India’s IT minister on Thursday praised DeepSeek‘s progress and mentioned the nation will host the Chinese language AI lab’s giant language fashions on home servers, in a uncommon opening for Chinese language expertise in India.
“You may have seen what DeepSeek has accomplished — $5.5 million and a really very highly effective mannequin,” IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned on Thursday, responding to criticism New Delhi has obtained for its personal funding in AI, which has been a lot lower than many different nations.
Since 2020, India has banned greater than 300 apps and companies linked to China, together with TikTok and WeChat, citing nationwide safety considerations. The approval to permit DeepSeek to be hosted in India seems contingent on the platform storing and processing all Indian customers’ information domestically, consistent with India’s strict information localization necessities.
“Information privateness points concerning DeepSeek might be addressed by internet hosting open-source fashions on Indian servers,” Vaishnaw mentioned at an trade convention.
DeepSeek’s fashions will possible be hosted on India’s new AI Compute Facility. The ability is powered by 18,693 graphics processing models (GPUs), almost double its preliminary goal — virtually 13,000 of these are Nvidia H100 GPUs, and about 1,500 are Nvidia H200 GPUs. Round 10,000 GPUs are able to be deployed, and the ability is scheduled to start operations “within the coming days,” based on the minister.
The ability may also provide computing companies at steep reductions to companies in India. Vaishnaw mentioned customary AI computing can be provided at a 42% low cost to market charges, and high-precision computing can be discounted by 47%.
The minister’s remarks come a day after DeepSeek’s eponymous app was taken off Apple’s and Google’s app shops in Italy, after that nation’s information safety regulator mentioned it was asking how the Chinese language agency was utilizing and storing Italians’ private information.
The discharge of DeepSeek’s R1 “reasoning” mannequin, constructed on a purportedly modest finances, despatched shockwaves by way of the tech trade this week, inflicting chip large Nvidia’s market cap to say no by $600 billion. The mannequin has shortly come below intense scrutiny, and has sparked heated debates round copyright points, U.S. export controls, and the way much more cash must be poured into AI efforts.
Past internet hosting overseas AI fashions, India can be making an attempt to drive growth of AI fashions and associated expertise by itself turf. “Main chip designers are keen to work with India to develop indigenous GPUs,” Vaishnaw mentioned.
Vaishnaw estimated that India would see funding of $30 billion in hyperscalers and information centres over the subsequent two to a few years. One of many nation’s greatest conglomerates, Reliance, is planning to construct what might change into the world’s largest information heart within the metropolis of Jamnagar, with a capability of three gigawatts, Bloomberg reported final week.
“We imagine there are a minimum of six main builders who can develop AI fashions in six to eight months on the outer restrict, and 4 to 6 months on a extra optimistic estimate. A standard compute facility is a very powerful element for creating a sturdy AI ecosystem,” Vaishnaw mentioned.
The computing facility may also assist India’s broader AI initiatives. Vaishnaw mentioned 18 AI-driven functions specializing in agriculture, local weather change, and studying disabilities have been chosen for preliminary funding.
To supervise growth of those AI initiatives, India will set up a regulatory physique utilizing what Vaishnaw described as a “hub-and-spoke mannequin,” permitting a number of establishments to collaborate on security frameworks. “We shall be protecting our fashions open and application-focused,” he mentioned.
