India's Open Cloud Compute Network Brings Together Tech Giants

SUMMARY

Under the OCC project, a network of interoperable micro data centres will be established across the country to address the growing demand for AI infrastructure

The 24-member consortium includes names such as AMD, Oracle, Dell, Tata Communications, Von Neumann AI, Vigyan Labs, Tecnotree, TIE Bangalore, among others

The developments came on the sidelines of an event that saw people+ai unveiling its “Adbhut India” mission that aims to draw a roadmap for the future of AI in India

Nandan Nilekani-backed non-profit people+ai has reportedly brought together a consortium of 24 global tech companies and organisations as part of an open cloud compute (OCC) project.

Under the OCC project, a network of interoperable micro data centres will be established across the country. This will help cater to the growing need for such resources and enable faster processing, lower latency, and stronger data sovereignty.

The OCC aims to establish an open network for compute resources, addressing the growing demand for AI infrastructure in the country. It will unite multiple independent providers on a single platform to enhance their discoverability and utilisation.

OCC members include American semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and cloud company Oracle. The consortium also comprises technology providers and manufacturing service firms such as Von Neumann AI, Vigyan Labs, Protean Cloud, Dell, Nasscom, Dixon Technologies, NeevCloud, Tata Communications, Tecnotree, Cloud Computing Innovation Council of India, TiE Bangalore, among others.

These partner companies will offer services for Indian customers who have a growing need for such compute power.

The developments came on the sidelines of an event that saw people+ai’s parent organisation, EkStep Foundation unveiling its “Adbhut India” mission that aims to draw a roadmap for the future of AI in India.

“We are already the world’s largest consumers of mobile data, we will be the same on AI – Making India the AI use case capital of the world. This sets the stage for an Adbhut India powered by AI, where people and AI work together to drive progress, and people+ai wants to be the enabler of an Adbhut India,” said people+ai’s head Tanuj Bhojwani.

The event also saw startups such as Pine Labs-owned fintech Setu and retail tech platform Fynd unveiling new AI-led offerings.

“We see that India’s ideas for technology are being recognized globally. I believe it is now time to rebundle and make AI work to empower every individual and identify AI use cases unique to India. AI will help reduce barriers and personalise at scale,” added Infosys and EkStep Foundation cofounder Nilekani.

The development comes at a time when GenAI has seen rapid adoption across the country. From consumer-centric use cases such as ChatGPT and Bard, more and more enterprises and startups are lining up to leverage the power of generative AI.

This has led to the emergence of a slew of new players in the Indian GenAI space including SarvamAI, InVideo, Senseforth, Krutrim, among others. But, all of these platforms need computer power and AI chips to operate and experiment.

Such has been the demand for AI chips that the space appears to be already facing a supply crunch as only a few players, Nvidia and AMD, manufacture these chips. As a result, the late procurement of such chips could mean lagging behind in the GenAI race.

Realising the demand for such chips, the Centre recently was said to be looking to procure and provide these GPUs to local startups, researchers, academic institutions and other users at a subsidised rate under its INR 10,000 Cr AI Mission.

As per a report, the AI chip market reached the $30 Bn mark in 2023 but is expected to reach the $150 Bn size by 2033.