NPCI ties up with IISc for joint research on blockchain and AI technology

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced the signing of a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, for conducting joint research on Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

The association is expected to propel further innovation through the establishment of the “NPCI–IISc Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Deep Tech Research & Development”.

The partnership will focus on scalable blockchain platforms and multi-modal analytics over fintech data. Faculty members from five departments at IISc will work with NPCI researchers on practical challenges related to these areas, NPCI said in a statement.

NPCI’s collaboration with the institute is aimed at solving complex technological and engineering problem statements in the areas of scalability, privacy preserving designs, neural networks, Graph AI and Large Language Models (LLM).

Vishal Kanvaty, Chief Technology Officer, NPCI said, “As our nation progresses towards digital sustainability, we recognise the significant potential for research in deep technologies such as blockchain and AI to further enhance the payment landscape, and we are grateful to have the bright minds assist us in this ambitious endeavour.”

Prof. Navakanta Bhat, Dean, Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences, IISc, said, “This partnership will not only foster cutting-edge research and the development of models and software prototypes, but also nurture professional development through workshops and training programmes.”

“The joint research envisioned between NPCI researchers and IISc faculty members working on distributed systems, cryptography and machine learning provides a unique opportunity for translational research that can enhance the scalability and effectiveness of the billion-scale platforms managed by NPCI,” said Prof Yogesh Simmhan, Associate Professor at the Department of Computational and Data Sciences, IISc.