Indian-origin couple gifts $20 mn to US university for AI, advanced analytics

An Indian-origin couple has donated USD 20 million to their alma mater in Texas to expand education and research in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, seeking to create opportunities for students and faculty while giving back to an institution that shaped their own journey.

Anuradha and Vikas Sinha's gift to the University of North Texas (UNT) will lead to the creation of the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, the university said.

The college will serve as an academic and research hub bringing together expertise in artificial intelligence, intelligent systems and data analytics, along with fields such as cybersecurity, data science, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies.

“Education has opened doors for us throughout our lives, and we want to hold those doors open for others,” Vikas Sinha said.

He said the gift was intended to expand the opportunities available to students, including those who come to the US from other countries with ambitions similar to those the couple once had.

“For us, this gift is about paying that opportunity forward and recognising that immigrants don’t simply participate in the American dream – they help build it,” he said.

The USD 20 million donation will establish six permanent endowments supporting college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research and emerging technologies.

The college will have two academic divisions. The Division of Applied Intelligence and Informatics will focus on building and deploying intelligent systems, while the Division of Information and Learning Applications will examine how information and intelligent systems function within human and institutional settings.

It will also house the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will bring together AI and analytics research and education across UNT and promote interdisciplinary research, shared infrastructure, external research funding and industry partnerships.

Sinha said AI would be one of the defining technologies of the current generation and universities had an important role in preparing people to shape its future.

“What excites us about UNT’s vision is that it will go beyond teaching students how to use AI. It will prepare them to build it, understand it, question it, govern it and apply it responsibly – developing both the builders and the stewards of intelligent systems,” he said.

The couple's association with UNT has grown through a series of contributions. In 2024, they established the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science, along with endowments supporting scholarships, faculty, research and special initiatives.

In 2025, they made another major gift to establish the Sinha Innovation Lab for Data Science.

Their connection with the university dates back to their own academic journey in the US.

After studying at Sri Venkateswara University and completing civil engineering at G Pulla Reddy Engineering College in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Vikas and Anuradha moved to the US for higher education and earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University.

Vikas later studied at Northwestern University before earning his PhD from UNT in 2023.

He currently serves as vice president of the Mainframe Software Division at Broadcom and has been a member of the UNT College of Information Leadership Board since 2023.

UNT President Harrison Keller said AI was rapidly transforming how people work, conduct research and solve problems, and universities had a responsibility to help shape the next phase of that transformation.

“The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics positions UNT to lead in that work,” Keller said.

He said the couple's contribution would create opportunities for students and faculty to build, study and apply AI technologies while advancing the university's broader goals on student preparation, interdisciplinary research and innovation.

The university said the gift would support its priorities around student success, research and innovation while preparing graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by AI and data.

UNT will hold a university event later this year to celebrate the naming of the new college.

The University of North Texas is a public research university and the largest university in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With campuses in Denton and Frisco, it serves nearly 44,000 students across 230 degree programmes and awarded more than 13,000 degrees last year.