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Indians are busy building 12k courses that teach how to master AI and earn tens of lakhs every month, while the US and China are building AI and moving years ahead of us. I have heard this joke so many times in the last month, and I disagree with it completely. The reality is that we are behind, but much in the race. Let me explain. .. The biggest problem is that when we think of Indian founders building GPTs, all that comes to mind is Bhavish Agarwal of Ola and his Krutrim AI. And as soon as one mentions that, things just go south. Why do I say that? He raised $50mn from his age-old backer (Matrix, now known as Z47) and then took on another $24mn in debt from the same investor to build a fantastic AI system that, if asked openly, says, “It has been created by OpenAI.” So, of course, it makes a joke of India’s strides in AI. .. And beyond that, when people think of India and AI, everyone thinks that we are just building wrappers and not any foundational models. But, the truth is very, very different! And two cases really deserve a lot more attention. Particularly more than Krutrim! 1> Sarvam AI - It raised $41mn from Ivy investors (including Khosla Ventures) and is building literally cutting-edge models centric on Indian languages. 2> Paras Chopra, who recently sold bootstrapped Wingify for $200mn, is now building an AI venture to build foundational models, which will position India among the global best These are serious attempts, with respectable people making real efforts to elevate India’s standing in the AI arena. .. Also, I know the world often sells the idea that the Govt is not doing anything. But frankly, some amazing stuff is indeed being done. Take Paras Chopra’s case. He has publicly shared that the plan is to build a lean team for his new AI Venture, prepare a plan, and then submit it to the India AI Mission. It’s a Govt initiative, wherein it has set aside funds, and also resources like 18k Nvidia GPUs which can be used by Indian AI startups to build in and from India for the country and the world! .. My point is what? India’s AI story is not just about Bhavish, Krturim and 12k courses on how to use AI and earn lakhs every month. A lot more of sincere work is underway, and we are maybe a maximum of 2 years behind the curve, not more. To most, this will come out as ludicrous or overly ambitious. But, I am bullish on India in AI. What about you? ..