AI disruption in Bengaluru halts a long-pending IT project as falling demand and automation impact jobs. The 9-acre KIADB land will now host a ₹410 crore medical college and research centre instead.
Bengaluru: In a clear sign of how much Artificial Intelligence is changing the game, a software project planned over a decade ago in Bengaluru has been scrapped. The Karnataka government has now allowed the nine-acre plot, once meant for an IT company in East Bengaluru, to be used for building a medical college.
The company, ‘Mysore IT Solutions Private Limited’, belongs to G. Dayanand, an entrepreneur from the Sapthagiri group of educational institutions. Back in 2006, his company got the government’s nod to set up a software development and BPO centre. For this project, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) acquired a total of 9.9 acres in Kadubeesanahalli, Varthur hobli. The land was acquired in two parts: 3.5 acres in 2007 and another 6.4 acres in 2014.
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So, what went wrong?
Farmers who owned the land took the matter to the High Court and even the Supreme Court. These legal battles dragged on until just last year, when the Supreme Court finally settled all the cases. But by then, the entire IT world had changed.
In a report to the government, the company explained the situation. “The IT sector is slowing down because of huge market shifts. Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are gobbling up traditional IT and BPO jobs,” the company stated. It also pointed out that IT hiring has fallen by around 7%, and major IT firms have been announcing massive layoffs. The company concluded that building more IT infrastructure right now just doesn’t make sense.
A New Plan: Medical College
Realising the software business was no longer a sure bet, Dayanand proposed a new idea to the government. He wanted to build a “state-of-the-art medical science and research centre and a multidisciplinary technology institute” on the very same plot. The government recently gave this new plan the green signal.
With the project’s purpose changing, the investment has also shot up. The original software project was planned with a ₹44.97 crore investment. Now, the government has approved a massive ₹410 crore investment for the new medical college and research centre.
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