In AI, India’s choice needn’t be between a US leash or Chinese hook
Quick Look
India's AI future faces risks from both US export controls and Chinese model dependencies, according to Dhruv Atreja of Fastino Labs, who argues that India should focus on adapting any AI model to serve national needs rather than choosing between American or Chinese systems.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
In June 2026, US export controls prevented foreigners from using Anthropic's flagship AI models, causing the company to disable access for all users. In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised at the BRICS summit in New Delhi to pioneer a BRICS AI open-source community. India has responded by pursuing large-scale AI projects through startups like Sarvam AI and state-backed BharatGen, with potential government investment of up to 200 billion rupees.
In AI, India’s choice needn’t be between a US leash or Chinese hook
What matters most is the ability to take any AI model – American or Chinese – make it serve Indian needs, prove it works and keep it running
Dhruv Atreja is head of AI research at Fastino Labs in New York, where he has led post-training collaborations with leading US technology companies, working with open-weight models from American and Chinese developers.
Published: 5:30am, 11 Oct 2026
On June 12, two of the world’s most capable artificial intelligence models went dark. An American export directive barred foreigners from using Anthropic’s two flagship AI models, and because the company could not check every user’s nationality, it switched them off. Access returned on July 1 but the warning is clear: India’s AI future can be switched off from Washington.
In September, Beijing came calling. At the Brics summit in New Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised China would “be a pioneer in establishing a Brics AI open-source community”. It is a seductive offer. Chinese open models are capable, cheap and free to adapt; once downloaded, no one in Washington can take them away.
But this is a choice between a leash and a hook. American access can be yanked away overnight. Chinese models cannot be switched off once downloaded, but they arrive with Beijing’s sensitivities built in. Asked whether Arunachal Pradesh is an Indian state, DeepSeek’s chatbot declined to answer. No country of 1.4 billion people should run its banks, courts and public services on either.
Delhi’s response so far has been to chase size. Start-up Sarvam AI plans to build a trillion-parameter model; so does state-backed BharatGen. The government is reportedly exploring an anchor investment of up to 200 billion rupees (US$2.08 billion) in a new frontier AI fund, on top of the 103.7 billion rupees the “IndiaAI Mission” approved in 2024.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
India will increase investment in domestic AI development to reduce dependence on foreign models
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific technical capabilities would India-developed AI models need to have?
- How will India ensure its AI systems remain free from foreign political influence?
- What timeline has been set for the proposed frontier AI fund?
