Chandigarh University Hosts India’s First AI Fest 2026, Launches CU AI Mission to Position AI as India’s Next Trillion-Dollar Growth Engine for Viksit Bharat
Marking a historic step in positioning Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a driving force for innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive national development, Chandigarh University organized India’s first ‘AI Fest - 2026’ to empower young innovators, strengthen the AI start-up ecosystem and transform bold and scalable ideas into technology-driven solutions to realize the vision of Viksit Bharat.
The mega initiative brought together global entrepreneurs, policymakers, AI leaders, corporates, academia, researchers, startups, and student innovators in a powerful convergence of technology, talent, and transformative ideas.
The grand inauguration of AI Fest 2026 was held in the esteemed presence of Ankur Warikoo Founder of WebVeda, IndiaGeniusChallenge and Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson UpGrad and education-tech pioneer along with Member of Parliament and Chancellor of Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu and eminent global AI leaders and industry experts.
Aligned with the India AI Mission, Chandigarh University became the first university in the country to launch the CU AI Mission to democratize AI knowledge by training 1.5 lakh youth, transforming India’s demographic dividend into a globally competitive AI-first workforce equipped to lead and innovate across both academic and digital-first professional ecosystems.
Chandigarh University also launched the Bose-Einstein Quantum Centre of Excellence with QpiAI, QKrishi and CSIR-National Physical Laboratory under the National Quantum Mission to drive quantum research, training and startup incubation. With this, Chandigarh University has become first private university in India to set-up Quantum Center of Excellence, which will serve as National Quantum Cryogenic Testing Facility, for leadership in education, research and entrepreneurship.