Tech politics push at home and abroad

At the India AI Impact summit, leaders and companies discussed making India a major AI player and announced large infrastructure investments; in California, Silicon Valley billionaires are increasing campaign spending ahead of November's midterms.

Tech companies and wealthy founders are boosting political and market efforts in both India and California. In Delhi, the India AI Impact summit brought together government leaders and industry to discuss building AI capacity and avoiding domination by the US and China. Many firms announced multibillion-dollar investments in data centres, cables and services for India. In California, donors tied to Silicon Valley are directing tens of millions of dollars into campaigns as the state approaches important elections and a post-Newsom political transition. Key facts: - Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the India AI Impact summit that India should not accept US or Chinese dominance in AI and said the technology should be shared and made open. - Major companies announced large investments in India: Google described a $15bn plan for data centres and subsea cables, Microsoft previously committed $17.5bn, and Amazon said it would spend $35bn on data centres. - The US and India signed a technology agreement called Pax Silica at the summit, which the article reports is aimed at closer ties with US tech and away from Beijing. - Presentations at the summit emphasized AI uses for monsoon prediction, medical diagnosis and agriculture, and noted India's extensive digital infrastructure such as national ID, digital health accounts and digital payments. - At the same summit, Bill Gates visited a farm using AI tools but cancelled a planned speech; OpenAI’s co-founder spoke about democratizing AI while critics note companies often share little of their models' inner workings. - In California, Silicon Valley donors and tech companies are increasing campaign contributions ahead of the midterms, backing candidates such as San Jose mayor Matt Mahan while critics and opponents highlight voter skepticism about tech and data centre growth. Summary: These developments show the tech sector seeking influence both through infrastructure investment and political spending. In India, announcements and diplomatic ties frame a near-term push to expand computing and services, while in California the pattern of donor activity is setting up an intensified electoral season ahead of November's midterms.