On October 10, Ambassador Eric Garcetti and Dr. Seth Center, Acting Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies at the U.S. Department of State, hosted India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh and Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology Abhay Karandikar, along with Principal Science Advisor to the Government of India Ajay Sood and leadership of the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), in New Delhi to celebrate the announcement of 17 winners for joint research, development, and commercialization projects under the USISTEF “Quantum Technologies and AI for Transforming Lives” grant competition.
Eleven AI projects and six quantum projects will receive nearly $120,000 each, totaling more than $2 million in grants for joint research and development. The proposals will leverage AI and quantum technologies to address critical challenges for societal impact, such as AI-assisted early cancer detection and quantum components to enable scalable quantum computers. The event marks progress in joint research and development in quantum technologies and AI under the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
The United States and India also announced more than $1 million in support for a new USISTEF grant for U.S.-India joint research, development, and commercialization in advanced materials and critical minerals. This USISTEF grant program will expand collaboration between U.S. and Indian universities, national laboratories, and private sector researchers.
U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti highlighted the importance of technology cooperation between the two nations noting: “India and the US have a vision of technology that can connect and protect their people and be used as a force for good. The endowment fund is bringing together innovators because, as I often say, the Indian dream is the flip side of the American dream, and vice versa, and we really like each other.”
Dr. Seth Center applauded the AI and quantum awardees, noting that “partnership between the United States and India is key to shaping the future of these and other emerging technologies so we collectively remain at the leading edge of innovation. We must ensure that they are developed and used with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and support sustainable development around the world.”
The USISTEF “Quantum Technologies and AI for Transforming Lives” grant competition complements broader U.S.-India cooperation in AI and quantum under iCET, such as the second meeting of the Quantum Coordination Mechanism in Washington in August, and bilateral research and development cooperation via the U.S. National Science Foundation’s implementation arrangements with India’s Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEiTY). It builds upon longstanding U.S-India science and technology cooperation under USISTEF and IUSSTF, including the IUSSTF U.S.-India AI Initiative and the Joint Center for Secure and Resilient Quantum Optical Networks awarded in 2019. Since 2009, the Department of State- supported USISTEF has funded U.S.-India joint applied research and development projects for social good through technology commercialization.
