Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu: India Must Develop Own AI Amid US Restrictions

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu highlights restrictions on advanced AI models for users outside the US. He stresses the need for India to develop its own technologies. Vembu urges adoption of smaller, Indian-developed, and open-source AI models. He believes this approach is crucial for national security and economic sovereignty. Support for this view comes from RBI director Gurumurthy, who recalls Dr.

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has sparked a fresh debate on India's technological self-reliance after claiming that access to advanced AI models Fable 5 and Mythos 5 has been blocked for users outside the United States.

Reacting to the reported restriction in a post on X, Vembu said the development highlights how critical technology has become to national security and economic sovereignty. He argued that countries such as India can no longer rely on globalization to guarantee access to cutting-edge technologies.

“This is big: all access to Mythos and Fable AI models disabled for everyone outside America,” Vembu wrote.

The entrepreneur said the move reinforces two key lessons. First, technology has become the ultimate strategic weapon, influencing everything from national security to economic competitiveness. Second, he asserted that globalization is effectively over and that India must chart its own path forward.

“Globalization is dead and Bharat must find her own way ahead,” he said, adding that Indians who still believe global markets will always remain open should “wake up now.”

Live Events

Push for Indian and Open-Source AI

Vembu urged Indian organisations to adopt smaller AI models, including Indian-developed and Chinese open-source alternatives, rather than depending on foreign providers.

“With a bit of effort, we can make them work. Anyway, why pay money to people who don't even want to sell to you?” he remarked.

The Zoho chief also highlighted the challenges India faces in competing with the world's largest AI developers. According to him, training frontier AI models requires enormous financial resources and access to advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), both of which are increasingly subject to restrictions.

He noted that building state-of-the-art models could require investments exceeding $100 billion, while access to the necessary hardware remains limited.

Instead of relying on massive government spending, Vembu said companies like Zoho are exploring alternative research and development approaches that are significantly less expensive. He expressed confidence that India can eventually develop competitive technologies through sustained innovation and patience.

Gurumurthy Cites Abdul Kalam's Vision

Vembu's comments drew support from Swaminathan Gurumurthy, a non-official director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.

Gurumurthy recalled a conversation with former President and renowned scientist Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam following the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests, when India faced sanctions from Western nations.

“America is doing what Dr Abdul Kalam wanted the Indian government to do in 1998,” Gurumurthy wrote. He claimed Kalam had urged then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to allow sanctions to continue because they would encourage the development of indigenous technology capabilities.

Responding to Gurumurthy, Vembu described Kalam as a visionary who understood the importance of technological sovereignty decades ago.

“Dr Abdul Kalam was a visionary way ahead of his time. He saw the need for sovereign tech back in 1998. We have to work hard to catch up now. It is doable, we have the talent,” Vembu said.

Call for R&D and Technology Rankings

Vembu also proposed measures to strengthen India's innovation ecosystem. He suggested conducting annual assessments of technological capabilities across 100 critical sectors and publishing leaderboards ranking companies based on their capabilities.

According to him, such transparency would encourage healthy competition and accelerate progress.

He further proposed the creation of a prestigious “Dr Abdul Kalam Award” dedicated exclusively to engineers and scientists. The annual award, he said, could help highlight India's technological achievements and inspire greater investment in research and development.

The exchange comes amid growing global concerns over technology access, AI leadership, semiconductor controls and the increasing role of advanced technologies in shaping geopolitical power.