BITS Pilani to Set Up $116 Million AI+ Campus in Andhra

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Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Sunday announced a ₹1,000 crore (about $116 million) investment to build a new “AI+ campus” in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh, dedicated to artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

The campus is expected to enrol its first batch by 2027.

“The focus of this campus will be to prepare Indian talent for leadership in the defining technologies of our time. This future-ready campus will specialize in AI, data science, robotics, computational linguistics, and cyber-physical systems,” Birla said at a press conference at BITS Pilani, where he presided over the 2025 convocation.

“The undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs have been designed with global best practices in mind, offering industry internships, joint PhDs with top international universities, and hybrid twinning models that give students true international exposure,” he said.

Birla, who is also chancellor of BITS Pilani, underscored the need for cross-functional education, while citing BITS Pilani’s dual-degree program combining engineering and management as a model.

“I think that is the new focus area, and that is how the real world works,” he said.

The Amravati campus is part of a broader expansion that includes ‘Project Vistaar’, a ₹1,200 crore investment to expand BITS campuses in Pilani, Hyderabad, and Goa.

The initiative will grow student capacity from 16,000 to 21,000 at these campuses over five years, with total strength across all BITS campuses projected to reach about 26,000.

Birla also announced the launch of BITS Pilani Digital, an edtech platform that will offer 32 programmes—11 degree and 21 certificate courses—over the next five years, aimed at over 100,000 learners.

“While expanding campuses is vital, India’s education challenge also demands scale, flexibility, and inclusivity. India is one of the world’s youngest nations. Nearly 65% of our population is under 35, but the stark reality is that too many of our bright, ambitious minds still lack access to the kind of high-quality, flexible education that transforms lives,” Birla said.