A renewed debate around technological self-reliance has emerged in India following restrictions imposed by the US government on access to Anthropic’s advanced AI models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5. The development has sparked fresh discussions on the need for India to strengthen its own technology ecosystem and reduce dependence on foreign AI platforms.
Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu said the issue goes beyond artificial intelligence and highlights the broader challenge of building sovereign technology capabilities. Referring to the situation, he stated that the challenge facing India is about “sovereign tech in general and not just sovereign AI.”
Vembu emphasized that AI represents only a small part of a much larger technology foundation. According to him, many critical technology capabilities remain underdeveloped in India despite being less expensive to build than advanced AI models. He noted that these capabilities require time, talent, and relatively lower investments compared to large-scale AI development.
Drawing a comparison with Japan, Vembu pointed out that while Japanese companies may not be leading the development of frontier AI models, they play a crucial role in supplying technologies needed for AI data centres. He said, “As an example, Japanese firms we don’t hear about have critical technologies that AI data centres need. Japanese play in many such critical sectors.”
He called for a comprehensive national effort focused on every layer of the technology ecosystem while continuing investments in AI research and development. “I would recommend a broad national effort at every layer of the tech pyramid. We must do AI R&D but we must not lose sight of the pyramid,” he said.
Vembu has previously advocated a long-term technology resilience strategy covering operating systems, processors, semiconductor fabrication, and other core technologies.
The discussion gained further attention after reports suggested that access restrictions on Mythos 5 and Fable 5 were introduced on national security grounds. Earlier, Vembu had argued that technology has become central to national sovereignty and security, stating, “Technology is the ultimate weapon. National sovereignty, national security, all of it is now about technology.”
He also reiterated the need for India to strengthen indigenous capabilities, saying, “Globalisation is dead and Bharat must find her own way ahead.”
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