Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services R Kumar, along with IT Secretary Pradeep Yadav, IAS, on Monday visited the IIT Madras Research Park.The CEO of IIT Madras Research Park and IIT Madras Incubation Cell, Natarajan Malupillai, received the delegation. The visit began with an interaction on IITMRP’s role in enabling industry-academia-startup collaboration and accelerating innovation-led growth.The facility tour included the minister’s visit to the Lab-Grown Diamond Centre, Ilektron — an organisation involved in AI-powered industrial intelligence solutions for smart manufacturing — the IITM Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) and the space tech start-up Agnikul Cosmos. He also interacted with IITMRP and the Incubation Cell’s startups, including Solinas Integrity, NeoMotion, XYMA Analytics, ISMO Bio-Photonics and Plenome Technologies.The visit presented the diverse innovations emerging from IITMRP, spanning deep-tech sectors such as advanced materials, artificial intelligence, healthcare, space technology, robotics and industrial digitalisation, emphasising the role of collaboration in strengthening Tamil Nadu’s innovation ecosystem.In a social media post on X, the minister said that he personally visited and inspected the IIT Madras Research Park. “Together with the senior officials there, we held detailed consultations regarding ways to enhance collaboration between vocational education and start-up companies, as well as how to accelerate innovation-driven growth,” he said.Published on June 2, 2026