NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said he was the first leader in the world to ask him to talk to his cabinet about the uses of the nascent technology
Huang added that Modi also said that it made complete sense for India to manufacture its own AI rather than depend on imported intelligence
The prime minister has been a strong proponent for the use of AI by India
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for artificial intelligence (AI), NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said he was the first leader in the world to ask him to talk to his cabinet about the uses of the nascent technology.
During a fireside conversation with Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, the CEO of one of the most valued companies of the world said that PM Modi showed interest in AI before people started speaking about the technology.
“When I first met Modi ji, he asked me to address his cabinet about artificial intelligence. It was the first time a national leader asked me to address his cabinet on this particular topic. During my last visit with him, I was explaining to him the concept of AI infrastructure and why it was essential for every nation… and he said it makes complete sense that India should manufacture its own AI. India should not export data to import intelligence,” Huang said.
The prime minister has been a strong proponent for the use of AI by India. Earlier this year at the ‘Startup Mahakumbh’, the prime minister said India should aspire to become a global leader in AI.
“Our job is to not let the opportunity go. If there are language constraints for the election campaign, I leverage AI to disseminate my message effectively in Tamil, Telugu and Odia,” he said.
To nurture India’s AI ecosystem, the union cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission earlier this year with a budgetary allocation of INR 10,372 Cr for the upcoming five years. While the primary utilisation of the funds will be to fuel innovation in the AI ecosystem via a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the Mission also aims to fund emerging startups.
Moreover, the electronics and IT ministry recently partnered with tech giant Google to upskill 10,000 homegrown startups.
As for Nvidia, Huang claimed that the tech giant has partnered with 2,000 Indian startups, including Flipkart, Zoho, Krutrim and Sarvam AI. He also announced a partnership with Reliance to build AI infrastructure in India.
