"Build LLM in India" – Stop Lying to Yourselves and Fix VCs
It’s been almost two years since
@sama said, “you can try,” and someone from Mahindra Group responded with “challenge accepted.” Where are the models competing with OpenAI, Anthropic, or DeepMind?
In Nandan Nilekani's recent podcast with Nikhil Kamath, the tech lead at the government level bluntly admitted, "building LLMs is not for us." That’s a pathetic, defeatist mindset.
@AravSrinivas is right. Look at the U.S.—their top tech companies and government work in tandem, nullifying benchmarks with every release. Here, all we do is talk. India seems content with the reputation of doing things cheaply while China leads the way in execution. Somehow only China can trigger us.
@paraschopra,
@championswimmer,
@waitin4agi_—all on point. Talent isn’t the issue; it’s the lack of courage. We’re stuck hyping 10-minute deliveries and obsessing over tangible commodities. Most universities don’t even offer decent AI curricula. Mediocre college placements churn out graduates who’ve never seen money, so their only goal is stability. Ambition comes later—if at all. I can’t convince one friend to quit their job and build something meaningful because they draw the line at financial risk. It’s a vicious cycle.
How do we fix this?
Break the VC/investor trap. They won’t back ambitious founders unless they see "differentiators." What differentiators do OpenAI, Anthropic, or DeepMind have? They’re all chasing benchmarks and mining the same gold. Meanwhile, our VCs keep betting on "build for India" garbage—e-com, UPI fintech, quick commerce. Enough! Start funding "build for the world."
Indian Founders don’t need massive funding to start. $30-50k (₹25-40L) is enough for most ambitious founders to prove their commitment. But no one funds pre-seed at that scale. Show us you’re willing to disproportionately back talent. Stop forcing them to move to the U.S. just to get funded. Then, when they succeed, you call them "Indian founders" as if you had their back all along.
We don’t lack ambition; we lack support. Back small, ambitious companies with compounding potential. That’s how you win.