PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Mitesh Khapra

Also known as Mitesh M. Khapra

As of October 2026, Mitesh Khapra heads the AI4Bharat Research Lab at IIT Madras, which builds datasets, tools, models and applications for Indian languages. He completed a Master of Technology at IIT Bombay in July 2008 and a PhD there in January 2012. A Google Faculty Research Award came in 2018, and he helped found AI4Bharat in 2019. TIME named him to its 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in AI, in the Innovators group. The Nasscom AI Game Changer Award followed in 2021, and the Srimathi Marti Annapurna Gurunath Award for Excellence in Teaching came in 2022.

Works
184
Citations
4,859
h-index
34

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2008–2012

    Degrees from IIT Bombay

    He completes a Master of Technology at IIT Bombay in July 2008 and a PhD there in January 2012.

  2. 2018

    Google Faculty Research Award

    He wins a Google Faculty Research Award in 2018.

  3. 2019

    Co-founding AI4Bharat

    He helps found AI4Bharat in 2019, a research initiative at IIT Madras that builds publicly available datasets and models.

  4. 2021

    Nasscom AI Game Changer Award

    He receives the Nasscom AI Game Changer Award in 2021.

  5. 2022

    The Marti teaching award

    The Srimathi Marti Annapurna Gurunath Award for Excellence in Teaching goes to him in 2022.

  6. 2025

    Named to TIME's AI list

    TIME names him to its 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in AI, in the Innovators group.

  7. As of October 2026

    Faculty at the Wadhwani School

    He is on the faculty of the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, a school founded in 2024. He heads the AI4Bharat Research Lab, which builds datasets, tools, models and applications for Indian languages.

Sources and credits

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  1. Mitesh M. Khapra | Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence wsai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Why IIT's Mitesh Khapra stands with Musk and Altman on TIME's AI 100 peoplematters.in. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Five Things to Know About Mitesh Khapra's Work india.entrepreneur.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. IIT Madras professor Mitesh Khapra joins Elon Musk, Sam Altman on TIME's 100 most influential in AI businesstoday.in. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Mitesh M. Khapra, DSAI, IITM cse.iitm.ac.in. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025 time.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Mitesh Khapra Of IIT Madras Honoured In TIME 100 For AI4Bharat Datasets opensourceforu.com. Checked 15 October 2026.