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Tag: ai

  • India and the US Aim to Strengthen Partnerships in AI, Semiconductors, and Space

    After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump met at the White House, India and the US announced significant efforts aimed at promoting collaboration in emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and civil space. The US-India TRUST program, an AI infrastructure roadmap, and the INDUS Innovation platform to promote collaborations in energy, space, and defence are among the major announcements. In the official statement, the leaders announced the launch of the U.S.-India TRUST (“Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology”) initiative, which will encourage the use of verified technology vendors and ensure the protection of sensitive technologies while promoting government-to-government, academic, and private sector collaboration to promote the application of critical and emerging technologies in fields like defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy, and space. By the end of the year, the business sectors in both nations will present a US-India Roadmap on Accelerating AI Infrastructure as part of this endeavour. With milestones and next steps, this roadmap will outline the obstacles to funding, developing, supplying, and linking extensive AI infrastructure of American provenance in India.

    Along with addressing the safeguards and controls required to protect these technologies and lower regulatory barriers, the two nations will also facilitate industry partnerships and investments in next-generation data centres, collaboration on the development and access to computing and processors for AI, innovations in AI models, and the creation of AI applications to address societal challenges.

    Launching of LNDUS Innovation

    To maintain India and US leadership in innovation and to meet 21st-century demands, the two leaders also announced the launch of INDUS Innovation, a new innovation bridge modelled after the successful INDUS-X platform. This bridge will promote investments in space, energy, and other emerging technologies and advance industry and academic partnerships. The leaders also welcomed the next summit in 2025 and reaffirmed their commitment to the INDUS-X project, which facilitates collaborations between Indian and American defence businesses, investors, and academic institutions to generate vital capabilities for our forces. According to the release, the leaders also pledged to create reliable and robust supply chains for sophisticated materials, semiconductors, vital minerals, and pharmaceuticals as part of the TRUST project. The leaders want to promote public and private investments to increase Indian manufacturing capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredients for essential medications, especially in the US, as part of this endeavour. These investments will lower the risk of shortages of life-saving medications in both India and the US, diversify essential supply chains, and generate excellent jobs.

    Unearthing the Potentials of Minerals

    India and the US will increase research and development cooperation and encourage investment throughout the critical mineral value chain, as well as through the Mineral Security Partnership, of which both countries are members, in recognition of the significance of critical minerals for cutting-edge manufacturing and emerging technologies. In addition to announcing the launch of the Strategic Mineral Recovery initiative, a new US-India program to recover and process critical minerals (such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earths) from heavy industries like aluminium, coal mining, and oil and gas, the leaders of the two nations pledged to step up efforts to deepen their understanding of various critical mineral technologies.

    In order to ensure technology security, the leaders of both the nations have decided that their governments will step up efforts to improve high-tech trade, ease export regulations, and lower obstacles to technology transfer between the two nations. According to the statement, the leaders also decided to cooperate in order to combat the shared problem of unfair export control activities by third parties looking to take advantage of the overconcentration of vital supply chains.

    OpenAI in Talks to Set Up Data Centre in India
    OpenAI is in discussions to set up a data centre in India, signaling a major expansion move to enhance AI capabilities and local infrastructure.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Zomato Introduces Nugget, An AI-Powered Customer Service Platform

    On February 17, the foodtech juggernaut Zomato introduced Nugget, an AI-powered customer service tool. Deepinder Goyal, the founder, shared the news on the social media site X. “With its high degree of customisation, low cost, and lack of a development team, Nugget helps businesses scale support with ease.” “Smooth automation, no strict workflows,” the post stated.

    Developed as an internal tool more than three years ago, the AI-native no-code customer care platform presently facilitates over 15 million support interactions per month for Hyperpure, Blinkit, and Zomato, according to the business. According to Goyals, the tool exhibits a 20% increase in agent efficiency and can answer up to 80% of queries on its own. According to Goyal, 90% of corporations that have seen Nugget have signed up, and the startup is offering it out to enterprises globally.

