At the highly anticipated AI Summit in Mumbai, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang unveiled strategic partnerships to accelerate India’s transformation into a global leader in artificial intelligence.
This expansion underlines a shift from India’s historic role as a software exporter to a future where the country leads in AI innovation and exports.
Important partnerships
Nvidia’s expansion strategy in India focuses on high-profile partnerships with key industry leaders such as Reliance Industries and the Tata Group. These collaborations enhance the country’s AI capabilities and mark important steps toward technological autonomy.
At the AI Summit, Nvidia detailed its partnership with Reliance Industries, which includes the establishment of a 1-gigawatt AI data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Designed to harness renewable energy for sustainable growth, this facility represents a significant advancement in creating a scalable and environmentally friendly technology infrastructure.
In addition, Tata Communications has used Nvidia’s advanced ‘Hopper’ and ‘Blackwell’ chips to power one of India’s largest cloud-based supercomputers, which should be operational by the end of the year.
Nvidia’s drive to make India an AI hub is further strengthened by its partnership with other major players, such as Netweb Technologies India Ltd and E2E Networks Ltd, for enterprise data center adoption, significantly expanding the scope of its influence.
Nvidia’s AI initiatives
Nvidia has introduced the Nemotron-4-Mini-Hindi 4B, a compact Hindi-language AI model tailored to India’s diverse language needs.
This model facilitates the integration of culturally and linguistically personalized AI solutions across industries.
This initiative is supported by Nvidia’s commitment to train approximately 500,000 developers to accelerate AI adoption nationwide.
At the same time, Nvidia’s strategic alliances are deepening the integration of AI technology into the Indian technology fabric. Tech Mahindra is using Nvidia’s AI model to develop Project Indus 2.0, with a focus on adapting AI applications for regional and global use.
Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra have set up dedicated Nvidia business units to further capitalize on this technology.
Additionally, Hiranandani Group’s data center company Yotta Data Services has expanded the availability of Nvidia AI applications and services on its Nvidia-powered cloud service ‘Shakti’, expanding the computing capabilities available to Indian businesses.
Nvidia’s digital twin and metaverse platform, Omniverse, is being acquired by Reliance Industries and Ola Electric Mobility Ltd, setting a new standard in digital simulation and interaction technologies.
Additionally, Nvidia has partnered with Flipkart to enhance its conversational customer services and with Wipro to integrate generative AI into healthcare solutions, demonstrating its extensive commitment to transforming India’s digital ecosystem.
Expressing confidence in India’s potential, Reliance Industries Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “India will be one of the largest intelligence markets. It’s not just our ambitions; I think it is the raw gene pool and gene power in India, the youth power that drives intelligence. Once we develop intelligence for our domestic markets, we will use intelligent services to integrate with the rest of the world.”
Ambani further emphasized the global impact of this shift, adding: “And Indians will not only export CEOs to the world’s largest companies, but hundreds of millions of Indians will provide AI services to help create a better world.”
Huang agreed, saying, “India used to be a software manufacturing country. You have exported software. In the future, India will export AI. I hope to work with all of you to put India at the center of this new industrial revolution.”
Impact of Nvidia’s Indian initiative
Nvidia’s expansion in India is expected to have profound economic impacts, catalyzing the country’s $155 billion electronics industry toward a targeted $500 billion by 2030.
However, Nvidia’s strategic initiatives in India will not only change the technological status of the country, but also its economic and social fabric. Nvidia’s initiatives could significantly improve the quality of life and economic opportunities for India’s vast population.
The initiative’s emphasis on training and developing AI talent promises to create quality employment opportunities, in line with the government’s focus on upskilling its youth to meet future technological demands.
India’s semiconductor industry is still in its nascent stages, and scaling up to meet global standards will require significant time, investment and expertise.
However, the Indian government’s commitment to increasing local semiconductor manufacturing capabilities and incentives for tech giants indicates a positive trajectory.
Huang emphasized the high regard the global computer industry has for India and expects a 20-fold increase in computing capacity by the end of 2024. This substantial growth indicates that India is not only catching up, but also destined to become a major exporter of AI solutions.
