The Indian AI Research Organisation (IAIRO), a fast‑rising institution at the centre of India’s sovereign artificial intelligence ambitions, has appointed veteran technologist Vishal Mehta, CMD AvenuesAI Limited, as Technical Advisor, a move seen as a significant acceleration of the country’s bid to build independent, world‑class AI capability.
Mehta’s appointment announced on IAIRO’s LinkedIn says “Shri Vishal Mehta brings decades of experience in building and scaling technology and digital infrastructure businesses in India. His perspectives across entrepreneurship, technology platforms, and AI-led innovation are expected to contribute meaningfully to IAIRO’s evolving research and ecosystem initiatives.”
As the architect behind platforms such as CCAvenue, Rediff and Phronetic.AI, Mehta has spent decades building high‑scale digital infrastructure in India. Under his leadership, AvenuesAI Limited has grown into one of the country’s largest fintech and software ecosystems, processing billions of transactions annually across millions of merchants.
IAIRO’s founding ecosystem includes globally recognised AI researchers, technologists returning from top US universities, and veterans of Apple, Google and IBM. Its mandate spans frontier research, talent development, enterprise AI systems, embodied intelligence and national‑scale deployment across sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, education, sustainability and urban systems.
Confirming the development, Vishal Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, AvenuesAI Limited and Rediff.com, said “What excites me about IAIRO is that it is not merely creating AI products — it is building an institution for India’s future.” For Mehta, the appeal lies in institution‑building rather than product development.
He further urged that the next era of AI leadership will belong to those who build ecosystems around models — spanning talent, infrastructure, research, deployment and trust — and suggested IAIRO could become one of India’s most consequential technology institutions of the century.
Mehta joins an advisory group that already includes industry prominent figures such as Ajai Chowdhry (Padma Bhushan awardee and co-founder of HCL) and Sharad Sharma (iSPIRT Foundation/Product Nation, National Startup Advisory Council), reinforcing IAIRO’s growing stature. As global competition for AI leadership intensifies, the organisation aims to position India not just as a participant but as a creator of foundational systems, standards and innovation frameworks for the world.
Positioned by industry leaders as the “ISRO of AI”, IAIRO is attempting to do for artificial intelligence what India’s space agency achieved for orbital science: build a globally competitive institution rooted in frugal innovation, deep research, and national purpose.
The organisation, headquartered in GIFT City, Gujarat, is structured as an autonomous Section 8 entity aligned with India’s national AI mission. IAIRO’s PPP model is sponsored by IndiaAI Mission/MeitY, Gujarat DST, and the Indian Pharma Association.
EOM
This Press Release has not been vetted by The Eastern Herald and is sourced by VMPL