    Eagerness of Goyal with AI

    Executives that see AI as an extension of their own brain are the ones that Zomato‘s Deepinder Goyal is targeting for collaboration. Zomato CEO and co-founder Deepinder Goyal stated in a post on X that he is interested in working with product and business leaders who have already begun utilising AI as their second brain. It’s not the first time Goyal has requested applications on X. He posted a vacancy for the position of chief of staff in November of last year, and more than 10,000 people applied. In addition to a provision (since removed) requiring a donation of INR 20 lakh to the company’s Feeding India effort, the position came with no compensation for the first year. Zomato’s AI policy is different from that of its counterpart Swiggy, which outlawed the use of AI-generated graphics in restaurant menus and promotional materials last year.

    What Swiggy is Offering?

    Neural search technology was introduced by Swiggy in November 2023, enabling customers to place orders using conversational searches. Accessibility for a wide range of Indian demographics is promised by this invention and promises for voice-based searches in regional languages. By examining traffic patterns and driver availability, AI also improves delivery logistics, cutting down on delivery times and expenses. Swiggy’s incorporation of chatbots driven by GPT-4 further optimises customer service and raises customer satisfaction levels.

    For India’s food business, artificial intelligence is no longer a sci-fi idea; rather, it is a revolutionary force that is boosting productivity, sustainability, and consumer happiness. India is on the verge of a food revolution that will shape the future of the sector both domestically and internationally as AI usage spreads throughout agriculture, production, retail, and delivery. India can tackle issues like food security, waste, and supply chain inefficiencies by adopting AI technologies. AI positions India as a global leader in AI-driven food innovation by improving operational efficiencies and promoting the sustainability and inclusivity of the food ecosystem.

    Amazon Expands 10-Minute Delivery Service with Focus on Beauty and Home
    Amazon is expanding its 10-minute delivery service, now focusing on beauty and home essentials, enhancing convenience for quick commerce shoppers.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • India Ought to be at the Forefront of the AI Revolution: Sam Altman

    India is an “incredibly important” market for the massive artificial intelligence (AI) company, according to Sam Altman, founder and CEO of OpenAI. Altman stated that India ought to be among the front-runners of the AI revolution at a fireside chat with Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of information technology (IT), on Wednesday, February 5. He described the nation’s adoption of the technology thus far and the use cases that have been developed on top of the large language models (LLMs) that are already in place as “really quite amazing.”

    The CEO of OpenAI added that the country’s user base has tripled in the last 12 months, making it the company’s second-largest market worldwide. When asked what areas India should prioritise in the field of artificial intelligence, Altman stated that he truly wanted to reaffirm the remarks regarding the full-stack approach.

    However, given what Indians are creating with AI at every stage of the stack—chips, models, the stack, and all the amazing applications—India ought to be taking the lead. India ought to be one of the pioneers of the AI movement. Seeing what the nation has accomplished is quite astounding. Altman arrived in India late on the evening of February 4th while on a multi-country global tour.

    Meeting Government Heads and  the Big Players of Indian Startup Sector

    He met with several Indian company owners and venture capitalists earlier in the day, as well as IT Minister Vaishnaw. Additionally, he is anticipated to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  He has private meetings with startup founders such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Gaurav Munjal of Unacademy, Srikanth Velamakanni of Fractal, Aloke Bajpai of ixigo, and Tushar Vashisht of HeathifyMe.

    Prominent investors Prayank Swaroop of Accel, Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Rajan Anandan and Harshjit Sethi of Peak XV Partners also attended the conference. Pricing for Founders Bat in India According to a media reports, tech entrepreneurs primarily pitched the company for India-centric pricing at the founders’ meeting with Altman. Indian creators informed Altman that global pricing might not be effective in India and that major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon already have pricing tailored to India.

