India’s $1.24B AI Mission Pays off: Nvidia Predicts Nation Will Be Major Producer
Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, spoke on how India is embracing AI strategies.
Key Takeaways
- India assigned a new focus on developing technological infrastructure and AI capabilities.
- This includes significant investments into three additional key initiatives to nurture the AI ecosystem nationwide.
- The construction of a supercomputer and the success of the broader AI initiatives hinge on effective public-private partnerships.
- In a recent update, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted India’s rapid growth as a key AI producer.
India’s government is investing $1.24 billion to enhance its AI capabilities, including building a supercomputer with over 10,000 GPUs.
This initiative, part of the “IndiaAI Compute Capacity,” aims to boost the nation’s technological self-reliance and democratize AI benefits.
India’s AI Mission
In March 2024, India’s government approved a comprehensive artificial intelligence initiative with a budget of 103 billion Indian rupees ($1.25 billion).
“The India AI mission will establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalyzing AI innovation through strategic programs and partnerships across the public and private sectors,” a translated government statement said.
The plan also includes establishing the “IndiaAI Innovation Centre” to focus on indigenous AI models and a series of initiatives to support AI startups, improve datasets, and expand AI education.
India’s AI drive focuses on generating a self-reliant AI ecosystem in India, broadening its impact through three main initiatives.
India’s Growing AI Ecosystem
Speaking at the Nvidia AI Summit in India, Huang emphasized the country’s adoption of sovereign AI strategies, where nations maintain control of their own AI infrastructure and data.
In a conversation with Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, Huang said, “India produced and exported software. In the future, India will export AI.”
Huang added that, alongside the Indian government, they had upskilled around 2,000 professionals in AI.
Ambani noted that one of the reasons India stands to succeed in AI innovation is related to the average age of 1.4 billion Indians, which is 35.
10,000-GPU Sovereign AI Supercomputer
Central to India’s AI strategy is the development of a cutting-edge supercomputer, which will be equipped with at least 10,000 GPUs. No further details were provided at the time. However, it was indicated that the construction of this supercomputer would require a collaborative effort in the form of a public-private partnership.
According to India’s PSA office, AI expenditure is projected to grow with a CAGR of 39% over the period 2019-2025, touching around $11,781 million by 2025.
While the supercomputer’s use of domestic technology remains uncertain, a key goal is to push for local AI development, particularly in supporting India’s diverse languages.
The Indian government recently approved three semiconductor manufacturing facilities, representing an investment exceeding $15 billion.
India’s $15.2 Billion Semiconductor Investment to Propel AI Development
