Ashish Kumar, Co-founder and General Partner at Fundamentum, discusses India’s evolving role in the global AI ecosystem and emphasizes the country’s potential to develop not just AI applications, but also foundational infrastructure over time. Although India may not immediately match the massive funding behind organizations like OpenAI or Anthropic, Kumar believes the nation can thrive by creating specialized use cases, “small language models,” and domain-specific AI solutions. This approach, he argues, demands relatively less capital and can still generate significant impact.

He also highlights the importance of geopolitics in shaping India’s AI landscape. With potential trade barriers and export controls on advanced technology, India’s self-reliance becomes increasingly critical. Drawing a parallel to how the Indian Space Research Organisation built cost-effective space capabilities, he suggests that India can similarly build AI infrastructure to serve its own market—and potentially export it to other lower-GDP countries seeking affordable solutions.

He notes that true AI companies are those for whom AI is strategically indispensable, rather than merely a buzzword add-on. He distinguishes between AI-first startups—creating new AI technologies or infrastructure—and AI-powered startups, which use AI to fundamentally improve their economics and workflows. Citing Zomato’s recent AI tool launch, Kumar illustrates how established consumer-tech companies may spin off AI products as independent business lines.

#GlobalAI #AIEcosystem #AIStartup #AIinfrastructureIndia #AshishKumar #ZomatoAI #AIgrowth #IndiaTech #AIfirstStartups #OutlookBusiness #OutlookIndia #BusinessPodcast #AIPodcast #IndianPodcast

source