How the Indo-Russian lunar mission will boost the AI industry in both countries

An Indo-Russian joint lunar mission, signed in October 2018, can stimulate growth for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry in both countries, various media publications quoted Finnish-Russian digital solutions company Zyfra as stating.

According to the media reports, Zyfra, which joined hands with Indian companies to provide Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-based solutions for the industrial sector, said that collaboration in the space sector can double the share of AI and IoT to the gross domestic product of both nations.

The company signed $3 million in contracts with its Indian counterparts in 2018, including Spudweb, Abcon Group, Parivartan Automation, Agaram Infotech, Wimerasys, Nortech Trinity and Mascot Tools. It is also implementing seven pilot projects in partnership with these counterparts and plans to launch five more joint projects, including manufacturing farm machinery and developing components for the aerospace divisions of Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

Zyfra plans to reach $50 million in India-related deals by 2021.

Email queries sent to Zyfra from TechCircle did not elicit a response at the time of publishing this report.

India and Russia had signed an agreement to conduct joint space-related activities when President Vladimir Putin visit the country last year in October. Under this agreement, the countries will develop a number of projects such as engines, orbital station construction and a moon base.

“Building and maintenance of highly autonomous stations both in space and on the moon surface will need advanced AI solutions. We believe that not later than 2030, we'll get these solutions operational,” said Sergey Sviridov, Zyfra’s research and development head, as quoted by the media publications.

According to Sviridov, modifying AI solutions for commercial use will make high-tech industries in India and Russia more competitive in the long-term and could lead to significant economic and technological growth.