Microsoft’s foresighted investments in AI and bold moves have propelled the tech giant to become the world’s most valuable company. However, Satya Nadella, the typically reserved CEO, couldn’t resist taking a veiled jab at the rest of the industry.
“Even with all the buzz, one year later, GPT-4 is superior,” Nadella asserted during a company event in Mumbai. “We await the arrival of competition, but the fact remains that we lead in the LLM space.”
Nadella’s candid assessment came as he presented Microsoft’s robust lineup of AI offerings to India’s business leaders. In a 35-minute keynote address, he encouraged companies to explore AI deployment for productivity gains and product refinement, emphasizing the need to stay ahead.
The Microsoft executive also urged India to accelerate its AI efforts, recognizing the significant impact it will have on the country’s GDP.
Satya Nadella, born in India, acknowledges that the South Asian nation has already emerged as the second-largest talent pool for AI developers on GitHub. Puneet Chandok, who transitioned from a top role at AWS India to lead Microsoft’s India and South Asia business, further emphasized: “India is no longer just incredible; we are credible too. Our country is dreaming big and pursuing this dream with a sense of urgency.”
Microsoft also revealed plans to extend AI skilling opportunities to 2 million Indians in smaller cities and towns by next year. Nadella expressed hope that consensus would drive the wider adoption of this transformative technology, contributing to socio-economic progress.
In a noteworthy observation, Nadella highlighted that India’s use cases are uniquely distinct, bridging any perceived gap between the country and the rest of the world. Among these innovations, he spotlighted Karya, an “ethical data company” that curates datasets in multiple Indian languages to train AI models while simultaneously creating employment and educational opportunities for rural communities.