The IndiaAI Mission, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has entered a crucial stage with the receipt of bids offering 18,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in the second round of tendering. Of these, 15,000 GPUs are expected to be selected following technical evaluations and commercial bid openings, according to IndiaAI Chief Executive Officer Abhishek Singh.
In this round, MeitY has shortlisted seven technology companies for further assessment. These include Netmagic IT Services (now operating as NTT GDC India), Cyfuture India, Sify Digital Services, Vensysco Technologies, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Yotta Data Services, and Ishan Infotech. The shortlisted bidders are set to present their technical proposals on May 14.
Several shortlisted firms maintain strategic partnerships with global cloud service providers. Vensysco Technologies and Locuz Enterprise Solutions are allied with Amazon Web Services (AWS), while Ishan Infotech is collaborating with Oracle. Netmagic, meanwhile, is a partner of Google Cloud in India.
The second round aims to procure 15,000 GPUs, adding to the 14,517 GPUs already offered under the first round. With this, the IndiaAI Mission will secure a cumulative GPU capacity of 29,000—significantly strengthening the nation’s AI computational infrastructure. GPUs are critical for AI research and development due to their high-speed processing capabilities, particularly in rendering large-scale machine learning and deep learning models.
In January, the Government of India formally launched the ₹10,372 crore IndiaAI Mission. The mission aims to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence capabilities through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The initiative encompasses multiple pillars, including IndiaAI Compute Capacity, the IndiaAI Innovation Centre, the IndiaAI Datasets Platform, and the IndiaAI Application Development Initiative. Other components focus on startup financing, local language model development, AI skills training, and promoting ethical and trustworthy AI.
The IndiaAI Compute Capacity pillar envisions the deployment of over 10,000 GPUs through the PPP model to support startups, academic institutions, and research organisations. In response to early enthusiasm, the government eased eligibility norms in subsequent rounds to enable broader participation from small enterprises and emerging AI ventures.
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During the first round of the GPU tender, major players such as Jio Platforms and Tata Communications participated, proposing hardware from Nvidia’s H100 and L40S series. In the current phase, companies have also proposed Nvidia’s latest Blackwell B200 series for evaluation. A third round of empanelment is already open, and companies such as ESDS Software Solutions have confirmed their intent to bid using newer GPU models, such as Nvidia’s B200 and B300.
The IndiaAI Mission has also seen strong interest from developers of local language large language models (LLMs), with more than 230 applications and over 30,000 GPU requests received to date. The mission’s focus on inclusivity, accessibility, and innovation underscores India’s ambition to become a global AI powerhouse.