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On Sat, 31 Aug, 8:04 AM UTC
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Global giants take AIm at India's GPU ambition
Nvidia, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Palo Alto Networks were among participants of a pre-bid meeting conducted by the government for its Rs 10,000-crore GPU procurement tender. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said the companies' participation was "exceptional".Top chip companies, cloud giants and cyber security firms have shown interest in the government's Rs 10,000 crore graphics processing units (GPUs) procurement tender, central to India's Artificial Intelligence Mission. Nvidia, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Palo Alto Networks were among the scores of companies that attended a pre-bid meeting on Thursday. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) termed the participation "exceptional" and said it will extend the last date for bids by two weeks from the date of publication of clarifications to the tender. It got around 500 suggestions on the tender from those who attended the meeting, said MeitY additional secretary Abhishek Singh. Also present at the meeting were representatives from Yotta, L&T, E2E, Tata Communications and Vigyanlabs, among others. As per the terms of the Request for Empanelment (RFE), the companies are either required to show the government a purchase order of 1,000 GPUs or have a stock of 1,000 GPUs in order to be eligible to bid. Several issues were raised by global GPU manufacturers, cloud service providers and data centre operators and MeitY has told them it will take these points into consideration and issue a clarification, besides extending the deadline from the current September 6, said people aware of the matter. "There is lots of enthusiasm and interest in the India AI Mission," Singh said. "We have received a huge response to the RFE. As is the process with any government tender, we will give two weeks from the date of publication of clarification for companies to submit their bids. Companies have till Saturday (August 31), 5 pm, to submit their suggestions." One of the key concerns was that RFE favours big companies, especially the teraFLOPS specification, referring to computing power. (One TeraFLOPS is equal to one trillion floating-point operations per second.) Singh said the RFE is original equipment manufacturer-agnostic and both small and large players have been accorded equal opportunity. "One of the suggestions given in the meeting was that there should be a category for startups and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who don't have prior experience to participate in the tender," he said. The companies that participated in Thursday's meeting told ET that if the government wants to facilitate 1,000 GPUs' time for startups, academia and research organisations under the India AI Mission, then even low-range GPUs that can cater to smaller workloads should be included in the RFE, not just high-end and mid-range GPUs. The companies said end users should have a choice among various GPUs and should not be restricted to one kind. Singh said that choice will be available. As per the scoring pattern mentioned in the RFE, if the average annual turnover for the last three years of a company is greater than Rs 100 crore and less than Rs 150 crore, then five marks will be awarded to the bidder. For bidders with turnover greater than or equal to Rs 150 crore and less than Rs 200 crore, 15 marks will be awarded. A turnover greater than or equal to Rs 200 crore will yield 25 marks. This may require smaller companies to partner with others, some of the attendees said. Singh said the minimum turnover requirements are as per General Financial Rules. Companies need to have the necessary financial strength and capability to be able to implement projects of such complexity, he said. "MeitY has released a visionary RFE for AI/GPU cloud services providers," said Sunil Gupta, chief executive of Yotta Data Services, which has placed a purchase order of 16,000 H100 GPUs from Nvidia and went live with 4,000 H100 GPUs a few months back. This will help grow the AI ecosystem in India by making GPU capacity available in India in a cost-effective manner, he said. Equally important is the way the empanelment framework has been structured, he said. It will encourage multiple service providers in the AI ecosystem such as data centres, cloud providers, managed service providers and system integrators to join hands, form consortiums, invest in related infrastructure and make AI GPU computing capacity available to the Indian market, thus enlarging the ecosystem, he said.
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Global tech leaders eye Rs 10,000 cr AI tender as India expands AI mission
The exceptional participation has prompted the government to extend the deadline to accommodate the overwhelming response and industry suggestions Leading technology companies, including Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Palo Alto Networks, have shown significant interest in the Indian government's Rs 10,000 crore tender for procuring graphics processing units (GPUs). This tender is a key part of India's ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission, reported The Economic Times.
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India's ambitious AI mission attracts global tech leaders as the country aims to develop its own GPU capabilities. The ₹10,000 crore tender for AI infrastructure has sparked intense competition among international players.
In a significant move to bolster its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, India has launched a ₹10,000 crore (approximately $1.2 billion) tender for AI infrastructure, drawing the attention of global technology leaders. This initiative comes as part of India's broader AI mission, which aims to establish the country as a major player in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence 1.
The tender has attracted bids from several international tech giants, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel, and others. These companies are competing to secure a significant portion of India's growing AI market, which is seen as a crucial battleground for future technological dominance 2.
Alongside the AI infrastructure tender, India has also expressed its intention to develop indigenous Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) capabilities. GPUs are essential components in AI and machine learning applications, and India's move towards self-reliance in this area has caught the attention of global semiconductor leaders 2.
The competition for India's AI tender is intense, with companies like Nvidia, which currently dominates the AI chip market, facing challenges from rivals such as AMD and Intel. These firms are not only bidding for the tender but also exploring partnerships with Indian entities to strengthen their position in the market 1.
India's government is taking a strategic approach to its AI mission, balancing the need for immediate technological advancement with long-term goals of self-reliance. The tender is designed to attract cutting-edge technology while also encouraging knowledge transfer and local capacity building 2.
The AI infrastructure tender and GPU development plans are expected to have far-reaching implications for India's technology ecosystem. These initiatives could potentially accelerate India's AI capabilities, foster innovation, and create new opportunities for local tech companies and startups 1.
While the ambitious plans present significant opportunities, they also come with challenges. Developing indigenous GPU capabilities will require substantial investment, research, and time. However, if successful, it could reduce India's dependence on foreign technology and position the country as a key player in the global AI landscape 2.
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The Indian government has shortlisted ten companies for the final bidding process to procure 10,000 GPUs under the IndiaAI Mission, aiming to boost the country's AI computing capacity.
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India's ambitious IndiaAI mission receives bids from 19 companies, including tech giants Jio and Tata, to supply GPUs for AI research and development.
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India's AI Mission progresses as L1 bidders for GPU procurement prepare to receive AI workloads. The initiative aims to boost the country's AI infrastructure and foster innovation in the AI ecosystem.
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The Indian government has initiated the India AI Mission with a substantial budget of ₹10,372 crore. As part of this initiative, they are now seeking bids to empanel AI infrastructure providers, marking a significant step towards bolstering the country's artificial intelligence capabilities.
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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has extended the deadline for its ₹10,000 crore GPU tender to November 12, as part of India's AI Mission. The extension comes amid industry concerns over energy efficiency requirements and eligibility criteria.
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