Industry players and analysts said the government's proposal to finance up to 50% of the cost of building artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure is a welcome move.
Many feel that this will lower the cost of using graphics processing units (GPUs) in the country and accelerate the adoption of AI.
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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)'s plan to fund AI computing infrastructure development is a positive step that demonstrates commitment to AI technology and encourages industry to invest in GPU capacity.'' said Amrish Pipada, Founder and CEO of Networks. Server manufacturing company.
“This initiative is likely to attract more investments and lead to advanced homegrown infrastructure and increased capabilities in the AI field,” Pipada added.
Recently, at an event organized by CII, Government Secretary S. Krishnan said that the government will fund up to 50 per cent of the cost of building AI computing infrastructure and to develop high-end computing capacity. He said he is ready to partner with private companies. domestically under India's AI Mission.
“Areas where GPU server players may seek support include training programs for upskilling and reskilling, funding for research initiatives, ensuring a favorable regulatory environment, and ensuring that GPU servers are effectively This includes building a strong network infrastructure to facilitate widespread adoption and usage,” said Pipada. .
Rohit Kumar of public policy firm Quantum Hub (TQH) suggested it was important to conduct systematic research to identify constraints that could prevent further investment.
“Many of these constraints, including the need for skilled manpower, strengthening research and development capabilities, etc., have already been identified as focus areas under India's AI mission, but will require prioritization,” he added.
Analysts also said the financial support will boost local AI initiatives, especially in the government sector and India's huge small and medium enterprise sector.
“This is a good initiative, as AI infrastructure is prohibitively expensive, with a capital investment of $1 million or more for a small cluster. That's consistent with our interests,” said Naresh Singh, senior director analyst at Gartner.
To expand the use of GPU capacity, Secretary Krishnan said during the CII event, the government could consider providing Viability Gap Funding (VGF) or a voucher-based mechanism to support the creation of new GPU capacity. also mentioned. A voucher will be issued for the usage of GPU capacity.
Industry players believe that making AI servers available at subsidized rates from the government may make it difficult for server companies to attract customers at regular prices, but at the same time I also see an opportunity.
“Server companies can differentiate themselves through value-added services, specialized solutions, and customized offerings. Increased adoption of AI is likely to drive demand for GPU server solutions, allowing companies to and grow,” said Mega Networks' Pipada.
Vishnu Vardhan, co-founder and CEO of SML India, which recently launched homegrown AI chatbot Hanooman, said the move to subsidize the use of GPU servers will enable more companies to build Gen AI use cases and applications. I said it would be. This will be good for the industry in the long run as it will allow us to build markers for GPU cloud providers.