India makes its bets as AI chip race hots up; startup costs may fall

The country is expanding computing power for its AI mission. That's happening as rising competition between Google, Nvidia and other technology giants may lead to lowering costs for domestic startups

Google and Nvidia’s competition in the artificial intelligence chip ecosystem briefly unsettled global markets last month but for India’s AI ambitions the impact is marginal — at least for now.

 

When reports in late November said that Meta Platforms (the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) may use Google’s in-house Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for its upcoming data centres, it knocked down Nvidia’s stock nearly 3 per cent. It also reignited the debate over whether Nvidia, the world’s chip leader, is finally facing credible competition. Nvidia was quick to respond, publicly welcoming Google’s progress while asserting that its own chips