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Techday NZ
12-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
NTT DATA named advisory partner for Plug & Play AI hubs
NTT DATA has become the exclusive integration and advisory partner for Plug and Play's Artificial Intelligence Centers of Excellence across several North American innovation hubs. This partnership positions NTT DATA to provide strategic guidance and support for startups and corporates throughout Plug and Play's US innovation network, with a focus on AI strategy and implementation. The agreement extends to Plug and Play hubs located in San Jose, Seattle, Sunnyvale, McKinney, and Calgary. Advisory role As the sole advisory and integration partner, NTT DATA will deliver a range of support services, including office hours, a virtual sandbox environment, innovation events, and advisory on generative AI. The intention is to help Plug and Play participants test, deploy, and commercialise AI solutions, with the possibility of integrating these technologies into NTT DATA's own partner and client ecosystem. This collaboration formalises a relationship originally established in 2022 when NTT DATA joined Plug and Play's Enterprise & AI programme. The formalisation now sees NTT DATA taking a strategic role across all Plug and Play AI Centres of Excellence, marking an expansion of their cooperation. Plug and Play connects global corporations and startups, serving as an accelerator for emerging tech across multiple sectors. Two AI Centres of Excellence operate in San Jose, California and Seattle, Washington, while Enterprise & AI hubs exist in Sunnyvale, McKinney, and Calgary. These hubs serve as focal points for AI development and evaluation. Engagement and services NTT DATA's involvement will include regular advisory office hours at the AI hubs, where company experts will work directly with startups and corporates to discuss AI strategy, integration challenges, and best practices. The agreement also provides for a virtual sandbox environment at each AI Centre of Excellence. This will offer a secure testing ground for startups and established companies to evaluate technologies, undertake proof-of-concept projects, and explore commercial opportunities. Additionally, innovation events facilitated by NTT DATA will enable the sharing of AI best practices and provide platforms such as panel sessions, keynote addresses, and startup pitch presentations. "As AI evolves from predictive to generative to agentic capabilities, large-scale enterprise-wide deployments require combining the power and innovation of startups and next-gen partners with rapid prototyping and evaluation of new solutions," said Marv Mouchawar, Executive Vice President, Global Innovation, NTT DATA Group Corporation. "As the Advisory and Integration Partner for Plug and Play's AI Centers of Excellence, we are uniquely positioned to tap into emerging technologies of startups and next-gen partners to bring immediate value to our clients through practical AI implementation strategies." The partnership is intended to facilitate adoption, evaluation, and the acceleration of AI deployment across industry verticals. The advisory services offered are aimed at guiding enterprises as they look to integrate new AI technologies for growth and innovation. Plug and Play perspective "We're excited to work with NTT DATA as they help us expand our AI Centers of Excellence," said Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO, Plug and Play. "Our platform connects startups with enterprises to drive innovation, and NTT DATA's extensive expertise in AI and digital transformation will help our ecosystem grow." Plug and Play operates as an interface between startups and corporates, providing corporate innovation programmes, acceleration opportunities, and access to new technologies across over 60 global locations. Key partnership components Among the core elements of the partnership are: Advisory services: Offered to enterprises focusing on AI integration and identifying opportunities for growth and innovation. Offered to enterprises focusing on AI integration and identifying opportunities for growth and innovation. Office hours: Regular expert sessions at AI Centres to address technical and strategic questions from startups and corporate partners. Regular expert sessions at AI Centres to address technical and strategic questions from startups and corporate partners. Virtual sandbox environment: Safe spaces for testing and demonstrating AI solutions before commercial engagement. Safe spaces for testing and demonstrating AI solutions before commercial engagement. Innovation events: Platforms for collaboration among AI thought leaders, with formats that include keynotes, panel discussions, pitches, and hackathons. The collaboration is expected to support Plug and Play participants by accelerating the evaluation and adoption of AI technologies and fostering commercial opportunities for new and existing technology providers in the AI sector.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
VCs should understand that AI is a ‘product', not a ‘company': Ronnie Screwvala
Live Events The use of genAI tools in education must not be viewed as a 'cheat sheet' to bypass the efforts, said Ronnie Screwvala , co-founder and chairperson of edtech firm UpGrad tells Himanshi Lohchab .While AI can solve reasoning-heavy questions for students of IITs and PHDs, he cautioned against using AI merely as a shortcut. 'We shouldn't repeat the mistake we did with K-12,' he warned. 'Look at Chegg in the US; once a $14 billion company, now worth less than the cash they have on hand. That model fell apart because students weren't learning; they were just bypassing effort.''There was a moment where everyone thought doubt solving was the next big thing. At one point, Byju's was looking to acquire DoubtNut for $100 million. But very quickly, it became clear that it's not as unique anymore; AI can handle that task easily, and at scale,' noted veteran filmmaker, investor and first generation entrepreneur believes that soon, 'AI will become our cofounders.''In the workplace, you need pragmatism. And that's what AI offers—less emotion, more transparency. Of course, to some people, the idea of an AI cofounder might sound scary. But imagine this, no work-life balance debates, no emotional conflicts, no sulking cofounder drama. Just pure clarity and decision-making support. That's a huge advantage,' he clarified that AI is a 'product' and not a 'company'. So, while venture capitalists chase the next unicorn, several may lose money since they are still trying to understand what exactly they're investing in, he said.'The problem is, in the startup world, ambitions get mixed. People think AI needs to be a company. But in most cases, it's not ready for that yet. And developing that product without the pressure of setting up a company can be liberating. But in India, the mindset is still 'I need to register a company, raise funding, and show scale.''He also projected that AI would disrupt career paths by making workforces multidimensional. 'I genuinely believe people will start having dual roles, not necessarily two paid jobs, but engagements with different ideas, companies, or industries.''The old question used to be, 'What happens if I don't have domain expertise and want to switch fields?' That fear is slowly fading. You'll still need expertise, but AI is now enabling people to straddle domains, making that leap more accessible.' He added that UpGrad's U&AI certification program which aims to make 1 million professionals AI-ready by 2025 is a strong example of this demand. The `499 course fetched 6000 enrolments within days, he however, highlighted that large organisations are still unwilling to accept the shift. 'HR teams in most companies are built to harmonise, keep things smooth. They're not built to encourage chaos or experimentation. If you suggest someone go out, take a sabbatical, explore a creative path, the answer is usually no.'Asked about the threat to the entertainment industry with AI now being able to write lyrics, compose music and generate visuals, Screwvala said, 'AI can't inject emotion, which is the heart of storytelling. But it can prompt, polish, and help you be more efficient.' He added that creators can now write for 20 languages at once. 'AI helps with localisation without sounding dubbed. Although voice artists may be worried, their voice will now have premium value. Instead of charging `1,000 per hour, they could charge `10,000 for the source training,' he said.