    In order to guarantee that OpenAI’s products, including its APIs, are more reasonably priced for Indian developers and businesses, the founders also made a pitch to the CEO of the company. Although Altman refrained from making any commitments, he stated that the company is thinking about offering customised pricing for the Indian market. The CEO of OpenAI added that as the company develops more advanced and potent models, he anticipates expenses to drop “rapidly” over time.

    Cofounder Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal and Titan Capital acknowledged in a post on X that OpenAI product prices are “high” and that they must drop “dramatically” in order to be widely adopted. They acknowledge that the basic models can only go so far (“80-90% of the way”) and that a strong application layer will be required for particular industry/company contexts in order to raise it to 100%. For the numerous Indian businesses developing at the application layer, this is crucial,” Bahl continued.

    Tug of War Between Open AI and Chinese DeepSeek

    The tour takes place at a time when OpenAI is facing significant challenges due to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI search engine platform that claims to have developed AI models that can compete with the best models from US firms like OpenAI, Meta, and Google at a far lower cost. India has one of the biggest populations and developer pools in the world.

    OpenAI will be able to increase its earnings by establishing a physical base in the nation. The trip coincides with a wave of copyright infringement cases against the AI giant for allegedly exploiting local digital platforms’ and book publishers’ content to train its chatbot ChatGPT without permission.

    Meanwhile, OpenAI has apparently started talking about data localisations in an effort to ward off any additional regulatory obstacles. The corporation wants to store its Indian consumers’ data in the nation itself as part of this. Since India is one of the company’s largest developer ecosystems, OpenAI is naturally seeking methods to increase its presence there.

    In preparation for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, it has already started talking about ways to localise the data of its Indian citizens in domestic data centres. A person with knowledge of the development told Livemint that the drive to localise data operations is probably going to start soon.

    India’s Foundational AI Model to Be Ready in 10 Months: Vaishnaw
    India’s indigenous foundational AI platform will be ready within ten months, says Vaishnaw, marking a major step in the country’s AI self-reliance efforts.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • To Support Autonomous AI Throughout its Product Line, Zoho Introduces Zia Agents

    On February 4, the leading SaaS company Zoho Corporation announced the launch of Zia Agents, Agent Studio, and Agent Marketplace, further expanding its own AI platform, Zia. Businesses will be able to access, create, and implement intelligent, self-governing digital agents throughout their organisations thanks to these new capabilities.

    Pre-built, task-specific Zia Agents will be made available for preview by Zoho and its IT management business, ManageEngine, starting today. In the upcoming weeks, the firm plans to roll them out across its range of more than 100 products, according to a release.

    “The pace of disruption and quality of innovation we are seeing in our industry right now has encouraged me to focus on my passion area, technology,” said Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and chief scientist of Zoho Corporation. “I will lead a number of extensive R&D projects for the company, starting with AI, and dedicate more time to practical technical work.”

    He continued by saying that the brand would create strong and practical solutions that increase customer value while upholding our dedication to customer flexibility and data privacy by leveraging Zoho’s extensive engineering experience, its own data centres, and its shared data model.

    Zoho Spreading its Wings

    The company’s core AI, Zia, was introduced in 2015, and it allows for contextual and intelligent activities throughout its app ecosystem. Ask Zia, a system-wide conversational assistant that improved workflows by summarising interactions, evaluating trends, and automating activities, was introduced by Zoho in 2018.

    Zoho is now extending its AI capabilities with Zia Agents, showcasing a number of pre-built autonomous agents that will be rolled out in the upcoming months, including an Account Manager Agent, SDR Agent, HR Agent, Customer Support Agent, IT Help Desk Agent, and SalesCoach Agent.

    Zia Agent Studio

    Additionally, Zoho will launch Zia Agent Studio, a platform that enables clients, partners, and developers to create and implement unique AI agents with inherited skill sets. These agents may then be made available through Zoho’s Agent Marketplace for broader use.

