New Delhi: PM Modi holds bilaterals with OpenAI, Qualcomm CEOs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral meetings with the CEOs of OpenAI and Qualcomm – Sam Altman and Cristiano Amon – on Friday, on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi from February 16 to 21. No official details of these discussions were immediately released.
Altman posted on X saying, “Great meeting with PM Narendra Modi today to talk about the incredible energy around AI in India. India is our fastest growing market for codex globally, up 4x in weekly users in the past 2 weeks alone.” Modi replied to this, saying, “It was a very good meeting indeed. India is making immense strides in the world of AI. We invite the world to invest in our talented youth and add vigour to this sector.”
Similarly, for Amon, PM Modi posted, “Was delighted to meet Mr. Cristiano R. Amon, President & CEO, Qualcomm Inc. We discussed how Qualcomm can work with Indian innovators and StartUps in AI and other futuristic areas of technology. We also talked about working closely in the world of semiconductors and chip manufacturing.”
Modi’s meetings were part of a broader set of engagements with technology leaders and heads of state during the Summit. On Friday morning, the Prime Minister chaired a roundtable with 16 CEOs of AI and deeptech startups. The meeting was held behind closed doors.
He later held seven back-to-back bilateral meetings. Four of these were with leaders from Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius. In addition, Modi met António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Speaking at the Summit’s inaugural event on Thursday, Altman said, “On our current trajectory, we believe we may be only a couple of years away from early versions of true superintelligence…By the end of 2028, more of the world’s intellectual capacity could reside inside of data centres than outside.”
Altman said the pace of progress demands a new kind of international institution. “We expect the world may need something like the IAEA for international coordination of AI, and especially for it to have the ability to rapidly respond to changing circumstances,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amon, in his keynote address, said AI will replace operating systems and applications in mobile phones with AI agents, marking what he described as a fundamental shift in the mobile industry.
“We expect AI is going to have a fundamental shift in the mobile industry where the (AI) agent is going to be at the very center and you can access the agent from your mobile phone, your glasses or a pendant or for anything that you wear,” he said. “It is going to replace a lot of the OS and in the application definitions we see today, and that is the new future of technology, including the future of mobility.”
On Friday, Qualcomm and Tata Electronics announced a partnership to manufacture Qualcomm Automotive Modules in India at Tata Electronics’ upcoming semiconductor assembly and test facility in Jagiroad, Assam, under the “Make in India” initiative. The modules, which integrate Snapdragon Digital Chassis chips with other components, are used in vehicle systems such as digital dashboards, infotainment and connectivity, and are aimed at meeting growing demand from automakers.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced the launch of ‘OpenAI for India’ at the India AI Impact Summit. The initiative aims to expand access to AI across the country and build local capabilities in partnership with Indian companies, beginning with Tata Group. As part of the plan, OpenAI and Tata will develop AI-ready data centre capacity in India, with OpenAI becoming the first customer of TCS’ HyperVault data centre business.
Tata Group also plans to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise across its workforce over time, starting with TCS employees. OpenAI said it will expand certification programmes in India, partner with educational institutions by offering over 100,000 ChatGPT Edu licenses, and open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year.
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