Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said India has potential to be at par with the best in artificial intelligence (AI) frontier work but that huge investment remains a huge entry barrier. Speaking on the second day of the Microsoft India AI Tour, Nadella laid emphasis on the possibility of India building foundational AI models and leveraging those towards transformation and enhancing Indic language technologies.

"India must venture into frontier AI work. Leverage foundational models post-training for Indic languages and Indian industries can yield transformative results", Nadella said. He appreciated the robust academic and research institutions India boasts of, including Microsoft Research, for their expertise in mathematics and algorithms.

Responding to a question from Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary in the IT Ministry, on whether India should develop its own AI foundational models, Nadella pointed out that while India has the capability, the high capital investment required presents a significant hurdle. However, he suggested that reducing costs through innovative research could pave the way for strategic advancements.

"The design space exists for India to make smart, strategic choices. While it's a capital-intensive endeavor, breakthroughs in research can lower the cost and reshape the dynamics", Nadella said.

Today, India uses AI engines and foundational models built by global leaders such as OpenAI and Google. Nadella emphasized the need to invest strategically to overcome the barriers while fueling innovation.

As part of the event, Microsoft announced several strategic partnerships aimed at driving AI adoption and innovation in India. Such collaborations with RailTel, Apollo Hospitals, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra Group, and upGrad would enhance operations and customer experiences with cloud and AI solutions.

Microsoft also collaborated with India AI for the furtherment of emerging technologies and set up AI Centers of Excellence and AI Productivity Labs. All this is directed toward inclusive growth and making India a significant participant in the world's AI ecosystem.

Nadella's statement and Microsoft's collaboration highlight the rapidly growing role that AI will play in shaping India's future across all sectors and languages despite investment and infrastructure challenges.