IoT, AI convergence to drive Vizag’s tech growth
With the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing converging at a rapid pace, experts on Thursday called for Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh to emerge as hubs for these emerging technologies.
The occasion was the Cognetix IoT Summit 2026, organised by the APDTI Network in the city, which brought together industry leaders, startups, academics and policymakers to deliberate on the expanding role of intelligent and autonomous systems.
Inaugurating the summit, APDTI Network chairman Sreedhar Kosaraju said machines were no longer confined to collecting data but were increasingly capable of interpreting information and making decisions on their own. This convergence of IoT, edge computing and AI, he said, would be central to India’s next phase of technological growth.
Chief guest Vijay Kumar Sahu, regional head of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), spoke on the need to convert technological knowledge into wealth creation. He called for stronger intellectual property protection and greater institutional support for indigenous innovation.
RTIH CEO Ravi Eswarappu said the region was building advanced incubation infrastructure, including GPU and prototyping labs, to help startups and student innovators take their ideas from the laboratory to the market at a faster pace.
Talent AP president Suresh Narra spoke about hackathons and the Professor of Practice programme, describing them as key steps towards building a workforce equipped for emerging technology sectors.
Technical sessions throughout the day dwelt on the practical applications of Edge AI, TinyML and Agentic AI in manufacturing, port logistics, aquaculture, energy and heavy industries. Representatives from Infosys, Bosch, Dharanova, NSTL, HPCL and RINL spoke on predictive operations and intelligent industrial systems.
The summit concluded with the presentation of the IoT Awards. AVN Agrobharat (MilkPro) was named IoT Innovation of the Year, PRAGYA (MBEI) won the Best Industrial IoT Deployment award, and NcCode Vend Systems was declared Best IoT Startup in Vizag/AP.