DeepSeek wake-up call spurs India's AI ambitions. But is it too late?

When OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman visited India in mid-2023, he laughed off a question of whether a handful of bright minds with $10 million in funding could build a foundational model akin to ChatGPT. While Altman said it would be “hopeless”, he caveated this by adding, “It’s your job to try anyway”.

For the most part, the first half of Altman’s statement is all the Indian government and tech community heard. Conversations with VCs and founders around AI over the past year have largely focused on building atop foundational models from large American AI companies backed by untold billions of dollars.