'NVIDIA is Vidya': Jensen Huang hails India’s AI leadership alongside Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani at Nvidia AI Summit 2024

At the 2024 NVIDIA AI Summit, CEO Jensen Huang delivered a powerful message about India’s role in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, drawing a deep connection between his company and the Indian ethos of knowledge. “My version of NVIDIA is ‘Vidya’, which means knowledge in India,” Huang declared, underscoring the significance of India’s contribution to the tech industry and the transformative potential of AI in the country.

In a fireside chat with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, Huang emphasized that India’s vast pool of tech talent and data makes it uniquely positioned to lead in the intelligence era. “India is the epicentre of the IT industry,” Huang said, praising the country’s prowess in computer science and its emerging leadership in AI.

India as the Epicenter of AI Development

Huang spoke of India’s deep-rooted knowledge in the tech sector, likening NVIDIA’s mission to the Indian philosophy of ‘Vidya’. This connection between NVIDIA and India’s quest for knowledge sets the stage for the country to become a global AI powerhouse. “India has the raw talent, the infrastructure, and the data to lead the world in AI,” he remarked.

Mukesh Ambani echoed these sentiments, pointing to India’s youthful demographic and its rapid digitalisation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “India is not just adopting AI—it’s driving it,” Ambani said. He highlighted that India’s average age of 1.4 billion people is under 35, making it a young, aspirational nation ready to harness AI for economic and social progress.

NVIDIA and Reliance: Building India’s AI Infrastructure

A major highlight of the summit was the announcement of a partnership between Reliance and NVIDIA to build AI infrastructure in India. This collaboration will enable India to scale its AI capabilities, leveraging its vast amounts of data and digital infrastructure. “India has the fundamental ingredients for AI: a large population of users, immense data, and a national will to build AI infrastructure,” Huang noted.

Ambani shared his vision of making India a global hub for AI innovation, explaining that Reliance had already laid the groundwork by revolutionising the country’s digital infrastructure. “We took India from 158th in the world to 1st in mobile data consumption,” Ambani said, emphasising that this foundation will accelerate AI adoption and development across industries.

AI for the People: Democratising Knowledge and Intelligence

Huang and Ambani both stressed the importance of making AI accessible to everyone in India. “The ability to program AI should be available to every citizen,” Huang said, adding that if AI is placed in the hands of every Indian, it could elevate the entire society. Ambani echoed this sentiment, saying, “India will not only export AI expertise but create AI solutions for the world.”

The Path Forward for India

The conversation concluded with both leaders expressing optimism about India’s future in AI. Huang reiterated the critical role India will play in the global AI revolution, stating, “The IT industry is becoming the intelligence industry, and India is poised to lead.”

Ambani looked ahead, predicting that India will surprise the world with its AI achievements in the coming years. “India’s intelligence market is set to be one of the largest in the world,” he said, confident in the nation’s ability to drive AI innovation on a global scale.