    Zia Agent Studio, which is intended for low-code and no-code development, gives customers access to pre-built Zia Skills, Zoho’s ecosystem tools, unified data, and many language models in addition to enabling them to construct autonomous agents that are pertinent to their needs.

    Organisations may access, deploy, and reuse specialised AI agents by publishing agents created using Zia Agent Studio on the Agent Marketplace. While partners and developers can contribute bespoke agents tailored to certain company needs, Zoho will provide a pre-built roster of agents.

    This announcement coincides with Zoho’s record-breaking expansion, which saw the company gain 110,000 new clients worldwide in 2024, reaching 850,000+ enterprises across all industries. A small number of clients will be the first to get access to the new AI features, with availability growing every month.

    PMKVY 4.0 Trains 20,000 Individuals in AI Courses So Far
    PMKVY 4.0 has trained 20,000 individuals in AI courses, enhancing India’s tech workforce and preparing professionals for the growing demand in artificial intelligence.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Vaishnaw Claims India’s Local Foundational AI Platform to be Ready in Ten Months

    On February 4, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that a local foundational AI platform is anticipated in ten months, and that India may be able to develop its own high-end processing hardware, known as GPUs, in the next three to five years.

    Vaishnaw stated that the government will provide 18,000 top-tier GPU-based computing facilities for AI development to entities in the nation within the next few days and anticipates India’s own AI platform within ten months during a Budget Roundtable 2025 hosted by two renowned media houses.

    According to Vaishnav, the Ministry is considering three different solutions, each of which would include building the country’s own GPU using a chipset that is reasonably priced and either open source or licensed. The entire world has adopted this strategy, which will enable each nation to have its own GPU within three to five years.

    Surge in GPU’s Demand

    In the past, multimedia content processing involving several computational operations, such as gaming and video processing, was handled by GPUs (graphics processing units). However, the global demand for AI has caused a sharp increase in the demand for GPUs, and the US chip manufacturer Nvidia controls more than 80% of the industry. According to the minister, Indian Railways increased the confirmed ticket rate by 27% by leveraging AI models, and a number of start-ups have grown really effectively, albeit in comparison to ChatGPT.

    According to him, developing artificial intelligence models requires high-end computing equipment, which can only be purchased by wealthy individuals. However, the government has put in place a system that allows everyone to access computing infrastructure at a reasonable cost. Vaishnaw added that researchers, academicians, companies, institutions, and IITs may all access this computing capability and use it to launch foundational models.

    When asked whether India would have its own foundational model for AI, Vaishnaw responded, “10 months is the outer limit.”  According to him, there are numerous research papers that essentially discuss mathematical techniques that, for instance, the Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek has employed to make the entire process extremely effective.

    Make In India Churning Jobs for Indians

    According to Vaishnaw, 12 lakh direct and indirect jobs have been created by the government’s mobile manufacturing division under the Make in India initiative. In order to demonstrate the degree of quality and accuracy attained by Indian electronic industries, he displayed a metallic object that was made up of numerous precisely linked pieces, without any apparent lines.

    He claimed that it took three years for a well-known Indian business to reach the high degree of accuracy needed by a vendor to supply parts for the production of Apple and Samsung’s high-end smartphones.

    India now produces a number of goods and parts needed in the mobile phone sector, such as chargers, battery packs, various mechanics, USB cables, keypads, display assemblies, camera modules, lithium-ion batteries, speakers and microphones, vibrator motors, and more, according to the minister.

    India Develops Its Own LLM to Tackle AI Challenges
    India is developing its own large language model (LLM) to strengthen its AI capabilities, ensuring technological independence and competitiveness in the global AI landscape.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • So Far, PMKVY 4.0 has Trained About 20,000 People in AI Courses

    According to the Centre, 19,774 people have received training in various artificial intelligence (AI) courses thus far under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’s fourth iteration (PMKVY 4.0). In order to increase job prospects in the AI industry, the government offers short-term training, upskilling, and reskilling courses to youth nationwide.

