‘Globalisation is dead’: Vembu, Pai call for stronger AI push after Anthropic move

Zoho co-founder and former CEO Sridhar Vembu on Saturday (June 13) declared that “globalisation is dead” after Anthropic blocked access to its latest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for users outside the US over security concerns raised by the American government.

In a social media post, Vembu described the move as a major wake-up call for India to urgently develop sovereign AI capabilities, saying it underscored how closely advanced technology is now linked to national security.

Also read | Anthropic to disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 globally after US govt export curbs

Anthropic said on Friday night that it was disabling the AI models following instructions from the US Commerce Department. The restrictions apply not only to users outside the US but also to foreign nationals employed by Anthropic.

Push for sovereign AI

Calling technology the ultimate weapon in today’s world, Vembu said: “This is big: all access to Mythos and Fable AI models disabled for everyone outside America. First thoughts: Technology is the ultimate weapon. National sovereignty, national security, all of it is now about technology.”

“Globalisation is dead, and Bharat must find her own way ahead,” he added.

Vembu said the Indian government should ensure that organisations in the country adopt smaller models, including Indian and Chinese open-source ones.

“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?" said Vembu, who also called for deeper investment in research and development.

Vembu pointed out that the biggest barriers to advanced AI are the enormous funding needed and the limited availability of high-end GPUs.

Pai seeks AI mission

Aarin Capital chairman and Manipal Global Education Services chairman TV Mohandas Pai also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch an India AI Mission and earmark Rs 50,000 crore for the development of deep tech and AI in the country.

Also read | Claude concerns: Why and how Anthropic wants to pause AI development

Taking to X, Pai shared Vembu’s post and said, “PM Narendra Modi, we need an India AI Mission under you with Nandan Nilekani as vice chair and others from the private sector and govt to help India tackle the AI revolution.”

Saying India is lagging in the AI race and needs a national mission, the former Infosys CFO said, “Existing govt programs are too slow, way too small to make any large impact. We need an annual 50,000 crore fund for deep tech and AI, a 200,000 cr ELGS Guarantee Fund to build Hyper cloud, hardware and chips.”