Amazon's AWS ties up with ISRO to advance its AI capabilities with cloud technologies

Cloud behemoth Amazon Web Services (AWS) has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing, the company announced on Wednesday.

Shalini Kapoor, Director and Chief Technologist, Public Sector, AWS India and South Asia, said, “Cloud computing-led innovations enable the space industry to make better decisions, faster – pushing the boundaries of possibilities, and AWS is committed to help startups identify use cases and accelerate solution development, and build a strong talent pool in India with expertise in cloud and space. We look forward to helping customers in India build space-tech solutions to make life on Earth better.”

As per the company, this collaboration will give space start-ups, research institutes and students access to cutting edge cloud technologies that accelerate the development of new solutions in the space sector.

“We are at a pivotal time in India’s space journey as the Indian government focuses on broadening and strengthening the country’s capabilities in the aerospace and satellite industry,” Kapoor from AWS added.

Sudheer Kumar N, Director of Capacity Building and Public Outreach at ISRO added to this and said, “Advancing innovation in the space sector is a top priority for our nation as geospatial solutions have the power to deliver high quality services for the good governance for citizens and add value to the stakeholders.”

AWS noted in its release that cloud computing would enable the speedy management of large volumes of raw space data, besides running AI, ML and analytics workloads to achieve meaningful outcomes in a highly cost-effective manner.

Furthermore, ISRO, IN-SPACe and AWS will work collaboratively to nurture and grow the startup community in the space-tech sector, they noted in their join statement. AWS will provide eligible space startups tools, resources, and expert technical support at no cost through the AWS Activate program to build innovative solutions and commercialise them faster. Startups will also benefit from access to AWS and its global experience of building aerospace and satellite solutions through the AWS Space Accelerator program.

Vinod Kumar, Director, Promotion Directorate, IN-SPACe, highlighted this and said, “After the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing and Aditya L-1 mission, it is time we leverage the limitless potential of space technology and cloud computing to propel India's space sector to new heights. IN-SPACe has continuously been striving to empower and facilitate the private space sector.”