Not labour, India should learn to export intelligence: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

During his visit to India, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talked about the importance of India building its own AI capabilities locally rather than just providing labour for software development done elsewhere.

“Why export the labour while the software is built elsewhere? Why not manufacture the intelligence here and then export it?” says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in response to a question from India Today about how India can avoid being relegated to a back-office role during the new age of intelligence revolution. Jensen Huang emphasises the importance of India building its own AI capabilities locally rather than just providing labour for software development done elsewhere. He suggests that India should focus on creating and exporting AI innovations directly, positioning itself as a leader in AI development rather than a back-office service provider, which was the case during the big IT revolution.

"You have the data, energy, and the infrastructure. You have the critical ingredients in the country to be able to harvest the raw data, and transform it into intelligence," Huang added. "There are many Indians out there who will enjoy Hindi on their phone, everywhere around the world. Those token should be manufactured here [India]. That intelligence should be manufactured here".

Huang is currently in India, and has met prime minister Narendra Modi and Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani during the visit.

At an event in Mumbai, the Nvidia CEO also launched a new Hindi AI model called the Nemotron-4-Mini-Hindi-4B, which is meant to allow companies in India to develop their own AI models.

Nvidia has been a key player in India’s tech landscape for over two decades, focusing on research, development, and building a robust AI ecosystem. CEO Jensen Huang has often emphasised India's potential in the AI revolution, encouraging local development and innovation rather than relying solely on IT services.

The company entered the Indian market in 2004, setting up its initial operations in Bangalore, which remains a central hub for its activities. It later expanded to other cities like Hyderabad and Pune, establishing R&D centres that contribute to global development in GPU technologies, AI, and software.

Over the years, Nvidia has collaborated with academic institutions, research organisations, and government bodies in India through initiatives like the Nvidia Deep Learning Institute (DLI), which offers training in AI and deep learning to students, researchers, and industry professionals, aiming to boost AI adoption across the country.

The company has also formed partnerships with major Indian firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Infosys, and Reliance, enabling them to integrate AI, machine learning, and GPU-based computing into sectors like healthcare, automotive, and finance. Nvidia also supports India’s ambitions in high-performance computing (HPC) by collaborating with institutions like IIT to enhance AI infrastructure and supercomputing capabilities.