During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, major US tech giants, including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, have committed to making substantial investments in India to support the country's technological development. As part of this effort, PM Modi and President Joe Biden attended a special event called the India-US "Hi-Tech Handshake" at the White House, where they engaged in discussions with CEOs from Indian and American tech companies and startups. The event focused on the themes of "AI for All" and "Manufacturing for Mankind."
During the event, PM Modi received a special gift from President Biden—a t-shirt featuring Modi's quote on AI, emphasizing the collaboration between America and India in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
Prominent leaders from various industries, including semiconductors, manufacturing, space, and startups, were present at the event, highlighting the potential of India-US tech cooperation for economic growth. Notable investment commitments were made during the meeting.
Amazon plans to invest an additional $15 billion over the next seven years, bringing its total investment across all business sectors in India to $26 billion. Google, on the other hand, has announced the establishment of its global fintech operation center in Gujarat. Meanwhile, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella discussed the potential of technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), to enhance the lives of Indians during his meeting with the Prime Minister.
Microsoft recently launched Jugalbandi, an AI-driven chatbot that provides government assistance through mobile devices. It can comprehend questions in multiple languages and retrieve relevant information in the local language, using language models from AI4Bharat and reasoning models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared that the company is investing $10 billion in India's digitization fund and revealed plans for the opening of their global fintech operation center in Gujarat.
Amazon, in its statement, expressed its commitment to supporting Indian startups, creating jobs, facilitating exports, and empowering individuals and small businesses to compete globally. The company is aiming to digitize 10 million small businesses, which enables $20 billion in exports, and generate 2 million jobs in India by 2025.
Furthermore, Micron Technology, in collaboration with India Semiconductor Mission, announced its plan to construct a semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, with an investment of $2.75 billion.
The event saw the participation of several notable business leaders from both the USA and India. From the USA, CEOs, and executives such as Tim Cook from Apple, Sam Altman from OpenAI, Satya Nadella from Microsoft, and Sundar Pichai from Google were present. Representing India, business figures including Anand Mahindra from Mahindra Group and Mukesh Ambani from Reliance Industries were among the attendees.
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