Physical AI set to transform industrial operations: Avathon CEO
Avathon CEO Pervinder Johar says Physical AI will transform manufacturing, logistics, energy and infrastructure by enabling intelligent decision-making in the physical world. He also highlights India’s engineering talent, academia-industry collaboration and Hyderabad’s potential role in the emerging ecosystem.
Hyderabad: Physical AI is emerging as the next frontier of artificial intelligence, with the technology expected to reshape how industries such as manufacturing, logistics, energy and infrastructure make and execute decisions in the physical world, according to Avathon CEO Pervinder Johar.
Johar said Physical AI takes artificial intelligence beyond digital environments, enabling systems to operate in settings involving machines, people, assets and infrastructure.
“Traditional enterprise AI has largely helped us work with information—analysing data, generating insights or automating digital processes. Physical AI takes that intelligence into environments where machines, people, assets and infrastructure are involved,” he said.
Unlike conventional AI systems, Physical AI must account for uncertainty, changing conditions, physical limitations and the consequences of decisions. Such systems need to understand what is happening, reason through those conditions and respond appropriately, he said.
Johar described Physical AI as an inherently interdisciplinary field that brings together AI, computer science, engineering and domain sciences. This makes it particularly relevant to industries where operations are complex and interconnected.
According to him, the next phase of AI will involve a shift from individual areas of automation to intelligence across entire operations. In manufacturing, Physical AI could enable more adaptive production and maintenance, while in logistics it could improve network, resource and route planning. In energy and infrastructure, it could help organisations respond more effectively to changing conditions and manage increasingly complex assets.
“Over time, I expect more decisions to be made with the support of intelligent systems, while people continue to provide oversight and handle the situations that require judgement,” Johar said, adding that the larger opportunity was to make industrial operations more adaptive, efficient and resilient rather than simply more automated.
India’s opportunity
Johar said India has the engineering and technical talent, leading academic institutions, a growing deep-tech ecosystem and a large industrial base required to emerge as a global hub for AI research, engineering and innovation.
However, he said the country needs to build greater depth in research, product development and advanced engineering. This would require sustained investment in specialised talent, computing infrastructure and deep-tech research and development, along with stronger collaboration among industry, academia and startups.
Physical AI, he said, presents a particular opportunity for India because it combines AI and computer science with engineering and domain expertise.
“The ambition should be to move beyond adopting technologies developed elsewhere and build the research, intellectual property and engineering capabilities that allow technologies developed in India to scale globally,” he said.
Industry-academia collaboration
Johar also highlighted the importance of collaboration between industry and academia in bridging the gap between AI research and real-world applications.
While academia can push the boundaries of what is possible, industry understands the practical problems, constraints and requirements involved in deploying technologies, he said. This connection is particularly important in Physical AI because the field requires expertise beyond AI and computer science.
Johar said the collaboration between Avathon and IIT Roorkee could help bring together the institute’s engineering expertise and Avathon’s AI and industrial capabilities.
IIT Roorkee has expertise across disciplines including civil engineering, geophysics, Earth sciences and hydrology, among other engineering fields. Bringing this domain knowledge together with AI and industrial expertise could help address problems that are both scientifically significant and relevant to industry, he said.
The Physical AI Lab can also provide students and researchers with exposure to the development and deployment of these technologies. Research, fellowships, internships and industry projects could give them an opportunity to work on real-world problems beyond the classroom.
Johar said the objective was to establish a two-way connection in which industry helps shape relevant research, while academic research helps industry address challenges that may not have obvious solutions today.
Hyderabad’s role
Johar said Hyderabad, with its combination of technology talent, engineering expertise, research institutions and a growing industrial base, has a natural role in India’s emerging Physical AI ecosystem.
The city already has significant capabilities in AI, software, aerospace and engineering, he said, adding that there was an opportunity to bring these strengths closer to industries operating physical assets and infrastructure.
Telangana could further contribute by encouraging industry-academia collaboration, supporting deep-tech research and creating opportunities to test emerging technologies in real operating environments.
Johar, however, said India’s Physical AI ecosystem was unlikely to be concentrated in a single city, with different regions expected to contribute strengths in research, engineering, manufacturing, software and industrial expertise.
“Hyderabad can be an important part of that broader network, particularly because of its combination of technology and engineering capabilities,” he said.