    In response to a query, the government disbursed INR 7.13 Cr as of December 31, 2025, under the PMKVY 4.0 initiative to close the AI talent gap, according to Jayant Chaudhary, minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship. With 2,561 and 2,055 people trained under the program, respectively, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the top two states. With 2,109 “orientated” applicants, Tamil Nadu came in third, followed by Andhra Pradesh (1,735) and Telangana (1,726).

    The candidates received training in subjects like AI (business intelligence analyst), AI (data architect), and AI (data engineer), among others, under PMKVY 4.0. Nearly 20.9 lakh candidates have registered on the FutureSkills PRIME portal thus far, the minister added. Of them, 8.96 lakh people have signed up for different courses, and 4.34 lakh candidates have finished their AI and big data analytics courses successfully. There are presently 157 courses available in the two domains on the FutureSkills PRIME platform.

    DGT’s Partnership with Microsoft and Edunet Fuelled the Growth

    Choudhary added that 442 trainees have been enrolled in a year-long AI programming assistant (AIPA) course under the craftsmen training scheme (CTS) at 19 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) nationwide by the Directorate General of Training (DGT), in collaboration with Microsoft and the Edunet Foundation. Chaudhary added that the “YuvAi initiative for Skilling and Capacity Building” has been launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in partnership with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and social media behemoth Meta. By enabling students and young developers to use open-source large language models (LLMs) to tackle real-world problems, the program seeks to reduce the nation’s AI skills gap.

    Government Pushing for Enhancing AI Skills of its Younger Generation

    Additionally, the minister announced that all Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) trainees at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) nationwide will now have access to a 7.5-hour micro-credential course for AI. In light of concerns about job disruptions, the government has accelerated efforts to upskill India’s youth in AI technologies.

    To prevent widespread job displacement, the Centre is concentrating on reskilling and upskilling. In her Budget 2025–2026 address last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested creating five new CoEs for skill development. Experts predict that this would enable the nation to transition from assembly lines to high-value manufacturing, such as the creation of semiconductors.

    Meta to Invest Hundreds of Billions in AI Amid DeepSeek Frenzy
    As DeepSeek gains traction, Meta announces plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI, aiming to strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI space.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Trends in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Business

    This article has been contributed by Arun Meena, Co-Founder & CEO, RHA Technologies Pvt Ltd. 

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed from a trial technology into a fundamental part of today’s business strategies. Several vital trends are playing a role in how organizations operate, deal with customers, and advance innovation. US organisations are leading, with more than 50 percent of companies globally integrating AI to automate at least one business function, according to global research. Over 65 percent of Indian firms are leveraging on AI from its operational side, with the focus being made on the sectors of IT, healthcare and finance. The methods of operations of business, customer engagement and innovation in many different sectors are changing through these trends. Here is a look at various AI variants, and their influence upon the existence of firms in different industries. 

    1. Generative AI and Accessibility 

     Generative AI is changing the way businesses operate by automating the process of content creation and raising productivity. ChatGPT and DALL-E enable companies to develop text, images, and even code from simple prompts. This simplifies processes while also making sophisticated AI tools available to those without a technical background.    

    The rise of low-code and no-code platforms is further democratizing AI. These user-friendly interfaces allow employees at all levels to develop AI applications, fostering a culture of innovation and efficiency within organizations. 

    2. Multimodal AI 

     A noteworthy trend is the emergence of multimodal AI systems that can efficiently handle a variety of data types, including text, images, and audio, all together. This characteristic bolster user dialogues by delivering more sophisticated and contextually aware responses. For example, applications like Microsoft Designer make it possible for users to generate graphics from text descriptions, which helps simplify design workflows and makes them more accessible. For an example, Indian businesses are using AI tools like Bhashini for translating and processing multiple languages as a means to make their customer service barrier free. 

    Beyond creative uses, multimodal AI is also emerging on the customer service front, where chatbots can respond to questions about the product that take text and visual input. It reaches a point where more genuine interactions = a better customer satisfaction.

