The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) inaugurated the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence on its campus today. The inauguration was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Ms. Chandrika Tandon, Business Leader, Humanitarian, Grammy-Award Winning Musician, and alumna of IIMA’s PGP Class of 1975; along with Mr. Pankaj Patel, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIMA; Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA; and Mr. Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Founding Member, IIMA Endowment Fund; in the presence of faculty members and industry practitioners. 

The Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence is being established through a generous endowment of ₹100 crores by Ms. Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon and her husband, Mr. Ranjan Tandon. It aims to translate advances in artificial intelligence (AI) into practical tools and solutions that support better decision-making, improve productivity, and address complex challenges across industry, government, and society. 

The School is envisioned as a world-class platform deploying the growing power of artificial intelligence in conjunction with IIMA’s management expertise to benefit business and society. By bridging frontier AI research with managerial, institutional, and societal challenges, it seeks to generate knowledge that is globally relevant and grounded in Indian contexts and institutions. The translational research, education, and engagement undertaken by the School will also prepare leaders who combine technical understanding with managerial judgement and societal responsibility to navigate the complexity of the dynamic business landscape.

Sharing the vision behind establishing the School at IIMA, Ms. Chandrika Tandon said, “It is an honour to be engaged with my beloved alma mater, IIMA, to set up the new AI school. As we all know, the changes about to be unleashed by the power of algorithms and machines are cataclysmic yet exciting. The focus on applied research in vertical industry sectors and functions, identifying tangible challenges that can be transformed by AI, will allow IIMA to educate better future leaders and serve society with groundbreaking insights in partnership with industry.  It is a very exciting development - indeed an imperative for today. Congratulations to the farsightedness of all involved - the leadership at the institution and government.” 

Addressing the attendees, Pankaj Patel, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIMA, said, “Artificial Intelligence is redefining the future of organisations, economies, and communities worldwide. At this defining moment, it is our responsibility to channel its power with purpose and vision to create lasting value for business and society. The Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence marks a bold new chapter for IIMA and industry-academia collaboration in the AI sphere. It will usher in a new era that will build the next generation of thinkers, learners, industry professionals, and research scholars who will operate at the intersection of technology, management, and societal impact.”

Describing the inauguration as a milestone for IIMA, Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA, said, “The establishment of the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence at IIMA is a timely and forward-looking initiative that will bridge the gap between rapidly advancing AI technology and its effective integration into organisations to enhance leadership, decision-making, and productivity through education, innovation, research, and industry partnerships. We thank Ms. Chandrika Tandon for adding scale and support to our vision in this direction to find solutions to complex challenges across industry, government, and society in India.”

The School will operate at the intersection of technology, management, and public impact, with a focus on how AI is understood, adopted, governed, and embedded within organisations and public systems.

Mr. Deep Kalra, Chairperson, IIMA Endowment Fund Board, said, “The School represents an important step in applying artificial intelligence to address real challenges in business and society. By combining technology with management insight and institutional leadership, it will help empower decision-makers to apply AI thoughtfully in real organisational contexts. Such initiatives strengthen India’s ability to use AI to drive long-term economic and societal progress.”

Prof. Ankur Sinha, faculty member in the Operations & Decision Sciences Area at IIMA, said, “In the AI-driven world the most complex challenges are not going to be purely computational. The problems will be institutional, ethical, and organisational in nature. Addressing these challenges requires judgment, leadership, and responsible governance—areas where the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of AI has a unique and enduring role to play.” 

Alongside the inauguration, the School also released its first research report titled “Navigating the Future Trap with AI Value Compass” in collaboration with Persistent Systems. The report is based on an analysis of approximately 100 enterprises and reveals that despite rising investments in Artificial Intelligence, most businesses remain focused on local efficiency gains rather than strategic transformation. 

The study identifies critical gaps, including the absence of clear AI leadership, lack of strategic vision, poorly defined success metrics, and weak ownership and governance, all of which limit long-term value creation using AI. To address this, the report introduces the AI Value Compass, a structured decision-making framework that helps leaders evaluate AI initiatives beyond technical feasibility and short-term returns. By incorporating dimensions such as risk and governance, data readiness, operating model alignment, and people preparedness, the framework enables more holistic and scalable AI adoption. These findings of the report strongly align with the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of AI’s core mission to create impact by advancing responsible, strategic, and value-driven AI adoption in organizations in India through training and translational research.