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With his new venture, Paras Chopra aims not only to create a foundational model but also to transform the AI development landscape in India.
Summary
After selling an 80% stake in Wingify for $200 million, founder Paras Chopra is focused on developing a foundational AI model. To support this initiative, he is seeking access to a new government subsidy program launching this week. Chopra is looking to obtain subsidized graphic processing units (GPUs) from the government for his upcoming project. Recently, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that 10,000 GPUs will soon be available at a common compute facility for startups, academia, and developers through an online portal. The government will evaluate requests for GPU access based on specific needs. GPUs are essential electronic circuits that enhance the processing speed of images and videos in computing. “Building a foundational model requires government support, as it is fundamentally about capacity building and enhancing the ecosystem,” Chopra stated. His new company, Lossfunk, emerges at a time when foundational AI models are a hot topic. China’s DeepSeek recently introduced its own open-source model, R1, which is cost-effective and poses competition to leading AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, privacy experts have raised concerns about DeepSeek’s security, citing potential data leaks to the Chinese government, as all user data is stored in China. Italy has even banned the company’s app from the Google Play and Apple App stores.
Bootstrapping a new AI venture
Currently, the 37-year-old Chopra intends to utilize the $200 million from the sale of Wingify to Everstone to fund his new project. His latest endeavor focuses on exploring intriguing “vectors.” “Innovation is inherently unpredictable. You can’t simply decide on a direction and then backtrack. It needs to be forward-looking. We are delving into the most fascinating aspects. I’m hypothesizing at this stage, and I anticipate something remarkable to emerge from it,” Chopra explained. He is concentrating on three primary themes for his foundational model: creativity, reasoning, and efficiency. While he possesses a substantial amount of capital, Chopra emphasizes the importance of being strategic with his investments rather than reckless. “Private funding like mine can significantly contribute to targeted, breakthrough research.