    3. Enhancing Workplace Productivity 

    AI is also having a big impact in increasing workplace productivity. These companies are using AI supported tools to simplify common tasks, such as data entry and scheduling, or to deal with customer queries. Releasing employees from the routine tasks allowed companies to concentrate human talent on those tasks that demand creativity and critical thinking. For businesses looking to stay ahead of the pack, using AI is proposed to increase employee productivity by an astounding 40% or even more. Furthermore, when teams have the ability to work together through project management tools in tandem with incorporating AI, teams receive insights on time and resource availability. 

    Marketing Analytics 101: Tracking and Measuring Campaign Success
    Learn how to track and measure campaign success using marketing analytics. Explore actionable tips to boost performance and achieve your goals.
    StartupTalkyVarun Bhardwaj

    4. AI Powered Predictive Analytics 

    Unlike traditional AI, predictive analytics is powered by AI and has been changing the way enterprises make their decisions. With predictive models utilizing historical data, organizations can forecast trends and the behavior of consumers so that they can make strategic decisions without the need for all information. This is particularly useful in sectors like retail, finance and healthcare where preference and risk management of consumers is as important as ever. For example, retailers use predictive analytics to predict product demand and use it to optimize their inventory management, as they use predictive analytics to analyse seasonal trends. These kinds of models help to identify patients at risk in health care to prompt proactive interventions. 

    5. AI in Research and Sustainability 

    AI’s usage is more than just standard business operations, it can take its heels into scientific research as well as sustainability. AI is being used by many organizations to produce tools for predicting weather patterns, estimating carbon emissions and a more efficient way of farming through precision farming. 

    The innovations not only help maintain environmental health, but they also help improve operational efficiency by optimizing resources. As an example, chatbots implementing AI assist farmers rapidly in the identification of crop diseases or pests, which in turn can improve yields and impact chemical application reductions.  

    6. Advancements in Conversational AI 

    Conversational AI is gaining popularity in various industries, especially in customer service. These systems can answer detailed questions and engage users. As automated communication systems grow, the market for conversational AI is expected to expand. Advancements in these technologies will lead to greater complexity and improved understanding of context and emotional cues, ultimately transforming customer service interactions.

    7. Ethical Considerations and Regulatory Challenges 

    AI trends in business are constantly evolving, impacting various industries through advanced tools and predictive analytics. Companies must be mindful of ethical considerations and regulatory compliance when incorporating AI technologies. Understanding these trends helps businesses adjust strategies, improve operational efficiency, foster innovation, and support sustainable growth. As 2025 approaches, AI presents significant opportunities to transform the business landscape, offering new avenues for those willing to adopt the technology.

    The trends that affect AI in business are continually changing and have many dimensions. Through generative features that simplify the use of advanced tools and predictive analytics that elevate strategic decision-making, AI has a deep effect across multiple industries. Organizations have to be aware of ethical considerations and regulatory compliance as they integrate these technologies. 

    The knowledge of these trends will help businesses to make shifts in their approach to adopt the inventive power of AI in order to optimize their operational effectiveness, encourage innovation and facilitate sustainable growth. As we enter 2025 and beyond, there are great possibilities for AI to disrupt the business world, providing new opportunities to businesses that can embrace the technology. Specifically, the organizations focused on AI based digital transformation, particularly in domains such as education, real estate, BFSI, and media have an advantage in being able to provide solutions that meet their specific market requirements. Businesses have an opportunity to take advantage of these trends but also ensure their ethics through their ability to deliver a complete AI strategy. 

