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Title: India's AI Story Is 'All Talk, Little Substance,' Says Bernstein

Link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/09/04/1231230/i...

Investment research firm Bernstein warned Thursday that India faces a
"strategic tech crisis" as US technology giants deploy predatory pricing
strategies to lock up the Indian AI market. Perplexity Pro launched free for
one year to Airtel's 350 million subscribers while OpenAI introduced a $5
monthly India subscription compared to $20 in the United States. Bernstein
analysts described regulatory "double standards" where foreign tech companies
receive favorable treatment while domestic companies face what the firm
called "crushing rules and government-led 'tech stacks' that make private
business unviable." Private AI investment in India totaled $11.29 billion
between 2013 and 2024 compared to $471 billion in the United States and $119
billion in China. From the report: When OpenAI, which is reportedly looking
to set up a data center in India, announced the plans to launch a new office,
it was met with another round of excitement -- "as if Open AI will hire all
Indians at hefty salaries," the firm wrote in a note to clients Thursday.
Bernstein analysts pour cold water on this excitement, dismissing it as a
"repeat of the 90s" and arguing that the hype misses the fundamental power
imbalance. "Anyone, we repeat anyone, can build a data center... This is the
start of the dominance of US tech in Indian AI environment ensuring Indian
entrepreneurs do not get a fighting chance to stay relevant. They will run on
the sidelines - piggybacking on the US foundation models or maybe even the
Chinese," they wrote.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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