The AU-KBC Research Centre was set up in 1999 at the Madras Institute of Technology Campus of the Anna University, as a collaborative venture between Anna University, Chennai (Madras), and the Chandrasekhar Family Foundation, U.S.A, of Mr.K.B. Chandrasekhar,  cofounder, Exodus Communications Inc and Founder - Chairman, Jamcracker Inc .

The vision of the centre is  to become a research institution of international repute. In pursuit of its mission, the AU-KBC Research Centre initiates research in new  and emerging thrust areas such as Nano-sciences and expands  research in established areas such as Communications and Biology with a strong modelling and experimental component. There is a strong interdisciplinary core of  Mathematics, Physics and Computing Sciences that impact on all the teaching and research work at the Centre. The Centre does academic research with a prominent long-term perspective; the choice of directions and problems however are made in close interaction with industry. Research in core and thrust areas are oriented towards practical applications and also serve as a source of skilled personnel in niche areas.