AI sovereignty doesn't imply digital isolation: Yotta CEO Sunil Gupta

Sovereignty in artificial intelligence (AI) does not imply isolation or complete self-reliance, but rather strategic control, Sunil Gupta, MD and CEO of Yotta Data Services, said on Friday.

Speaking at the AI Impact Summit 2026, Gupta stressed that global interdependence in technology is inevitable. "We will always remain interconnected and interdependent across the world."  He further said that some countries will excel at chips, others at raw materials, data, models, talent, or capital, so "collaboration is essential".

However, he clarified that sovereignty does not mean attempting to build everything domestically or turning inward. Instead, it means ensuring that no single country or company can dictate a nation's digital future.

"Sovereignty is also confused with (the idea that) we will do everything ourselves. We'll start looking inwards. We will isolate ourselves from the rest of the world, and everything is done by us... Sovereignty, for sure, does not mean we become isolated and just try to do everything ourselves," said Gupta, who is also the co-founder.

Gupta highlighted the importance of keeping core compute infrastructure within national borders and under domestic control. "Use these technologies within your environment, within your control," he said, adding that data processing, storage, and model development should not be vulnerable to external disruptions or unilateral decisions.

While leveraging global technologies from companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon, Yotta ensured that the entire technology stack operated within India and remained under local control, he said.

For India, AI priorities are distinct, Gupta said, and highlighted the need for voice-based AI systems in native languages and local dialects to serve the country's diverse population at scale.

Seema Ambastha, Chief Executive of Larsen & Toubro-Vyoma, said that building sovereign capacity requires forging strong and strategic partnerships.

On Wednesday, Yotta Data Services announced over USD 2 billion spend on Nvidia's latest chips in an artificial intelligence computing hub it is setting up just outside the national capital.

Backed by the real estate group headed by Niranjan Hiranandani, Yotta runs three datacenter campuses in Mumbai, Gujarat and Greater Noida.