Blue Cloud named partner for Bhubaneswar AI centre
Thu, 17th Sep 2026 (Today)
Blue Cloud Softech Solutions has been confirmed as an Industry Partner for the IndiaAI Centre of Excellence planned in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The confirmation follows in-principle approval for the centre from India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Software Technology Parks of India, an agency under the ministry, has asked the company to begin executing a definitive memorandum of understanding. The agreement is expected to set out Blue Cloud's contribution of INR 4 crore, about GBP £360,000, toward development of the centre and define its role in mentoring AI startups.
The proposed facility in Bhubaneswar is being developed under the IndiaAI Mission, the Indian government's national programme for AI infrastructure and innovation. STPI said the Odisha proposal had been recommended by the state government before receiving in-principle backing from the ministry.
The centre is intended to support applied AI projects, startup incubation and skills development across a range of sectors. These include healthcare, governance, disaster management, education and industrial applications, as well as Odisha-linked fields such as oceanography, coastal fisheries, tidal and ocean energy, and women and child development.
STPI has set aside about 10,000 square feet of built-up space and related infrastructure for the centre. The agency has previously developed sector-focused centres of excellence in emerging technologies with state governments and industry partners across India.
Partner role
Blue Cloud said its role in the Bhubaneswar centre would build on products and systems it already operates in several of the project's priority sectors. These include BluHealth, which it describes as a camera-based vitals screening platform for healthcare; Blura SAGA and SOCEYE for public safety and governance; and Access Genie, its AI and 5G digital infrastructure stack.
The company added that startups incubated at the centre would have access to its engineering staff and its network of enterprise and government customers. The aim is to give early-stage companies a route to deployment in India and in Blue Cloud's overseas markets.
The confirmation was addressed to Tejesh Kumar Kodali, Group Chairman, and Vinod Babu Bollikonda, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cloud. It marks a formal step in moving the project from the proposal stage toward an operating partnership between STPI and the company.
Focus sectors
The Bhubaneswar centre stands out for the way it combines national AI policy with local sector priorities. While the IndiaAI Mission is designed to build domestic AI infrastructure and widen the country's innovation base, the Odisha centre is intended to focus on areas tied to the state's geography and public service needs.
That means the centre is expected to work not only on broad government use cases such as healthcare and disaster management, but also on issues linked to the coastline and marine economy. For Odisha, which faces recurring weather-related risks and has a large coastal population, those themes give the project a more specific regional mandate than a general-purpose technology incubator.
For Blue Cloud, the arrangement provides a role within a state-backed AI initiative at a time when Indian technology groups are seeking closer links with public digital programmes. The company's planned financial commitment is modest by the standards of large infrastructure projects, but the partnership places it within a government-supported framework for startup development and sector deployment.
STPI's request to begin work on a definitive agreement suggests the project has moved beyond the exploratory stage, though the memorandum still needs to be signed before the financial and operational terms are formalised. Until then, the confirmation establishes Blue Cloud's status as industry partner and outlines the broad basis on which it is expected to participate.
In a statement, the company described its view of the centre's purpose in the state. "Odisha is exactly the kind of place where applied AI should be built. There are real problems to solve in healthcare, disaster management, coastal fisheries and the ocean economy, and a State Government and STPI that want solutions deployed, not merely researched. Blue Cloud builds sovereign AI platforms for public safety, healthcare and digital infrastructure, and our commitment to this Centre goes well beyond capital. We will bring our platforms, our engineers and our mentorship to every startup that comes through Bhubaneswar, and we are honoured that MeitY, STPI and the Government of Odisha have placed this confidence in us," said Tejesh Kumar Kodali, Group Chairman, Blue Cloud Softech Solutions.
The company also pointed to the next formal step. "The Centre of Excellence is a natural extension of the work Blue Cloud is already doing under the IndiaAI Mission and with governments across India and Africa. We will move quickly to execute the definitive MoU with STPI so that the Centre can begin operations, and we look forward to Bhubaneswar becoming a reference point for how industry, government and startups can build responsible AI together," said Vinod Babu Bollikonda.