---
title: "About Our Non-Profit AI Think Tank — Bengal AI Collective"
description: "Bengal AI Collective is a non-profit, non-partisan AI think tank in Kolkata. Read our story, vision, mission, values and roadmap for AI in West Bengal."
url: https://bengalaicollective.org/about
---

*About Bengal AI Collective*

# A non-profit AI think tank, built in Kolkata for all of West Bengal.

Bengal AI Collective is an independent, non-partisan AI think tank, set up as a non-profit NGO. It is being built by and for CIOs, CTOs, founders, senior professionals and academics, in Bengal and wherever Bengalis work in AI around the world, to research, debate and advise on how West Bengal should use AI.

*Our story*

## Bengal has a long record in the mathematics AI relies on. It should help decide how AI is used.

In 1931, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis founded the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata. The Mahalanobis distance, named after him, is still used in machine learning today. Bengalis now lead AI teams across India and the world, yet little of that expertise is focused on Bengal itself. We started Bengal AI Collective to bring it home.

### Our vision

-   A West Bengal that leads in the age of AI, with businesses, institutions and people ready to benefit from it fairly and safely.

### Our mission

-   To bring tech leaders, companies, startups and academics together to produce independent research, hold candid conversations and give practical advice on AI in West Bengal.

### Our motto

-   Connect · Collaborate · Transform
-   One collective. Limitless possibilities.

*Our values*

## Six commitments behind our work.

A think tank is only useful if people can trust it. These six values are how we intend to earn that trust.

- **Independent** — No company, university or party owns us. Our conclusions follow the evidence, not the interests of whoever funds or hosts us.
- **Evidence first** — Data and peer review come before opinion. When we don't know something, we say so.
- **Rooted in Bengal** — We draw on experts from across India and the world. Every question still comes back to what it means for West Bengal.
- **Inclusive** — We test every recommendation for who gains, who is left out and who carries the risk.
- **Candid** — Our roundtables run under the Chatham House Rule, so people can say what they actually think.
- **Open** — We publish our research free of charge and name our funders and partners.

*Who we bring together*

## The buyers, the builders and the researchers of AI.

Each group sees AI from a different angle, and the best answers come from combining all three. We would also like to work with the Government of West Bengal as a partner in the public interest.

### Tech leaders

-   CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and heads of IT
-   Heads of data, AI and digital
-   From Kolkata's corporates and public-sector companies

### Companies & startups

-   AI companies, OEMs and cloud providers
-   Founders and product leaders
-   Investors and industry bodies

### Academia

-   Professors and researchers
-   Leaders of universities and institutes
-   Doctoral scholars and young researchers

*Our roadmap*

## What we plan to do, and when.

These are goals, not achievements. We will report our progress against each one in public.

*2026 · Found*

### Set up the think tank

Register the NGO, appoint the governing board and advisory council, and invite the first members of the Tech Leaders Council.

*2027 · Convene*

### Start the conversation

Hold the first Bengal AI Dialogue in April, around Poila Boishakh, followed by the first roundtables and masterclasses in Kolkata. Set up task forces in all six research areas and publish the first policy briefs.

*2028 · Advise*

### Publish a roadmap

Publish a long-range AI roadmap for West Bengal and our first annual report, and hold the second Bengal AI Dialogue in April.

*Beyond*

### Earn the trust

Become the first place government, industry and universities turn to for independent advice on AI in Bengal.

*Next*

## Why AI matters for West Bengal, in plain words.

What AI can do for the state, what could go wrong, and why the next few years matter most.

[Why AI, why now](https://bengalaicollective.org/mission)

[How we are governed](https://bengalaicollective.org/people)