VMPL
New Delhi [India], December 18: KnowDis AI, a leading artificial intelligence company founded by IIT Delhi’s CS&E BTech alumnus Saurabh Singal, conferred the KnowDis Award for Excellence on Professor Anshul Kumar, Honorary Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Delhi. The award was presented on 8th December 2025, during an elegant ceremony held at IIT Delhi. The event was graced by distinguished IIT Delhi faculty members, alumni, and industry leaders who came together to honour Professor Kumar’s outstanding contributions to the field of computer science and engineering.
The KnowDis Award for Excellence has a proud history of celebrating outstanding achievements across academia and industry. Over the years, the honour has been bestowed upon eminent personalities such as Prof. P.C.P. Bhatt (2019), Prof. S.N. Maheshwari (2020), SPIC MACAY and its founder Dr Kiran Seth (2021), Prof. Vijay Vazirani (2022), and Prof. M. Balakrishnan (2024). This year, KnowDis is privileged to welcome Professor Anshul Kumar to this esteemed group, recognising his exceptional contributions in research, teaching, and technological innovation.
Professor Kumar is widely respected for his transformative impact on computer science education and VLSI design in India. His association with IIT Delhi spans an extraordinary 49 years–from joining as an undergraduate in 1969 to his retirement in 2018 after 44 years of dedicated service. After completing his BTech in Electrical Engineering in 1974, for which he was awarded the President’s Gold Medal, he began his career as a Project Scientist whilst simultaneously pursuing his PhD, which he completed in 1980. He joined the faculty in 1983.
The ceremony began on a graceful note as Ishaan Singal, a student of standard IV of the DL DAV School, welcomed Professor Kumar with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. This warm gesture was followed by Ishaan’s soulful rendition of Ganesh Vandana and Saraswati Vandana, which infused the venue with a serene and uplifting ambience, perfectly setting the tone for the event.
Saurabh Singal, founder of KnowDis AI, addressed the audience, expressing heartfelt appreciation for Professor Kumar. He reflected on the profound influence Professor Kumar had on his academic and professional journey during his undergraduate years at IIT Delhi. Singal highlighted the professor’s exceptional ability to solve students’ problems with clarity and patience, his simplicity, and the high standards he consistently upheld–qualities that deeply inspired him and many others. Following his remarks, Singal invited Professor Naveen Garg, Head of the Computer Science & Engineering Department, to share a few words.
During his address, Professor Garg talked about Professor Kumar’s remarkable problem-solving skills and his versatility across architecture, programming, and several other domains. He emphasised how significantly Professor Kumar has influenced both his professional journey and personal growth.
Several colleagues and former students shared their reflections during the event. Professor Subodh Kumar noted his exceptional ability to identify constructive paths forward in institutional decision-making, based on years of working alongside him on committees. Yogesh Andley recalled working with him on early entrepreneurial initiatives at IIT Delhi and credited him with nurturing student-led innovation.
Messages from those who could not attend added further depth to the occasion. Professor P.C.P. Bhatt, who served as his mentor and PhD adviser, described him as a quiet nation-builder who chose to serve India and recalled his contribution to the development of India’s first hardware description language, “Rachna”. Professor M. Balakrishnan described him as a rare combination of brilliance and humility, crediting him with shaping his understanding of digital design and EDA.
Alumni and industry leaders Alok Goyal (Co-Founder of Stellaris), Alok Mittal (Co-founder of Plaksha University), and Ashwani Gautam also conveyed their gratitude for his mentorship and guidance. Alok Goyal noted, “Having known Prof. Anshul Kumar since childhood and later as a teacher, I’ve seen his unmatched brilliance, sincerity, and humility. The Chair in his honour reflects his profound impact.” Alok Mittal shared, “Prof. Anshul Kumar shaped not just our technical skills but our professional values. His brilliance, calm guidance, and empathy made learning meaningful.”
Whilst receiving the award, Professor Kumar reflected on the early days of computing in India, when formal computer education was scarce, and access was limited to mainframe systems. He recalled the introduction of the student programmer scheme, through which second- and third-year students were trained to work on real administrative and academic systems. He credited Professor P.V. Indiresan and Professor SC Datta Roy for guiding him towards an academic career at a time when he was considering industry roles. In his concluding remarks, Professor Kumar left the audience with a simple but powerful message: “Work hard, be sincere, and always give your best. If you do your karma, the results will surely follow.”
The ceremony concluded with informal interactions and a lunch at the Gulmohar Guest House, IIT Delhi, where IIT Delhi faculty members, alumni, and the KnowDis team continued their discussions in a celebratory atmosphere. The event reaffirmed the spirit of the KnowDis Award for Excellence in recognising individuals who quietly yet profoundly shape the future of education and technology.
About KnowDis AI:
KnowDis is an AI startup founded by Saurabh Singal, a BTech (CS&E) alumnus of IIT Delhi and Carnegie Mellon University. The company is known for its natural language processing products, including recommendation systems and machine translation software. KnowDis AI models power IndiaMART’s B2B platform, and the company is also engaged in AI-driven drug discovery.
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