New Delhi: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized India's significance in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, attributing it to the rapid evolution prompted by the emergence of Chinese AI company DeepSeek. During his visit to India on Wednesday, Altman engaged with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, focusing on the nation's strategy to establish a robust AI ecosystem.

According to Anadolu Agency, Altman's discussions with Minister Vaishnaw centered around India's comprehensive AI stack, encompassing GPUs, models, and applications. Vaishnaw expressed enthusiasm about the dialogue, describing it as a 'super cool discussion' and noting Altman's willingness to collaborate on the entire AI stack. He also mentioned that Altman praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for AI development.

In a fireside chat, Altman reiterated India's importance, calling it an 'incredibly important market for AI in general, for open AI in particular.' He highlighted India's status as OpenAI's second-largest market, with user numbers tripling over the past year. Altman expressed admiration for the innovative AI applications being developed in India across all levels of the stack, emphasizing the country's potential to lead the AI revolution.

DeepSeek's recent unveiling of a cost-efficient chatbot in January, which matched the performance of its US counterparts, has shaken the tech industry globally. The chatbot quickly became the most downloaded free app in the US, sparking a worldwide tech sell-off.

In response to these developments, India announced a $1.25 billion AI investment last March and is preparing to launch its own secure and cost-effective indigenous AI model. Despite these advancements, reports indicate that India's Finance Ministry has advised its employees against using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes, citing concerns over the confidentiality of government documents and data.