Avathon, IIT Roorkee plan Physical AI lab to advance industrial autonomy. Discover more Civil Engineering Housing & Development Urban & Regional Planning Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Avathon and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee on Tuesday announced plans to establish a research laboratory focused on advancing Physical AI for the industrial economy. The proposed Avathon Physical AI Lab (Avathon PAL) will be housed in IIT Roorkee's Department of Computer Science and Engineering and is intended to serve as a centre for collaborative research in Physical AI, the institutions said in a joint announcement. The initiative will bring together Avathon's experience in applying AI and autonomy to industrial operations with IIT Roorkee's research capabilities in areas including optimisation, machine learning, knowledge representation and multi-agent systems. The research will focus on complex challenges facing the industrial economy, including large-scale supply planning and logistics and the development of knowledge-driven, continuously learning autonomous systems. "Physical AI is how we bring autonomy to the industrial economy, and there is no better place to advance that science than where my own journey began," said Pervinder Johar, CEO of Avathon and an IIT Roorkee alumnus. Discover more Dictionaries & Encyclopedias Traffic & Route Planners Johar said the partnership was "deeply personal" and highlighted the research talent and capabilities at the institute. IIT Roorkee Director Prof K K Pant said the proposed lab would strengthen the connection between advanced research and real-world industrial challenges. "Physical AI is emerging as a transformative frontier, bringing together artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and physical operations," Pant said. The collaboration would provide researchers and students opportunities to work on complex industrial problems and help translate research into applications, while contributing to India's technological self-reliance and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, he added. Discover more Government Agencies Language Resources The Avathon PAL will work closely with Avathon's recently established AI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. The two centres are envisaged as a link between academic research and industrial deployment. Research emerging from IIT Roorkee is expected to feed into solutions for industrial sectors such as mining, energy, manufacturing, logistics and aerospace. The Bengaluru centre will serve as Avathon's principal industrial counterpart to the academic lab and support the company's research and engineering activities in India. Prof Sugata Gangopadhyay of IIT Roorkee's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who will be the principal investigator of the proposed lab, said the partnership would combine academic research with real-world industrial relevance. The lab is expected to support sponsored doctoral fellowships, collaborative research projects, student internships and industry exposure at Avathon, besides workshops and technical events involving the wider research community.

Avathon and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee have announced plans to establish the Avathon Physical AI Lab, a research initiative focused on advancing Physical AI for industrial applications. The laboratory will be housed in IIT Roorkee's Department of Computer Science & Engineering. The partnership combines Avathon's expertise in industrial autonomy with IIT Roorkee's research capabilities in optimisation, machine learning, and multi-agent systems. The lab will work alongside Avathon's AI Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, creating a bridge between academic research and real-world deployment across sectors including mining, energy, manufacturing, and logistics. The initiative will support doctoral fellowships, collaborative research projects, student internships, and technical workshops. Pervinder Johar, Avathon's chief executive officer and an IIT Roorkee alumnus, described the partnership as addressing critical challenges facing the industrial world through Physical AI.

Aramco Digital and Avathon announce strategic partnership to accelerate Industrial AI across Saudi Arabia and the world. Sep 01, 2026, 15:33 ET Partnership combines Aramco Digital's industrial scale and expertise with Avathon's Physical AI and Autonomy Platform to build sovereign Industrial AI capabilities and bring advanced industrial intelligence to customers globally DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia and PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Aramco Digital, a Saudi Industrial AI company, and Avathon, the leader in Autonomy for Operations, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate Industrial AI across Aramco, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and global industrial markets. The partnership combines Aramco Digital's deep industrial expertise, operational scale and technology capabilities with Avathon's proven Physical AI and Autonomy Platform to transform how complex industrial operations are understood, optimized and executed. By bringing together decades of Aramco operating knowledge with Avathon's experience applying AI in complex industrial environments, the companies will help organizations move beyond fragmented data and manual decision-making toward increasingly intelligent and autonomous operations. Unlocking Industrial Value at Scale For Aramco, the partnership brings Industrial AI to the most complex challenges across its operations. AI can help improve the reliability and performance of critical assets, support autonomous inspection and operations, enable engineers and operators to access and scale institutional knowledge, and simulate and optimize complex industrial systems before changes are made in the physical world. The companies will also apply AI to areas such as advanced materials and energy transition and increasingly complex planning, logistics and supply chain operations, helping organizations make better decisions across interconnected industrial systems rather than optimizing individual processes in isolation. "Aramco Digital is uniquely positioned to translate Aramco's industrial scale and expertise into technology that can transform industry globally," said Dr. Ashraf AlTahini, CEO of Aramco Digital. "Our partnership with Avathon combines that foundation with proven Industrial AI capabilities to address some of the most important challenges facing industrial organizations. Together, we can create significant value for Aramco while bringing Saudi industrial innovation and expertise to customers around the world." Bringing Industrial AI to the Global Market Aramco Digital and Avathon will bring these capabilities to customers and partners across energy, aerospace and defense, mining, manufacturing, maritime, logistics and other critical industries in Saudi Arabia and international markets. The partnership will also connect an ecosystem of OEMs, hyperscalers and technology partners, enabling equipment manufacturers to bring digital twins, asset intelligence and specialized models to their customers and allowing technology partners to contribute capabilities and infrastructure to Industrial AI deployments. This combination of industrial expertise, sovereign AI capabilities, technology and ecosystem reach enables organizations to apply intelligence across their operations - from physical assets and engineering to workforce knowledge and global supply chains - and increasingly turn those insights into action. "Industrial AI is moving beyond systems that simply analyze what happened or recommend what to do next. The opportunity is to create systems that understand complex operations and increasingly act on their own," said Pervinder Johar, CEO of Avathon. "Aramco Digital brings an extraordinary combination of industrial expertise and scale, while Avathon brings a proven platform for turning industrial data and knowledge into autonomous action. Together, we can help organizations unlock a new level of operational performance." Avathon's Autonomy Platform is deployed across a range of capital-intensive commercial and government industries, such as defense, mining, energy, aerospace and logistics. Through the partnership, Avathon and Aramco Digital will bring this experience together with Aramco Digital's industrial ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of Industrial AI across Saudi Arabia and global markets. About Aramco Digital Aramco Digital is a Saudi-based Industrial AI company focused on accelerating industrial digital transformation through advanced connectivity, digital platforms, cybersecurity, and AI-powered solutions. The company provides critical industries with secure, reliable, and scalable digital capabilities that enhance operational efficiency, resilience, and long-term value creation. Through its integrated portfolio spanning Digital Connectivity, Digital Industrial Solutions, Digital Platforms, and Digital Business Services, Aramco Digital enables organizations to accelerate their transformation journeys and unlock the full potential of Industrial AI. Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, Aramco Digital supports the Kingdom's digital economy ambitions and contributes to Saudi Vision 2030 by developing future-ready digital ecosystems, building national capabilities, and advancing the adoption of transformative technologies across industries. About Avathon Avathon is the leader in Autonomy for Operations. The Avathon Autonomy Platform powers a workforce of autonomous agents, transforming how businesses plan, orchestrate and manage operations across aerospace, defense, manufacturing, energy, mining, supply chain and asset management. For more information, visit www.avathon.com. SOURCE Avathon