As India’s first dedicated engineering curriculum designed around the technology, the program is supported by leading global AI researchers and top India-based edupreneurs, such as KR Mangalam University’s Rohit Gupta Gurugram (Haryana) [India], January 30: In a development that heralds a significant shift in tech education in the country, Zenith School of AI (zenithschool.ai), India’s first truly AI-native undergraduate school, has announced the launch of its B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence program. Designed for the new-age economy, the program aims to fundamentally reset how AI talent is built in the country with a simple but powerful premise: AI professionals cannot be trained through legacy engineering frameworks but must be shaped via continuous building, deployment, and decision-making in real-world situations.

Coming at a time when artificial intelligence is already moving from being an experimental technology to the economic backbone of developed markets such as the US, Zenith's program integrates a B.Tech in AI with an embedded mini-MBA. The four-year undergraduate combines deep technical capability with product thinking, business acumen, and leadership skills. The degree is awarded by KR Mangalam University, a UGC-recognised and NAAC A-Grade accredited institution.

Underpinning the launch is a ₹100 crore commitment from Rohit Gupta, Promoter of KR Mangalam University, directed towards advanced academic infrastructure, global academic partnerships, and deep industry integration. The investment reflects a long-term ambition to build a globally competitive AI talent pipeline from India.

Speaking on the launch, Avinash Pandit, Co-founder – Zenith School of AI, said, “Artificial intelligence is no longer a specialization, it is becoming core infrastructure for every industry. With Zenith School of AI, we are making a long-term ₹100 crore commitment to reimagine how AI talent is built in India, starting at the undergraduate level. This program is designed to move beyond conventional engineering education and create professionals who can build, deploy, and scale AI systems in the real world.” Along with Rohit Gupta, the leadership team at Zenith comprises Avinash Pandit (former IIM-C alumnus who has scaled businesses at BCG, OYO, and Hero Motocorp across 37 countries), Vivekanand Vivek (IIT-BHU alumnus, former Amazon engineer, and Co-founder – Programming Pathshala), and Anoop Garg (IIT-BHU alumnus, widely-followed online educator, and Co-founder – Programming Pathshala). Their prior work has trained 20,000+ students, delivered an average placement of ₹16 LPA, with a highest package of ₹2.7 crore, and placed over 1000 learners at MAANG and unicorn companies, lending strong credibility to Zenith’s outcome-led promise.

Based out of a 28-acre new-gen campus in Gurugram, one of India’s most prominent start-up hubs, Zenith’s ecosystem is supported by industry mentors from leading organizations such as Snapchat, Roku, Booking.com, Walmart, Flipkart, JP Morgan, PhonePe, Samsung, Cars24, Paytm, and several high-growth tech companies. Students work directly with these mentors on live AI problems using real-world data. Global immersion programs in Dubai, Singapore, and Shenzhen, along with participation in international open-source and research initiatives, further prepare students for global AI careers.

From the first year itself, students work on hands-on AI development, live industry externships, and paid domestic and international internships, graduating with portfolios of production-ready AI systems, not just academic credentials. The program’s embedded mini-MBA – delivered by CXOs, founders, and faculty from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIT Mumbai, XLRI, and ISB – is also designed to prepare students for product, growth, and leadership roles, or for building their own ventures as AI-native founders. All of this combines to ensure that learning mirrors how AI teams operate in real organizations: shipping models, working with real data, and solving real business problems.

Avinash Pandit added, “Across industries, we see a clear gap between what traditional engineering graduates know and what AI roles actually demand. Zenith’s AI-native approach is built to close that gap. By combining deep technical training with an integrated Mini-MBA, we are preparing students to go beyond coding models and understand products, users, and business outcomes from day one.” Guiding the curriculum is an international Board of Academics comprising global AI researchers and practitioners from Cohere, Meta FAIR, Google DeepMind, Naver Labs, and leading European universities. Their role is to ensure Zenith’s curriculum evolves in step with global AI research and industry standards, not static syllabi. Armed with this AI-native curriculum, along with early industry access, global academic leadership, and a ₹100 crore long-term commitment, Zenith aims to set a new benchmark for how AI professionals are trained in India.

About Zenith School of AI Zenith School of AI is a next-generation undergraduate institution focused exclusively on artificial intelligence education. Built on a foundation of global academic expertise and deep industry integration, Zenith aims to produce AI professionals who can design, build, and deploy intelligent systems at scale.

The B.Tech degree is awarded by KR Mangalam University, Gurugram.

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