India AI firm joins G7 tech talks in France

Evian (France), June 17 (IANS) India's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions gained visibility at the G7 summit on Wednesday as Sarvam AI co-founder Pratyush Kumar joined a select group of global technology leaders for a high-level discussion with world leaders on the future of AI and the digital economy.

The working lunch, hosted on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France's Evian, brought together leaders of major economies and Chief Executives from some of the world's most influential AI companies.

According to the White House, participants included OpenAI Chief Sam Altman, Google's Demis Hassabis, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Meta's Alexandr Wang, Mistral AI's Arthur Mensch, Cohere's Aidan Gomez and Sarvam AI's Pratyush Kumar.

The session was attended by the US President Donald Trump and fellow G7 leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also participated.

The meeting highlighted the growing prominence of artificial intelligence on the agenda of world leaders as governments seek to balance innovation, economic growth and security concerns.

Sarvam AI was the only Indian company represented at the gathering of technology executives.

The company's inclusion alongside leading US, European and Canadian AI firms reflected India's increasing role in the global conversation on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

The AI session came amid broader G7 discussions on economic growth, global security and developments in the Middle East.

The gathering of political leaders and technology executives underscored the increasing influence of AI companies in shaping economic policy, national security strategies and digital governance.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a central issue for governments worldwide as policymakers grapple with questions surrounding regulation, competition, data security and the future of work.

India has been expanding its focus on artificial intelligence through public and private sector initiatives aimed at developing domestic AI capabilities.

New Delhi has also sought a greater role in global discussions on AI governance, particularly in areas such as inclusive technology, multilingual AI systems and digital public infrastructure.

The presence of an Indian AI company at the G7 technology session comes as India seeks to position itself as a major player in the rapidly evolving global AI ecosystem.

--IANS

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