Quick Answer: PM Modi met 12 AI founders behind closed doors to outline India's AI strategy: build ethical, multilingual AI that solves Indian problems first. Best for founders seeking government support. The catch: you need to align with the "Made in India, Made for the World" playbook.
Stop scrolling through your LinkedIn feed celebrating "India's AI moment." Let me tell you what actually happened when the Prime Minister sat down with 12 AI founders at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.
On January 8, 2026, Narendra Modi didn't just "meet" with AI startups. He summoned the founders building India's foundational AI models to his residence for a closed-door session that lasted hours. No cameras. No press releases in real-time. Just the PM, two cabinet ministers, and 12 founders who walked out with a clear mandate: stop building AI toys.
The 12 Who Got the Call
These weren't random startup founders. They were specifically chosen under the IndiaAI Mission's Foundation Model Pillar. According to the Press Information Bureau, the attendees included Sarvam AI, BharatGen, Fractal, GAN.AI, Genloop, Gnani AI, Intellihealth, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra's Maker's Lab, Avataar, and Zenteiq.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and MoS Jitin Prasada flanked Modi throughout. This wasn't a photo-op. It was a strategy session.
"Don't Copy the West. Don't Build Toys."
Here's where it gets interesting. According to multiple founders who spoke to media after the meeting, Modi's message was blunt.
Dr. Siddharth Panwar, CEO of NeuroDx, told reporters: "He inspired us to not just replicate what Western countries are doing but create AI that can bring about a positive change in the lives of ordinary people."
Ayush Gupta of Genloop put it more directly. Modi, he said, gave them a formula: India's AI has to be "authentic and ethical." The PM called it "Atmanirbhar Intelligence"—self-reliant intelligence.
But here's the part that should make every Indian developer pay attention. According to Business Today, Modi specifically warned against building "technologies that deliver convenience without lasting impact." Translation: if your AI can't scale across India's languages, regions, and practical needs, the government isn't interested.
The Numbers Behind the Vision
This isn't just rhetoric. Here's what's already committed:
According to PIB, the Cabinet approved Rs 10,300 crore for the IndiaAI Mission. That's roughly $1.2 billion over five years. The breakdown matters:
- 38,000 GPUs provisioned for AI compute (way above the initial 10,000 target)
- Rs 2,000 crore earmarked for AI startup financing
- 100+ billion parameter foundational models planned for Indian languages
- Seven pillars covering everything from subsidized compute to responsible AI governance
What the Founders Actually Said
Pratyush Kumar, co-founder of Sarvam AI (one of the companies expected to launch its LLM at next month's summit), shared a peculiar detail with Tribune India: "The Prime Minister's insights from his personal life were very inspiring for us in terms of technical topics. He told us that there is a lot of diversity and hopes in India, but there is a unity between them."
Nikhil Malhotra, CIO of Tech Mahindra, offered context on Modi's approach: "He told us in France that everyone paints with the right hand, because right-handed people are more painters. Someone tried it with the left hand. It was a very good example. So that means that the PM knows what he is saying."
That's not corporate speak. That's a PM using analogies to push founders toward unconventional thinking.
Parth Sarthi, a research engineer at GAN.AI, revealed something striking: "I myself shifted back from the US because of the Prime Minister's vision and the IndiaAI Mission. Now finally in India, we have the GPUs, we have the funding to actually build models that can compete with the models of the world."
The February Summit Changes Everything
What makes this meeting significant isn't just what Modi said. It's what happens next.
The India AI Impact Summit runs February 15-20 in New Delhi. According to Business Today, IT Secretary S. Krishnan confirmed participation from Bill Gates, Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Shantanu Narayen (Adobe), Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and Sam Altman (OpenAI).
French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Lula da Silva are also expected. This is the first time the global AI summit series—which started at Bletchley Park in 2023—will be hosted in the Global South.
At least two of the startups from Modi's January meeting—Sarvam AI and BharatGen—are expected to launch their large language models at this summit, according to Analytics India Magazine.
The Uncomfortable Question
Here's what no one is asking: can India actually compete?
The Rs 10,300 crore sounds massive until you realize Microsoft alone is spending $80 billion on AI infrastructure in 2024. OpenAI reportedly needs $100 billion for its next frontier model.
But that might be exactly Modi's point. According to the founders present, he emphasized "frugal innovation"—doing more with less.
Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder of Fractal AI, told reporters: "PM's vision is that India should become the world's biggest leader in AI. And for this, it is important that we use India's data, make India's models and make it available in our language to every citizen of India."
Ganesh Gopalan of Gnani AI added: "You won't believe that the Prime Minister does so many things. But he understands the model. He understands our problems. And he is trying to take us ahead of other countries."
What This Means for You
If you're a developer or founder in India, here's the translation:
- Multilingual is mandatory. If your AI doesn't work in regional languages, you're not aligned with government priorities.
- Ethics isn't optional. Modi specifically emphasized models that are "ethical, unbiased, transparent, and based on data privacy principles."
- The money is real. Rs 2,000 crore for startup financing, subsidized GPU access through AIKosh, and accelerated funding pathways.
- The deadline is February. The India AI Impact Summit isn't just a conference. It's the government's demonstration to the world.
Abhishek Upperwal, CEO of Soket AI, summarized it: "We can go to the grassroots level and help people benefit from AI. I think that's the biggest vision idea that PM sir has told us."
Whether this vision translates to India producing the next ChatGPT or just another government initiative that fades into bureaucracy depends on what these 12 startups deliver next month.
The global AI community will be watching. So will 1.4 billion Indians.