BITS Pilani to set up AI+ campus in Amaravati

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani has announced the launch of a new AI+ Campus in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, along with an investment Rs1,219 crore to expand and modernize its infrastructure and educational initiatives.

BITS Pilani chancellor and Birla Group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla announced the plan at the 2025 convocation, outlining the institution’s Project Vistaar’s roadmap to build a future-focused higher education model.

“BITS Pilani is ready to set up a one-of-a-kind AI+ Campus at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of Rs1,000 crore. 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.

Spread over 35 acres, the next-generation hub will offer undergraduate twinning programs, cotutelle doctoral degrees with global institutions, and master’s degrees in AI, machine learning, and innovation strategy. It will adopt an entrepreneurship-first approach with IoT systems, AI-enabled services, immersive learning tools, and hybrid delivery models.

Phase 1 will house 3,000 students and focus on academics and student life; Phase 2 will expand capacity to over 7,000 with research centers, global collaboration spaces, and modular entrepreneurship hubs.

“These bold steps aim not just at expansion but at building a transformative learning ecosystem that nurtures innovation and powers India’s knowledge economy,” Birla said.

Project Vistaar will also upgrade facilities at the Pilani, Goa, and Hyderabad campuses, investing ₹60 crore in labs, boosting research capacity, and raising student intake from 18,700 to 26,000 by 2030–31, alongside new interdisciplinary programs.

BITS Pilani also launched BITS Pilani Digital, an EdTech platform targeting over 100,000 learners in five years through 32 programs—including 11 degrees and 21 certificates—supported by projects, industry mentorship, and optional campus immersion.

“These initiatives reaffirm our commitment to excellence and set new benchmarks for how higher education serves society,” vice-chancellor V Ramgopal Rao said.