Jane Sheppard, a seasoned news reporter from North Florida, brings you the latest developments in the tech world, focusing on a recent partnership between Nvidia Corp. and Reliance Industries Ltd. This collaboration aims to advance artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in India, the world’s most populous nation.
US Tech Giant Partners With Asia’s Wealthiest Man
Jensen Huang, the head of Nvidia, recently announced a partnership with Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. Together, they aim to enhance AI infrastructure and spur the technology’s adoption in India. This exciting development was unveiled at Nvidia’s AI summit in Mumbai, where both executives shared the stage.
Under this agreement, a new major data center by Reliance Industries Ltd., owned by Ambani, will employ the latest Blackwell chips from Nvidia. The tech company has also formed partnerships with other Indian conglomerates, including Infosys Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
India: The Emerging AI Arena
The country of 1.4 billion has surfaced as a significant AI hub, adopting the technology in various sectors such as agriculture, education, and manufacturing to boost productivity. Tech giants, from Nvidia to Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., are betting on India’s rapidly-growing economy as a growth market and potential alternative to China.
“India produced and exported software,” Huang stated. “In the future, India will export AI.”
Reliance Data Center to Use Nvidia’s Blackwell
A 1-gigawatt Reliance data center currently under construction in Gujarat state will use Nvidia’s Blackwell, making it one of the first to deploy these powerful new chips. Nvidia’s customers, including Amazon Web Services, are also expected to use the product, with AWS looking to go online next year. Dell Technologies Inc. has indicated that Blackwell-based servers will be generally available at the beginning of 2025.
Nvidia chips have become highly sought after among data center operators, who employ them to develop AI software and services. Despite initial production challenges, the company is now making changes to improve its manufacturing yield.
Nvidia’s Collaborations with Indian Companies
Nvidia also plans to assist India’s Tech Mahindra Ltd. in building a Hindi large language model, and work with e-commerce company Flipkart on its conversational customer-service systems. Additionally, it intends to collaborate with India’s healthcare companies to enhance productivity in patient care and research.
The Global AI Boom and Nvidia’s Role
The US company has emerged at the forefront of the global AI boom, supplying the chips that tech leaders like Microsoft and Google use to develop AI. Huang has been promoting AI technologies worldwide, dubbing it as the “new industrial revolution.”
Nvidia began its operations in Bangalore, southern India, two decades ago and now has development centers in three other cities in the country. With about 4,000 engineers, it’s the company’s most extensive employee base outside its home country.
India’s Moment in the Global Tech Spotlight
India’s importance for global tech companies has increased due to escalating tensions between the US and China. Nvidia is among the companies whose dealings with China have been limited by Washington’s restrictions. Huang described it as “India’s moment” after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US last month.
Though India boasts a growing digital economy, AI infrastructure development is still underway. The government has set aside $1.2 billion under the IndiaAI Mission to build data centers crucial for AI systems and the commercialization of technologies.
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