Meet the AMD AI Engage 2026 Winners

The AMD AI Engage program launched in early 2026 to grow and empower a cadre of AI practitioners, spanning developers, data scientists, and researchers, be they students or mid-career, through training, exposure to cutting-edge technologies, access to AMD compute resources, and skills-building challenges. 

The program witnessed remarkable participation from learners, developers, and early-career professionals across the country. Over the course of the journey, participants demonstrated their ability to learn, adapt, innovate, consistently engage, and spread their knowledge, reflecting the growing strength of India's AI ecosystem.

Here we share the winners and their accomplishments on the culmination of the 90-day journey.

The Winners by Region

South India

In South India, Rakesh Behera from Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering, Bengaluru, secured first place through a combination of impactful AI projects and community contributions. His work included an AMD GPU-accelerated pneumonia detection system, a computer vision platform for construction site safety monitoring, alongside educational content that helped developers learn AI using AMD technologies. Moturi Sai Sushanth from CBIT, Hyderabad, and Sai Charan from Capabl India, Hyderabad, secured second and third places, respectively.

North + East India

Siddharth Chandra from ABES Engineering College, Ghaziabad, secured first place through exceptional community-building efforts that significantly expanded participation in the program. Sarthak Gupta and Deepanshu Pratap Singh, both also from ABES Engineering College, secured second and third places, respectively.

West + Central India

In the West + Central region, Mayur Vijay Patil from Alard University, Pune, secured first place for his research on optimising large language models served on AMD GPUs, demonstrating efficiency improvements in AI deployment. Samruddhi Bhagwat from Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Engineering, Akurdi, and Harsh Sunil Nikumbha from Alard University, Pune, secured second and third places, respectively.

In addition to our above winners, we also celebrate the Top 100 who demonstrated exceptional dedication, learning, collaboration, and innovation throughout the program, and are representative of India’s growing generation of AI practitioners.

All of the  Top 100 participants will be invited to an exclusive AMD AI Engage Meetup to be held in the latter half of July. The event will bring together some of the country's most promising AI talent for networking, knowledge-sharing, and deeper engagement with the AMD AI ecosystem.

As AMD AI Engage 2026 concludes, it leaves behind more than a leaderboard of winners—it leaves behind a thriving community of builders, innovators, creators, and future AI leaders. The projects built, knowledge shared, and connections formed throughout the program are only the beginning of what this community can achieve.

Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming AMD AI Engage Meetup and other opportunities to engage.