India has announced that Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek will operate through local servers to tackle privacy concerns. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the move, emphasising that hosting DeepSeek within India will prevent cross-border data transfers. This step aims to calm fears about user safety, as the AI tool is developed by a Chinese company.
Why Hosting DeepSeek in India Matters
DeepSeek, created by Chinese quant fund leader Liang Wenfeng, has sparked global debates over data security. By hosting its servers in India, user data will stay within the country, reducing risks linked to international data sharing. Vaishnaw highlighted that DeepSeek is “open source” and assured the public that local hosting will resolve privacy issues. This decision comes amid global tech stock drops triggered by DeepSeek’s launch.
IndiaAI Mission Smashes GPU Targets
Vaishnaw also shared updates on India’s AI growth. The IndiaAI Mission now has 18,693 GPUs (graphics processing units)—far exceeding initial goals. Over 15,000 high-end GPUs, including 1,480 advanced H200 models, are already in use. To put this in perspective, DeepSeek and ChatGPT were trained using 2,000 and 25,000 GPUs, respectively. The minister revealed that 10,000 GPUs are immediately available for startups and researchers, with a shared computing facility launching soon to boost innovation.
Investments and Global AI Competition
An estimated $30 billion will be invested in India for hyperscalers and data centres over the next two to three years. Meanwhile, DeepSeek is emerging as a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Reports suggest OpenAI and Microsoft are investigating whether DeepSeek copied their API designs. In Europe, consumer group Euroconsumers filed a GDPR complaint against DeepSeek, alleging mishandling of personal data. Italy’s Data Protection Authority warned that “millions of Italians’ data is at risk” and gave DeepSeek 20 days to respond.