An Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-backed data platform and a Japanese construction technology firm have signed an agreement to unlock vast but underutilised construction data for artificial intelligence (AI)-led urban development.

DataKaveri Systems, the commercial arm of IISc Bengaluru’s Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG), and ONESTRUCTION Inc., a Tottori-based specialist in open-standard built environment data, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for strategic and technical collaboration in urban and built environment data exchange.

The MoU was signed at IISc Bengaluru on the sidelines of the inaugural Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue, in the presence of representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The agreement is aimed at combining ONESTRUCTION’s expertise in construction data, built around openBIM standards such as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), with DataKaveri’s Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX), a platform already deployed across 55 smart cities in India covering urban mobility, utilities, environment and public services.

The partnership seeks to address a major challenge in urban ecosystems, construction and infrastructure data remaining siloed and often becoming inaccessible once projects are completed.

By integrating such data into scalable and secure data exchanges, the initiative aims to enable its use in city-scale AI applications and digital twins.

Under the agreement, both organisations will explore integrating IFC-compliant construction data with the IUDX platform, collaborate on developing AI use-cases for smart city and urban infrastructure scenarios, and jointly pursue bilateral funding and development opportunities.

Ashok Krishnan, Vice President of Commercial Business and Revenue at CDPG and DataKaveri Systems, noted that the construction industry holds a goldmine of data that often remains locked within organisational boundaries and underutilised beyond individual projects.

He added that integrating openBIM capabilities with a secure data exchange layer like IUDX would enable trusted, governed data flows into AI applications, helping urban planners and city managers make more informed decisions.

Lucas Haywood, Vice President of Global Strategy at ONESTRUCTION, said the collaboration marks a step towards making standardised building data useful alongside other urban datasets such as mobility, environment and utilities.