Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Applauds India’s AI Rise, Credits PM Modi’s Vision

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has praised India’s expanding technology ecosystem, saying the country’s established IT companies and startups are well positioned to capitalise on rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

Speaking about India’s role in the evolving AI landscape, Huang said the country’s strong IT sector provides a solid foundation for the next phase of technological development.

"India is one of the world's leading IT industries. And this is the beginning of a new IT platform. And I had the benefit of seeing Modi ji a decade ago talking about AI. And I'm really anxious to see and very excited to see the local companies and the local startups starting in India, starting to take advantage of the technology, contributing to the technology, and then building the local AI economy," he said on the sidelines of the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Huang also stressed the need for countries to accelerate their efforts as AI continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace.

Asked what his suggestion would be to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on AI, Huang said: "AI is moving fast, so every country has to move faster."

His remarks come as India steps up efforts to strengthen its domestic AI capabilities. Prime Minister Modi announced plans to provide AI-skills training to 10 million young Indians during his Independence Day speech this year.

During the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February, PM Modi had laid out an ambitions roadmap for the adoption of AI in the country. “India has the talent and entrepreneurial energy to become an AI powerhouse, not just as a consumer, but a creator," he had said.

Huang has consistently pointed to India’s potential to emerge as a major global AI power.

In 2023, he said India could become the world’s largest exporter of AI, arguing that the country’s vast IT workforce could be reskilled to support the emerging technology landscape.

In 2024, he said India should “manufacture its own AI” rather than export data and import intelligence, while describing the country as having the talent, data, energy and infrastructure needed to build AI. Huang has also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with recognising the importance of AI early, recalling that Modi had invited him to address his cabinet on the technology years before it became a global priority.