Russia has been one of India’s closest allies when it comes to advancements in the AI and Internet of Things. Now, this relationship has got a boost, as Indo-Russia joint projects in these fields are expected to undergo an explosion this year. According to a statement from Zyfra, a Finnish-Russian digital solutions provider, Indo-Russian collaboration for this year is looking in a positive direction.

Zyfra has also partnered with multiple Indian companies in order to provide IoT and AI-based solutions for the industrial sector. The company has reached over $3 million in contracts with Indian companies in 2018, and are aiming at a target of over $50 million in deals with Indian companies by 2021.

Igor Bogachev, the Chief Executive Officer at Zyfra recently corresponded with a national newswire, offering his take on the state of their Indian partnerships. He also mentioned that the sectors most likely to adopt solutions that implement AI, IoT and autonomous vehicles are metallurgy, aerospace, petrochemicals and transportation.

Bogachev said, “India is of great interest to companies in the field of the industrial Internet of Things and this year we hope to see first projects in this area being implemented jointly with Russia.” This implies the good standing of Indo-Russian relations, as India is now making a significant impact in the AI space.

Conforming to this, Zyfra released a report late last year which ranked India as a 13th most advanced country in the world in AI. The list was topped by the US and China, as they are two of the world’s AI superpowers. Therefore, Zyfra has expanded its relationship with Indian companies from a buyer-seller one to one that involves sharing best practices, innovating jointly and engaging in an exchange of knowledge.

Bogachev also noted that innovations are an important potential point of growth in the relationship between the two countries, going on to state, “We see significant potential for introduction in such industries as the construction of machine tools, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, the chemical industry and the oil and gas sector.”

Currently, the company is focused on its acquisition of the VIST Group, one of the industry leaders in the fields of implementing IT for digital mining. Post the acquisition of these assets, Zyfra will be able to compete with global giants in the space such as CAT and Komatsu, bringing AI-powered processes to a global audience. Elaborating on India’s role in this, Bogachev said, “We truly believe, that we will be able to develop products with our Indian partners, probably with joint ventures, to export to third countries.”