India, known for its huge technology talent pool, needs to boost its data center infrastructure for it to become an influential player in the generative artificial intelligence space, according to Siemens AG’s Chief Technology Officer Peter Koerte.
“Today, India does not play a significant role in Gen AI,” Koerte, who was recently named as a managing board member of the company, said in an interview in Mumbai. “Most of the computing is not happening in Indian data centers,” with the infrastructure mostly owned by large American companies, he added.
The German executive’s comments on Gen AI, a technology that can create text, video and images based on simple user prompts, highlights the gap between rhetoric and reality with AI infrastructure failing to keep pace with India’s burgeoning digital economy.
Indian businesses have in recent years started ramping up investments in data centers — required for cloud providers globally — amid greater demand for AI services. While Nvidia Corp. last month struck a partnership with Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani to build out AI infrastructure, billionaire Gautam Adani-controlled Adani Enterprises Ltd. plans to spend around $1.5 billion on data centers.
The business called AdaniConnex Pvt. is a joint venture with the global data center provider EdgeConnex Inc.
“India can play a major role in the future,” Koerte said, citing India’s pool of software developers as a positive.
Digitalisation will unlock new potential for India’s industries and investing in technology would give them the edge amid intense global competition, said Sunil Mathur, managing director and chief executive officer of Siemens Ltd.
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