chapter" in industry-academia collaboration, aimed at developing leaders who operate at the intersection of technology, management, and societal impact.
Research finds organizations lack AI strategy
The school released its first research report, "Navigating the Future Trap with AI Value Compass," developed with Persistent Systems. The study analyzed approximately 100 enterprises and found a disconnect between AI spending and strategy.
Most organizations focus on short-term efficiency gains rather than long-term transformation, the report found. Key gaps include absent AI leadership structures, weak governance frameworks, and misalignment between operating models and data readiness.
The report introduces the "AI Value Compass," a framework that helps organizations assess AI initiatives by evaluating risk, governance, and workforce readiness together.
Why this matters for managers
Faculty members noted that future AI challenges will extend beyond technical issues to include ethical, institutional, and organizational problems. Ankur Sinha said addressing these challenges requires leadership, judgment, and governance-areas where the new school expects to contribute.
For managers and decision-makers, the school's focus on organizational implementation and responsible adoption addresses a practical gap: knowing how to actually deploy AI systems in existing structures, not just understanding the technology itself.
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