Meesho has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) of one year with the Vision & AI Lab (VAL) of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as an industry-academia collaboration. The objective of this collaboration is to support Meesho in fostering developments and progress in significant domains such as generative artificial intelligence and multimodal (LLMs) large language models. Meesho recognizes the importance of these advancements for the future expansion of the e-commerce sector.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Meesho’s data scientists will have the chance to collaborate with leading lab researchers from the institute. Together, they will focus on multimodal representation learning and generative AI capabilities, aiming to make a substantial impact on the e-commerce industry. The research endeavors will additionally strive to assist the company in developing solutions that enhance the e-commerce experience for Meesho users. Furthermore, this could potentially result in the publication of exceptional research papers at reputable international conferences.
Generative AI and multimodal LLMs have emerged as essential technologies in the e-commerce industry. These advanced tools not only enable personalized customer experiences and enhance various aspects of online retail operations but also empower organizations to offer realistic and dynamic content. Meesho, a prominent player in this field, recognizes the significance of these technologies and ensures that its data scientists have access to state-of-the-art research and facilities. Moreover, they benefit from invaluable mentorship provided by renowned experts in the domains of generative AI and multimodal LLMs from IISc (Indian Institute of Science). This collaborative environment fosters innovation and equips Meesho’s data scientists with the expertise and resources needed to stay at the forefront of the rapidly evolving e-commerce landscape.
Commenting on the collaboration, Rajesh Kumar SA, Director – Data Science, Meesho, said, “E-commerce is undergoing a tremendous shift that is being fueled by innovative thinking and technology. Consumers’ behavior of shopping online is changing, and new trends are emerging. We at Meesho are embracing this significant transformation fueled by the emerging technology. This collaboration will further strengthen our goal of creating solutions which will ultimately benefit the customers and sellers equally.”
Prof. Venkatesh Babu, Head of Vision & AI lab – IISc, said, “In the recent past, Meesho has emerged as one of the top e-commerce companies in our country. This partnership will further pave the way to close the industry – academia gap by allowing our researchers and data scientists to collaborate closely with Meesho’s outstanding team. By pooling our resources, we can create new opportunities and enhance technology that will provide valuable business solutions for millions of customers.”
With 140 million annual transacting users, 1.1 million+ sellers and ~100 million active product listings across 30 categories, Meesho aims to fuel discoverability of a wide assortment of products for both urban and Bharat consumers. The company recently emerged as the world’s fastest shopping app to cross 500 million cumulative downloads across Google Play and iOS App Store combined, as per data.ai (formerly App Annie). Meesho was also named in TIME’s prestigious list of the 100 Most Influential Companies in the world for 2023