Centre To Set Up 600 Data Labs, Deploy 38K GPUs

Govt To Set Up 600 Data Labs, Deploy 38K GPUs

SUMMARY

Abhishek Singh said that the proposed data labs have been envisaged with accelerating research and innovation in the field of AI

The IndiaAI Mission CEO also underscored the importance of building responsible and ethical AI frameworks and combating misinformation in the AI age

STPI DG Arvind Kumar said that the Centre is offering access to AI compute power for as low as INR 65 per hour

IndiaAI Mission CEO Abhishek Singh has said that the Centre plans to deploy 38,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), in total, at affordable rates to build a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem in India.

As per news agency ANI, Singh also said that the government is looking to establish 600 data labs across the country to accelerate research and innovation in the field of the emerging technology.

“India is committed to building a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem through the deployment of 38,000 GPUs at affordable rates and the establishment of 600 data labs to accelerate AI research and innovation,” Singh said.

He also reportedly underscored the importance of building responsible and ethical AI frameworks and combating misinformation in the AI age.

Meanwhile, Software Technology Parks of India’s (STPI) director general Arvind Kumar said that the Centre is offering access to AI compute power for as low as INR 65 per hour. This infrastructure is enabling innovators to build AI solutions that address pressing challenges in healthcare and finance, added Kumar.

This comes a month after reports surfaced that the government was all set to expand its AI compute resources by adding another 3,850 GPUs.

As of June, the country had deployed more than 17,300 GPUs from providers like Hiranandani Group’s Yotta Data Services and NxtGen Cloud Technologies under the IndiaAI Mission.

Notably, last month, AI-focussed cloud service provider E2E Networks received a contract letter from IndiaAI Mission to provide GPU resources worth INR 177 Cr to AI startup Gnani.ai, which is developing an indigenous AI model under the mission.

The Union cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission in March 2024 with an outlay of INR 10,372 Cr for a period of five years. The mission aims to offer compute power to various stakeholders, including startups, academic institutions and research institutes to spur AI adoption in the country.

Under the initiative, the Centre has also shortlisted Soket AI, SarvamAI and Gnani.ai to build an indigenous large language model (LLM). While Sarvam and Soket are building LLMs focussed on text, Gnani.ai is working on its potential voice AI foundational model.