During his visit to India, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared insights on the nation’s role in the AI revolution, emphasizing that India should focus on making large language models (LLMs) 10 times cheaper than what major companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta have spent on them.
Nadella highlighted the capital-intensive nature of building LLMs, where companies typically invest billions of dollars. He suggested that India should set a mission to achieve what others have done with tens of billions of dollars, but for just a fraction of the cost. “What if India defined its mission as ‘we will do in a billion dollars what has taken $10 billion to build,'” Nadella said, urging India to find a smarter and more strategic way to develop its AI infrastructure.
Nadella believes India has the potential to be at the forefront of AI innovation. “I don’t think the last known big breakthrough in AI has happened. We are one breakthrough away from the edifice of transformers going away. India has the talent to come up with the next big thing in AI,” he added.
The Microsoft CEO also spoke about the economic potential of AI, explaining that it could boost India’s economy by improving efficiency in businesses. “Every year there can be a 10-15% operating leverage in every line item for a company. In 5-6 years, it’s a 100% change,” he noted. “It can be transformative for companies and countries, so more tokens per dollar per watt will translate directly to GDP growth.”
In line with these ambitions, Microsoft plans to invest $3 billion (approximately Rs 25,700 crore) to expand its cloud and AI capabilities in India. The company also aims to train 10 million people in AI skills by 2030.
Nadella’s visit marks a significant moment in India’s growing role as a global AI hub, with tech leaders increasingly viewing the nation as a crucial battlefield for AI development.
