Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss India's ambitious vision for developing a robust artificial intelligence ecosystem. The conversation centered on the country's strategy to build a complete AI infrastructure, encompassing GPUs, foundational models, and applications.
After the meeting, Vaishnaw shared his enthusiasm for potential collaboration, stating on X that Altman was receptive to partnering with India on these initiatives. He emphasized India's track record in cost-effective technological advancements, comparing it to the nation’s affordable space missions, including the 2023 moon landing. He expressed confidence that similar innovations could enable India to develop AI models at a significantly lower cost than other countries.
Affordable AI Innovation
In the discussion, Vaishnaw highlighted India’s strong track record of executing large-scale tech projects within budget, and how this expertise could be applied to AI development. He noted that AI has the potential to transform key sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, weather forecasting, disaster management, and transportation. Vaishnaw also urged Indian startups to create innovative AI solutions and announced an upcoming open competition to foster innovation.
The minister expressed his belief that harnessing new technologies could address many national challenges and called on the startup community to contribute to shaping India’s AI future. His remarks emphasized the government’s commitment to advancing AI innovation across various industries.
Altman’s Dedication to Advancing AI Growth in India
Altman reiterated the significance of India to OpenAI, highlighting the country as a crucial market and a potential leader in the global AI landscape. He recognized India's swift adoption of AI technology, pointing out that the number of Indian users on OpenAI platforms has surged threefold in the past year. He also expressed enthusiasm about India's comprehensive approach to developing its AI infrastructure, encompassing both hardware and applications.
Altman's visit comes at a time when global AI competition is intensifying, especially with China’s DeepSeek unveiling affordable, open-source AI models. During his broader Asia tour, Altman has already secured partnerships, including a recent agreement with South Korea's tech giant Kakao.
Upcoming AI Summit in France
Altman’s talks in India are part of his wider international engagements, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to co-host an AI summit in France from February 10-11. Altman is expected to participate in the summit, which aims to foster stronger global collaborations in AI development.
India's drive to build a robust AI ecosystem complements its growing influence in global technology. Backed by OpenAI and initiatives such as the Rs 10,738 crore India AI Mission, the country is positioning itself as a key player in the AI revolution, focusing on affordable, scalable solutions that will benefit both domestic and global markets.
India's Aspirations in AI
India is intensifying its AI endeavors through a national initiative focused on developing its own foundational AI model to rival global contenders such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek R1. This initiative includes:
A national computing infrastructure equipped with 18,693 GPUs to assist AI startups and researchers.
A government-funded subsidy that lowers AI computing costs to less than ₹100 ($1.16) per hour, significantly cheaper than the $2.5-$3 per hour charged by global AI models.
Vaishnaw likened India's AI ambitions to the nation's affordable lunar mission, questioning, "Innovation can come from anywhere in the world, so why shouldn’t it come from India?"
DeepSeek Competition and the Global AI Race
Altman’s visit to India comes at a time of intensifying competition from the Chinese startup DeepSeek, which has disrupted the industry with its affordable, high-performance AI models. DeepSeek’s R1 model, developed for less than $6 million, recently surpassed ChatGPT as the top-rated free AI app on the Apple App Store.
Altman’s trip to India follows his visits to Japan and Korea, where he secured partnerships with SoftBank Group and Kakao. He also discussed the Stargate AI data centre project with Samsung, which is supported by US President Donald Trump.
In the meantime, the US government has unveiled a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment in collaboration with Oracle, Microsoft, and SoftBank to challenge China’s dominance in AI.
Legal Cases of Copyright Infringement Against OpenAI in India
OpenAI is currently facing several lawsuits in India regarding copyright issues. The company has asserted that it only utilizes publicly accessible data and has raised questions about whether Indian courts have the authority to handle the case. However, the Delhi High Court recently considered arguments on why it might have jurisdiction to hear lawsuits against OpenAI in India.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI is seeking to collaborate with India. After his conversation with Altman, Vaishnaw shared on X that OpenAI is willing to work with India across all areas of AI.
(Source: First Post, Business Standard)
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