    How to Start an AI Business in India in 2025? | A Guide
    Curious about starting an AI business in India? Discover this step-by-step guide to building and scaling your AI company in the Indian market, from choosing your AI business model to successful growth strategies.
    StartupTalkyRishi Mundra

  • Perplexity Offers IIT Madras Students Free Subscriptions

    According to Aravind Srinivas, creator and CEO of Perplexity AI, the AI search engine offers its premium subscription plan to staff and students at his alma mater, IIT Madras, for free. All IIT Madras instructors, staff, and students, where the CEO completed his undergraduate studies, have received complimentary Perplexity Pro from the company. In an X post, Srinivas stated that he was “extremely excited to start there as the brand begins its expansion for Indian campuses.” This is consistent with remarks made by Srinivas in December 2024, in which he stated that he was amenable to “figuring out” an economic arrangement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in order to provide Perplexity Pro to Indian academics, faculty, and students.

    He also met with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi last month to talk about the prospects for AI adoption in India and globally. Srinivas stated that he is prepared to devote $1 million personally and five hours per week to a “group of people” who will make India “great in the context of AI” in a different post on X on January 22. Srinivas added that he is prepared to personally invest $1 million (sic) and five hours per week in the most capable team that can achieve this at this moment to restore India’s greatness in the context of artificial intelligence. Think of this as a promise that is irrevocable. The team must open source the models under an MIT license and be as fixated on it as the DeepSeek team.

    Investing 10 Million More in Indian Startups

    The cofounder of Perplexity added that he would put an additional $10 million into the Indian business if it could “rigorously” outperform DeepSeek R1 on all metrics. Large language models (LLMs) have been created by the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which is regarded as a serious rival to OpenAI. To compete with platforms like OpenAI-o1, DeepSeek introduced its newest reasoning models, DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-R1-Zero, earlier this week with less than $4 million in funding.

    Motivating the AI Sector of India

    Pratyush Kumar, a cofounder of SarvamAI, an LLM maker with an Indic focus, responded to the Perplexity cofounder’s post by pitching his own firm. Aravind is creating sovereign models at @SarvamAI, a brand that combines deep reasoning with proficiency in the Indic language. I hope you will join this expedition! Kumar said. This occurs one day after Srinivas caused a stir in the Indian AI community by stating that Indian businesses had to concentrate on building their models from the ground up rather than optimising pre-existing basic models. Srinivas urged Indian businesspeople to demonstrate to the world that they can develop AI with ISRO-like capabilities, despite pointing out that training thinking models is expensive. He was alluding to the Indian space agency’s economical strategy.

    Trump Announces $500 Billion US Investment in AI Infrastructure
    Former US President Donald Trump announces a $500 billion investment plan to strengthen AI infrastructure and advance the country’s technological edge.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Trump Says the US Would Invest $500 Billion on AI Infrastructure

    On January 21, three leading IT companies announced that they would form a new business, Stargate, to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US. The business, which President Donald Trump referred to as the “largest AI infrastructure project in history,” was announced by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the White House on January 21 afternoon.

    With plans to invest up to $500 billion in Stargate over the next few years, the firms will first invest $100 billion in the project. According to Trump, the project is anticipated to generate 100,000 new employment in the US. According to Trump, Stargate will construct data centres across the nation as well as the physical and virtual infrastructure needed to support the next generation of AI. According to Ellison, work is already underway in Texas on the organization’s first data project, which will span one million square feet.

    Fulfilling the Long Standing Demand

    In order to power their aspirations for artificial intelligence in the upcoming years, AI leaders have been stressing for months that more data centres, along with the processors, electricity, and water resources to run them, are required. Altman stated, “I believe this will be the most significant project of this era.” “Without you, Mr. President, we could not accomplish this.”

    One of the largest operators of data centres in the United States is Oracle. Additionally, SoftBank has the kind of large financial resources required to finance the anticipated billion-dollar cost of expanding AI infrastructure. Given that AI has the potential to affect everything from the economy to military capabilities, Altman has previously pushed US leaders to support that infrastructure buildout in order to guarantee that the US stays ahead of China in the AI arms race. According to reports, the CEO of OpenAI met with Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Softbank, last year to ask for funding for new semiconductor facilities that would produce AI chips.

