From Google’s Sundar Pichai to Accenture’s Julie Sweet, PM Modi meets tech CEOs in US

The CEOs expressed their strong interest in investing and collaborating with India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with technology industry leaders in New York, US. (Photo: X/@NarendraModi)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day visit to the United States, held a roundtable meeting with technology industry leaders, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, where the former encouraged them to take advantage of India’s growth story for collaboration and innovation.

The meeting entailed discussions on cutting-edge areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum computing; biotechnology and life sciences; computing, IT and communication; and semiconductor technologies, according to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi wrote: “Had a fruitful roundtable with tech CEOs in New York, discussing aspects relating to technology, innovation and more. Also highlighted the strides made by India in this field. I am glad to see immense optimism towards India.”

Thanking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), School of Engineering and its Dean for bringing the tech-leaders together, PM Modi highlighted that technology collaboration and efforts such as the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies [ICET] lie at the core of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the release stated.

He also assured the business leaders of the country’s deep commitment to protection of intellectual property and to fostering tech-innovation, MEA stated. “They can co-develop, co-design, and co-produce in India for the world, harnessing the opportunities from India’s economic and technological growth,” he stated.

Further highlighting the economic transformation occurring in India, the PM said his government was committed to making India a global hub of semiconductor manufacturing.

According to the release, he also dwelt on India’s BIO E3 policy to develop India into a biotech powerhouse. On Artificial Intelligence (AI), Modi noted that India’s policy is to promote AI for All, underpinned by its ethical and responsible use.

The CEOs, as per the statement, expressed their strong interest in investing and collaborating with India, emphasising that “investing in startups would be a synergistic opportunity to innovate and develop newer technologies in India.”

Pichai, speaking to news agency ANI, reiterated the outcomes of the meeting and Modi’s vision for technological advancement in India. “He pushed us to continue making in India, designing in India. We are proud to now make our Pixel phones manufactured in India. He is really thinking about how AI can transform India in a way that benefits the people of India. He challenged us to think about applications in healthcare, education, agriculture and he is also thinking about the infrastructure of India – be it data centres, power, energy and investing to make sure that India can transition.”

“And we are proud to be partnering with India. We are robustly investing in AI in India and we look forward to doing more. We have set several programs and partnerships… He has always challenged all of us to do more, more for India. Now, he is asking us to do the same with AI. He has a clear vision, both in terms of the opportunity that AI will create but he wants to make sure ultimately AI is there to benefit the people of India and he has a clear vision that it should all be in the service of the people of India. He is challenging us to do more,” Pichai added.

CEOs from Accenture (Julie Sweet), Adobe (Shantanu Narayen), Google, HP Inc. (Enrique Lores), AMD (Lisa Su), Biogen Inc. (Chris Viehbacher), Bristol Myers Squibb (Chris Boerner), Eli Lilly and Company (David A. Ricks), IBM (Arvind Krishna), LAM Research (Tim Archer), Moderna (Noubar Afeyan), Verizon (Hans Vestberg), Global Foundaries (Thomas Caulfield), NVIDIA (Jensen Huang), and Kyndryl (Martin Schroeter) attended the meet.