After Perplexity CEO, PM Modi Meets Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Continuing his streak of meeting global tech leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday (January 6). The meeting focused on advancing India’s ambitions in technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Nadella, who shared insights from the meeting on X, thanked the PM, writing, “…Excited to build on our commitment to making India AI-first and work together on our continued expansion in the country to ensure every Indian benefits from this AI platform shift.”  

Responding to Nadella, PM Modi said, “It was indeed a delight to meet you, @satyanadella! Glad to know about Microsoft’s ambitious expansion and investment plans in India. It was also wonderful discussing various aspects of tech, innovation, and AI in our meeting”.

This comes days after PM Modi met several key business leaders recently. On January 4, he met former Infosys CEO and entrepreneur Vishal Sikka to discuss AI-related topics. Last month, he also met Perplexity cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas. 

Last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son also met PM Modi. 

These high-profile meetings are happening at a time when the Indian government is pushing for the growth of AI startups in India. 

In 2024, the union cabinet approved INR 10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission to foster the homegrown AI ecosystem, facilitate funding for emerging AI startups, and spur innovation in the sector.

In December last year, the Centre also opened the second round of bids for its IndiaAI Mission to establish a compute capacity of up to 10,000 graphic processing units (GPUs), develop AI applications for critical sectors, and tackle challenges identified by the government.

India is home to more than 200 GenAI startups and these startups raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding between 2020 and 2024. The homegrown GenAI market is projected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030.