    Altman, who was present at Trump’s inauguration, told a news agency last month that he looks “forward to working with his administration on it” and that he thinks Trump will “be very good at” luring investments in AI infrastructure to the US.

    Holding the Upper Hand in the AI Race

    OpenAI urged the US government to develop a foundational strategy to ensure that infrastructure investment benefits the greatest number of people and maximises access to AI. The policy white paper was released last week and stated that investment in US AI infrastructure can guarantee that US AI tools outperform Chinese technology, as well as create new US jobs and economic opportunities. According to the brief, there are $175 billion in worldwide funds that are ready to be invested in AI initiatives. “Those funds will flow to China-backed projects if the US doesn’t attract them, strengthening the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence,” the company stated.

    Oracle claimed in a statement that the Stargate project “will secure American leadership in AI, generate massive economic benefit for the entire world, and create hundreds of thousands of American jobs.” In addition to aiding in the United States’ reindustrialization, this project will give the country and its allies a strategic capability to safeguard their national security.

    OpenAI will be in charge of operations, while SoftBank will be in charge of finances for Stargate. MGX, a fourth partner, is also providing financial support. According to OpenAI, the chairman of Stargate will be the son of SoftBank. To encourage a purported revival of American industry, new presidents and presidents-elect have frequently announced large US investments in conjunction with businesses. However, their success record is distinctly uneven.

    DeHaat Acquires AgriCentral to Expand Farmer Network
    Agritech firm DeHaat acquires AgriCentral, aiming to broaden its farmer network and enhance agricultural solutions for better connectivity and support.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • With an Emphasis on AI and Innovation, Meta Plans to Fire 3,600 Underperforming Employees

    According to an internal document obtained by a renowned media outlet, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, intends to fire some 3,600 workers who have been deemed low performers. The decision, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is an attempt to “raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster” as the business continues to develop immersive products and AI-powered services.

    About 5% of Meta’s staff, which stood at 72,400 as of September, will be affected by the layoffs. According to an international news outlet, U.S. employees should receive status updates by February 10; notices for other countries will follow. Zuckerberg stated, “Meta wants to make sure that it has the best people on its team because this is going to be an intense year.”

    Meta recently abandoned its US fact-checking program in favour of a brand-new community notes initiative. Similar to X’s community notes, this community-driven system seeks to enable users to report posts that may be deceptive and offer context by incorporating a range of viewpoints.

    The Roadmap of Future Operations

    Later this year, Meta also intends to bring on new personnel to fill the positions of exiting staff members, who Zuckerberg claims would receive “generous” severance money. Zuckerberg also mentioned that if there is hope for their future contributions, a small number of workers who did poorly in the previous era can be kept on board. Zuckerberg revealed on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that Meta and other top tech companies are developing AI systems to tackle complicated coding chores that are typically performed by human programmers. He also mentioned ambitions to use artificial intelligence (AI) to replace mid-level software engineers by 2025 during the conversation.

    Other Giants Joining the Job Cut Game

    Meta is not alone, though, in indicating that AI developments are driving firm reorganisation. As part of a larger trend in the tech sector, industry heavyweights like Microsoft and Salesforce have also revealed plans to reduce their workforces. In a 20VC podcast with Harry Stebbing, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff disclosed that the SaaS giant’s 2025 business plan calls for a significant cutback in the hiring of software engineers for the upcoming year. Agentforce, the company’s proprietary AI platform, is anticipated to encourage a 30% adoption rate among engineering teams.

    “We no longer need additional software engineers because our engineering productivity has grown by 30%,” Benioff said. He asserted that AI had radically altered the way brand operate. Benioff stated that Salesforce will now concentrate on growing its sales team by 1,000 to 2,000 individuals, even if the business intends to eliminate its support engineering positions. Benioff emphasised that Salesforce closed 200 sales in five days during the October-ending quarter after the debut of Agentforce. This quarter, the company now wants to close thousands of Agentforce sales.

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