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21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

From Concrete to Compute

How SN Subrahmanyan Is Shaping L&T's AI Future For more than eight decades, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been synonymous with India's physical infrastructure, delivering metro systems, airports, power plants and some of the country's most complex engineering projects. Under L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan, however, the company's definition of infrastructure is expanding. Increasingly, it includes artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres and sovereign digital infrastructure the...

From Concrete to Compute

How SN Subrahmanyan Is Shaping L&T's AI Future For more than eight decades, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been synonymous with India's physical infrastructure, delivering metro systems, airports, power plants and some of the country's most complex engineering projects. Under L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan, however, the company's definition of infrastructure is expanding. Increasingly, it includes artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres and sovereign digital infrastructure the building blocks of India's next phase of economic growth. That shift came into sharp focus at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where SN Subrahmanyan joined NVIDIA founder Jensen Huang to unveil a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating AI infrastructure in India. The announcement reflected more than a technology partnership; it signalled L&T's ambition to evolve from a builder of physical assets into an enabler of the country's AI-powered future. An Engineer's Perspective on AI Unlike many business leaders who entered the AI conversation as the technology gained mainstream attention, SN Subrahmanyan approaches it through the lens of an engineer. A civil engineering graduate, he joined L&T in 1984 as a project planning engineer and spent four decades leading some of the company's largest infrastructure businesses across India and the Middle East, including projects such as the Riyadh Metro, Doha Metro and Salalah Airport. After serving as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director from 2017, he became Chairman and Managing Director in 2023. That experience continues to shape his leadership philosophy. Rather than viewing AI as a standalone technology trend, Subrahmanyan sees it as an extension of engineering one that can improve planning, design, execution and operations at scale. During L&T's FY2024 Annual General Meeting, he described generative AI as a "game changer" and outlined how the company was embedding it across the project lifecycle to improve productivity and decision-making. Why L&T Is Investing in AI Infrastructure For L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan, AI is not only about adopting intelligent software; it is about building the infrastructure that makes large-scale AI deployment possible. Through its collaboration with NVIDIA, L&T plans to develop one of India's largest proposed AI infrastructure ecosystems. The first phase includes expanding GPU capacity at its Chennai campus to approximately 30 megawatts while developing a 40-megawatt AI-ready data centre in Mumbai. The infrastructure is intended to support hyperscalers, enterprises, research institutions and government organisations building AI applications across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, energy and the public sector. The initiative aligns with Lakshya 2031, L&T's long-term growth strategy, which identifies digital infrastructure, cloud services and artificial intelligence as key growth engines. Alongside expanding AI-ready data centres, the company has strengthened its technology portfolio through investments such as its strategic stake in E2E Networks while leveraging businesses including LTIMindtree and L&T Technology Services to create an integrated digital ecosystem. As governments worldwide race to build sovereign AI capabilities, companies that control compute infrastructure rather than just software are expected to occupy a strategic position in the AI value chain. L&T's investment signals that India's AI ambitions extend beyond developing models to building the physical and digital infrastructure required to run them at scale. Building India's AI Backbone Subrahmanyan has consistently argued that AI requires more than algorithms it requires infrastructure. As enterprises move from experimentation to production-scale AI, access to secure compute, cloud platforms and data infrastructure is becoming as critical as traditional industrial assets. This philosophy reflects a broader global trend. Countries are increasingly investing in sovereign AI capabilities to reduce dependence on overseas infrastructure and strengthen digital resilience. L&T's strategy positions the company to participate in this transformation by combining its expertise in large-scale infrastructure delivery with emerging AI technologies. For an engineering company known for constructing roads, ports and industrial facilities, building digital infrastructure is a natural evolution rather than a departure from its core strengths. Leadership Beyond Technology Despite leading one of India's most significant AI infrastructure initiatives, SN Subrahmanyan has consistently maintained that technology alone cannot drive transformation. In L&T's FY2025 Annual Report, he emphasised that while AI is accelerating innovation, long-term value will continue to depend on human judgment, responsible deployment and disciplined execution. That balanced perspective reflects the leadership approach that has defined his career. Rather than pursuing technology for its own sake, he has focused on integrating new capabilities into L&T's long-standing engineering excellence and execution discipline. From Concrete to Compute As industries become increasingly digital, infrastructure itself is being redefined. The assets powering future economies will include not only highways, airports and power plants, but also AI factories, cloud platforms, GPU clusters and data centres. Under SN Subrahmanyan's leadership, L&T is positioning itself at the intersection of these two worlds. The company's strategy is not about replacing concrete with compute; it is about recognising that tomorrow's infrastructure will combine both. If that vision succeeds, L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan may be remembered not only for leading one of India's largest engineering companies but also for helping build the digital foundations of the country's AI economy.

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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