Indian Origin Couple Donates $20 Million, Gets New AI College Named After Them At US University

Indian origin couple Anuradha and Vikas Sinha have donated $20 million to the University of North Texas (UNT) to establish a new college focused on artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. The contribution will create the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha College of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, strengthening UNT’s research, education and industry partnerships in emerging technologies.

The new college will serve as an academic and research hub covering AI, intelligent systems, data analytics, cybersecurity, data science, health informatics, information science, library science and learning technologies. It will also bring together expertise across disciplines and provide students and faculty with opportunities to work on research and industry projects.

The $20 million gift will establish six permanent endowments supporting college leadership, student scholarships, endowed professorships, entrepreneurship and incubation, advanced research, and emerging technologies. UNT said the investment will help prepare graduates for a workforce increasingly shaped by AI and data.

The initiative will also include the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Institute, which will connect AI and analytics research across the university. The institute is expected to support shared research infrastructure, interdisciplinary projects, external funding and partnerships with industry.

“Artificial intelligence will be one of the defining technologies of our generation, and universities have an essential role to play in preparing the people who will shape its future,” Vikas Sinha, vice president of Broadcom’s Mainframe Software Division, said.

He added that the college would go beyond teaching students how to use AI by preparing them to build, understand, question, govern and responsibly apply intelligent systems.

The Sinhas moved to the United States from India for higher education after completing bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering at Sri Venkateswara University. Both later earned graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University. Vikas went on to study at Northwestern University before earning his PhD in information science with a data science concentration from UNT in 2023.

Their connection with UNT has already resulted in major contributions. In 2024, they established the Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science, supporting scholarships, faculty, research and special initiatives. In 2025, they made another major contribution that led to the creation of the Sinha Data Science Innovation Lab.

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