India to Launch National AI Compute Portal

Will Cover 40% of Computing Costs

According to media reports, the IndiaAI mission will cover approximately 40% of the computing costs for eligible users. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the portal will be launched very soon. The mission will provide shared computer resources through approximately 14,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). These GPUs will be provided through ten companies that submitted the lowest bids, including Yotta Data Services, E2E Networks, and Tata Communications. Around 70% of the GPUs are high-capacity models, while the remaining 30% are lower-capacity or older-generation GPUs. Yotta Data Services will provide the highest compute capacity (9,216 GPUs).

Purpose of the Initiative

The government has accelerated efforts to develop AI models domestically. This move is seen as a response to China’s DeepSeek, which was developed at a significantly lower cost compared to models from major companies like OpenAI. The initiative to acquire new GPUs aims to provide researchers and startups with the necessary computing power to develop foundational AI models, the same models that underpin chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.