Not just AI, India must also build tech pyramid: Sridhar Vembu

Following the US government's decision to ban Mythos 5 and Fable 5 for all foreigners, including Indians, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has claimed that the need for sovereign Indian tech goes way beyond just AI tools. Instead, Vembu has urged that India needs to build a tech pyramid, with AI just being the tip of it.

In Short

• Sridhar Vembu says India needs to build tech pyramid beyond AI
• He wants India to focus on tech that can be done for cheaper than AI
• Vembu says India can learn from Japan on how to make critical tech for the future

When the US government told Anthropic that it had to block access to Mythos 5 and Fable 5 to all foreigners, including its own employees, the shock waves were felt globally, particularly in India. A debate erupted online over the need for Indian AI models that reduce dependence on foreign-based AI companies. Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu, who has been vocal about wanting more indigenous technology in India, has now claimed that AI is only the tip of the pyramid that India needs.

On X, Vembu, likely referring to the Anthropic Mythos ban saga, claimed that the issue “facing Bharat as sovereign tech in general and not just sovereign AI.”

Sridhar Vembu insisted that India needed to focus on tech that it can actually build without having to need the big investment AI models demand. He explained, “AI is the tip of a whole pyramid of capabilities, most of it we don't have and we don't even hear about.” The Zoho chief added, “Most of those capabilities are not very expensive to acquire (unlike AI itself) - they require time and talent, and far smaller amounts of money than AI.”

Learn from Japan, says Sridhar Vembu

To make his point clear, Vembu urged the Indian tech sector to take a lesson out of Japan’s book. He claimed that while Japanese companies are not building cutting-edge AI models, their technology plays a big role in data centres that actually run AI models.

Sridhar Vembu wrote, “As an example, Japanese firms we don't hear about have critical technologies that AI data centres need. Japanese play in many such critical sectors.”

And to make this happen in India, Vembu urged a nationwide effort that tackles every aspect of this tech pyramid, while also focusing on AI. He added, “I would recommend a broad national effort at every layer of the tech pyramid. We must do AI R&D but we must not lose sight of the pyramid.”

This is not the first time Sirdhar Vembu has called for such an effort. In November last year, when the Zoho messaging app Arattai went viral, Vembu claimed that India needed a 10-year "National Mission for Tech Resilience” which should focus on various tech sectors including operating systems, processors, chip fabrication facilities and the works.

Why are calls for sovereign tech growing?

While Vembu may have made similar comments in the past, the calls for sovereign tech in India are growing following US’ ban on the use of Mythos 5 and Fable 5. This move could have major ramifications globally as it marks the first time a government has imposed such a ban on a highly-advanced AI model on national security grounds.

Previously, the Zoho co-founder claimed that this move showed that, in the modern world, "Technology is the ultimate weapon. National sovereignty, national security, all of it is now about technology."

He claimed that it was time for India to work on its own tech, without relying on companies based in other countries. Sridhar Vembu wrote, "Globalisation is dead and Bharat must find her own way ahead."

Though some reports also indicate that the US authorities were concerned that China-linked groups could use Mythos 5 and Fable 5 to plan cyberattacks. While Anthropic had imposed safeguards preventing the use of these models in cybersecurity, Amazon researchers were reportedly able to jailbreak the systems by giving certain prompts.

Keep in mind that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is believed to be planning cyberattacks using Claude Mythos with Anthropic reportedly sending engineers on-site.

- Ends