
India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed confidence that the country could develop large language models (LLMs) at a fraction of the cost compared to global competitors, drawing a parallel with India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission. Vaishnaw emphasized India's success in space exploration, highlighting that the Chandrayaan-2 mission landed on the moon at a fraction of the cost incurred by other nations.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised India for its AI potential
Sam Altman echoed Vaishnaw’s sentiments, recognizing India as a significant player in the global AI landscape. He noted that India is OpenAI's second-largest market and that Indian developers are already contributing to various AI innovations at all levels, including chips, models, and applications. Altman emphasized that India should take the lead in the AI revolution, given its growing role and capabilities in the sector.
India’s potential for AI innovation
In a conversation with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Vaishnaw pointed out, “Our country sent a mission to the moon at a fraction of the cost that many other countries did. Why can't we do a model which will be a fraction of the cost that many other countries do?” He strongly believes that with innovation at the core, India can bring affordable and efficient AI solutions to the world. Vaishnaw also mentioned that India's AI Mission—worth ₹10,738 crores—aims to develop foundational models and that several startups in the country are poised to contribute to the project.
Government’s vision for AI growth
The minister highlighted that every year there is a 10x reduction in the cost of intelligence and that innovation can emerge from anywhere, not just the West. Vaishnaw is confident that India’s young entrepreneurs, startups, and researchers are focused on creating the next level of innovation that will make AI technologies more cost-effective and widely accessible.
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