Key Points
- India hosts a four‑day AI Impact Summit expecting 250,000 visitors.
- Key attendees include Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mukesh Ambani and Demis Hassabis.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
- The government earmarks $1.1 billion for a venture fund targeting AI and advanced manufacturing startups.
- Blackstone acquires a majority stake in AI startup Neysa as part of a $600 million equity raise.
- C2i raises $15 million to develop power solutions for AI data centers.
- AMD partners with Tata Consultancy Services to build rack‑scale AI infrastructure on the Helios platform.
- Anthropic opens its first Indian office in Bengaluru, citing strong Claude usage.
- Industry leaders warn AI could dramatically reshape Indian IT services and BPO sectors.
Summit Overview
India is hosting a four‑day AI Impact Summit that aims to attract a broad mix of technology executives and government officials. The organizers anticipate 250,000 visitors over the course of the event. High‑profile attendees include Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to deliver a speech alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, underscoring the summit’s diplomatic significance.
Investment Highlights
In a major financial commitment, the Indian government has earmarked $1.1 billion for a state‑backed venture capital fund focused on artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing startups. During the summit, Sam Altman highlighted that India boasts more than 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, making it the second‑largest market after the United States, and that Indian students are the most frequent users of the service.
Private‑equity firm Blackstone announced a majority‑stake acquisition of Indian AI startup Neysa as part of a $600 million equity raise. Additional investors include Teachers’ Venture Growth, TVS Capital, 360 ONE Asset and Nexus Venture Partners. Neysa plans to raise another $600 million in debt and deploy over 20,000 GPUs to expand its AI capabilities.
In Bengaluru, data‑center power‑solution company C2i secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV, with participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures. The funding will support the company’s efforts to deliver efficient energy solutions for AI‑intensive workloads.
Industry Perspectives
HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayyar remarked that Indian IT firms will prioritize profitability rather than job creation, a stance that comes as Indian IT stocks experience pressure from concerns about AI‑driven disruption. Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla warned that industries such as IT services and business process outsourcing could “almost completely disappear” within five years due to AI, and he urged the nation’s 250 million young people to market AI‑based products and services globally.
AMD announced a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop rack‑scale AI infrastructure based on AMD’s “Helios” platform, signaling a push toward domestic AI hardware capabilities. Anthropic also disclosed plans to open its first Indian office in Bengaluru, noting that India is the second‑largest user of its Claude model after the United States.
Future Outlook
The summit underscores India’s ambition to position itself as a global AI hub, leveraging both public funding and private investment to accelerate the growth of homegrown AI startups. With substantial capital commitments, strategic partnerships, and a clear focus on building AI infrastructure, the event signals a concerted effort to harness the country’s large user base and talent pool. Industry leaders acknowledge the transformative impact of AI on traditional sectors while emphasizing the opportunities for Indian innovators to lead in the next wave of AI‑driven products and services.
Source: techcrunch.com