India's AI Moment: From Free Internet to Free AI
The Echoes of 2015
In 2015, India became the battleground for Facebook's ambitious push to capture the country's digital future. Through Internet.org (later Free Basics), the company promised free internet—but with strings attached. The scheme offered only a narrow, walled-garden version of the web, sparking concerns about net neutrality and digital colonization. After a long, sustained campaign, regulators in India shut it down, setting a global precedent for internet freedom.
Fast-forward to 2025, and history appears to be repeating itself. This time, the players are OpenAI, Perplexity, and other global AI giants. Their approach mirrors the earlier playbook: provide access for free, scale fast, and embed themselves deeply in India's digital fabric.
AI Companies Go on Offense
Over the past few months, AI billboards have appeared across India, not just in metros like Delhi or Mumbai, but also in tier-2 cities like Jaipur. These ads highlight everyday uses of ChatGPT—from schoolwork to health tips—making AI visible, accessible, and aspirational.
Behind the glossy marketing lies a distribution strategy similar to Facebook's a decade ago. Partnerships with telecom providers, government agencies, and educational institutions are enabling AI companies to reach millions of students and educators directly. For example, OpenAI has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and AICTE to distribute half a million free licenses. Perplexity is working with Airtel to extend access across its network.
The logic is clear: offer AI for free, and in doing so, lock users into a platform before competitors—or regulations—catch up.
The Missing Safeguards
When Free Basics was shut down, it was due to both public resistance and regulatory intervention in favor of net neutrality. With AI, neither exists today. There is no equivalent of "AI neutrality" to ensure equal access and fair competition. Nor is there a groundswell of citizen activism pushing back against walled gardens of generative AI.
This vacuum has allowed American AI companies to embed themselves rapidly into India's digital infrastructure. The government itself, while issuing visionary reports about India becoming the "data capital of the world," seems more focused on adoption than on ensuring sovereignty over technology and data.
India's Strategic Dilemma
The country now faces a familiar challenge: how to balance the benefits of rapid AI adoption with the risks of dependency on foreign platforms. While Sam Altman lauds India as OpenAI's second-largest market, his comments dismissing the possibility of Indian startups building world-class foundation models reveal the underlying imbalance. India risks becoming a massive consumer and data supplier, without building indigenous capacity in AI innovation.
The lesson from the Free Basics era is that true digital empowerment comes not just from access, but from ownership. Unless India invests in nurturing its own ecosystem—supporting startups, funding research, and creating open standards—its AI future will remain tethered to Silicon Valley.
Conclusion
India's AI revolution is unfolding at breakneck speed, echoing the country's earlier brush with free internet. The challenge this time is larger: the stakes are not just about access, but about control over the technologies that will define the next generation.
AI is no longer a distant frontier—it is the playing field of global competition. Startups that embed responsible AI practices early will be the ones that thrive in tomorrow's economy.
By guiding young businesses through this transition, Aurora helps shape ventures that are not only profitable but also pioneering. In 2025 and beyond, the startups that survive will not just be the fastest or the cheapest, they will be the most future-ready.
References:
https://the-ken.com/columns/zero-shot/india-goes-from-free-internet-to-free-ai/