Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held discussions with senior business leaders in San Francisco, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation in sectors like technology, AI, energy, and digital infrastructure, as well as enhancing investment ties between India and the US. Arriving in San Francisco on Sunday for her 11-day visit to the US and Peru, Sitharaman engaged with the Indian diaspora in the city. On Monday, she met with key executives, including Anjney Midha of Silicon Valley’s a16z and Raghu Raghuram of VMware, where they explored potential collaborations in AI, healthcare, education, and AI Centres of Excellence in India.

Raghuram emphasized AI as a strategic infrastructure, acknowledging India’s progress, while Midha highlighted a16zs work in addressing real-world problems through sector-specific infrastructure funds. Sitharaman also met Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and his team, discussing India’s digital infrastructure transformation under the #DigitalIndia initiative, and the country’s leadership in digital adoption. Kurian expressed support for India’s AI mission and shared Google Cloud’s sustainability goals, including its aim to run on carbon-free energy by 2030.

Additionally, Sitharaman engaged with DataRobot CEO Debanjan Saha, highlighting India’s strides in AI, including the IndiaAI Mission, BharatGen, and Sarvam-1 initiatives. She also mentioned India’s AI skills ranking globally and the planned Rs 1 lakh crore (USD 12 billion) innovation scheme for private sector-driven research. With Turing CEO Jonathan Siddharth, Sitharaman discussed Indias AI policy framework and encouraged collaboration. Siddharth expressed interest in India’s leadership in AI and in creating a sovereign AI model.

At a lunch roundtable hosted by the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, Sitharaman and other officials discussed investment reforms with pension fund managers and institutional investors, stressing opportunities in energy, sustainability, and India’s GIFT-IFSC. Sitharaman also delivered a keynote at Stanford University on building the foundation for a developed India by 2047, followed by a fireside chat with Professor Steve Davis. She will travel to Washington DC from April 22-25 to participate in key IMF and World Bank meetings, as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors sessions.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from PTI.