KOLKATA, India : iMerit, a leading data labeling solutions company, announced the opening of a new Center of Excellence for AI training data in Hubballi, Karnataka. In partnership with the Deshpande Foundation, a social and economic impact nonprofit organization, iMerit will expand their expert workforce for delivering high–quality training data and solutions for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. iMerit’s deep commitment to developing talent and technical skills within underserved communities brings new economic opportunities to the southwestern region of India.

“We are excited to expand to Hubballi. The skills and expertise of our workforce are in high demand within Fortune 500 companies because of our ability to help them solve complex data challenges in their AI. Hubballi is the perfect city to continue developing our highly-skilled technical talent of the future,” said Radha Ramaswami Basu, iMerit CEO and Founder. “The Deshpande Foundation is an invaluable partner in our mission to create the most talented and skilled workforce for AI in the industry.”

Deshpande Foundation was founded in 2007 to equip rural youth with education ranging from primary school to college degrees, with essential hands-on technical skills currently in demand in the digital economy.

“We are looking at Hubballi beyond the lens of Bengaluru, Karnataka. Hubballi was yearning for high–tech jobs for many years and the launch of iMerit is one of the best opportunities the under-resourced community can get. This partnership of iMerit and Deshpande Foundation is an encouraging initiative that an opportunity in Hubballi itself has been created for the youth of rural and semi-urban areas to work on data content used for applications of artificial intelligence, a demanding domain with worldwide scope,” said Dr. Desh Deshpande, Co-founder, Deshpande Foundation.

“We will extend the best possible support to make iMerit successful in Hubballi. This initiative will encourage more high–tech companies to see Hubballi as their workplace. This partnership will post new challenges and raise the execution excellence on both sides. It is definitely going to set a benchmark in the north-Karnataka region,” added Dr. Desh.

iMerit employs more than 4,000 employees across 10 centers in India, Bhutan and the U.S.