Advertisment

Sam Altman’s India Visit Amidst AI Race with China’s Deepseek

News: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visits India amid rising AI competition from China's Deepseek. His trip includes meetings with officials, industry talks, and legal challenges.

author-image
Manisha Sharma
New Update
Sam Altman’s India Visit

Sam Altman’s India Visit Photograph: (Sam Altman’s India Visit)

OpenAI CEO alongside ChatGPT creator Sam Altman is planning a February 5 visit to India as his second appearance in the country since 2021. The scheduled program includes top government meetings with Altman and an industry panel chat for him.

Advertisment

A Visit Amidst AI Disruptions

OpenAI now welcomes Altman to lead its operations at a vital point when the Western AI ecosystem faces competition from Chinese startup Deepseek. Deepseek R1 emerged as a cost-efficient AI model developed by the company for under $6 million while requiring less computer power than ChatGPT.

Deepseek experienced exceptional growth by creating an app that surpassed ChatGPT and achieved the lead position as the top free App Store app. The rapid growth of DeepSeek has caused a major disruption in the United States technology industry that has promised multiple billion-dollar investments in AI systems for years.

Advertisment

Nvidia’s Record-Breaking Market Loss

Deepseek's market entry triggered a historic $590 billion market capitalization decline at Nvidia recently, which became the largest single-day loss in market value history.

Altman’s Views on AI Outside the U.S. Resurface

Advertisment

A 2023 video footage with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman surfaced before his arrival where he addressed concerns about advanced AI models being built worldwide outside US borders. The worldwide AI marketplace now demonstrates potentially transformative changes because non-Western companies have started to threaten the leading position of traditional Western AI market leaders.

The U.S. Ramps Up AI Investments

To fight against escalating AI competition the U.S. government has started taking bold measures to strengthen its AI dominance. Earlier this past month Donald Trump initiated private investments for creating AI infrastructure valued at up to $500 billion.

Advertisment

Stargate represents an AI company that received support from Oracle and SoftBank in addition to Microsoft backing OpenAI in order to accelerate American investments in AI research and data facility development.

 OpenAI established SB OpenAI Japan as a joint venture with SoftBank to advance AI technology across Asia through this new partnership.

India’s AI Aspirations: A Sovereign Push

Advertisment

India has launched its independent AI development plans as Altman arrives to observe the progress. The Indian government launched a budget-friendly foundational AI model which aims to match the capabilities of ChatGPT as well as Deepseek R1 and their competitors.

Ashwini Vaishnaw announced through his role as Union IT Minister that the Indian AI initiative would make GPUs available to startups and researchers at highly competitive prices. According to him the Indian AI product would become available for less than ₹100 per hour (equivalent to $1.16) through a 40% government subsidy program.

The minister maintained strong confidence that India's AI model would compete with leading technological capabilities worldwide due to its world-class standards.

Advertisment

OpenAI’s Legal Hurdles in India

OpenAI experiences Indian legal opposition including copyright issues while Altman arranges his trip to the nation. The company continues to use only public data available to them while maintaining that Indian courts do not hold authority in this case. 

 The global AI competition has sparked important consequences because Altman's discussions in India might direct the national policy for AI governance along with AI investments and technological independence. OpenAI will have to adapt to a dynamic and intensely competitive space because India is advancing toward establishing its own AI market sovereignty.

Advertisment

Also Read: 

How Budget 2025 to Fuel AI, Digital Expansion, and GCC Growth in India

Union Budget 2025: No Tax Up to ₹12L, MSME Credit Boost, Tax Cuts

Union Budget 2025: Setting A Vision for Growth, Innovation and Global Aspirations

Union Budget 2025 - Implications on the Electronics & Semiconductor Sector