Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has embarked on an 11-day visit to the United States and Peru, commencing her trip with a series of engagements in San Francisco.
Her visit aims to foster bilateral cooperation in sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence, energy, and digital infrastructure while enhancing investment collaboration between India and the United States.
Upon her arrival in San Francisco on Sunday, Sitharaman held an interaction with the Indian diaspora.
On Monday, April 22, 2025, she participated in several meetings with prominent business leaders and executives from major tech firms.
Among those she met were Anjney Midha, General Partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm a16z, and VMware’s CEO Raghu Raghuram.
Discussions centered around India’s significant transformation in the technology sector, which has been spurred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Sitharaman suggested that both a16z and VMware could explore collaborative opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in education, healthcare, and the establishment of AI Centres of Excellence.
Raghuram emphasized the strategic importance of AI infrastructure, noting the visible progress India has made in this field.
Midha shared that a16z is actively working on 16 infrastructure sectoral funds across various countries aimed at addressing real-world challenges.
Sitharaman highlighted the urgency of skilling and training the youth in AI, encouraging potential collaborations with a16z.
Additionally, she convened with Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and his team to discuss the evolution of India’s digital infrastructure under the #DigitalIndia initiative.
Kurian praised India’s AI mission and trajectory under PM Modi’s administration, advocating for better connectivity via land and sea cables.
He also mentioned Google Cloud’s ambitious goal to run all global operations on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030 and an imminent investment strategy focused on India.
Sitharaman urged Google Cloud to pursue local partnerships to enhance technological developments as part of the #MakeInIndia campaign.
During her meeting with DataRobot CEO Debanjan Saha, Sitharaman discussed India’s strides in digital infrastructure and highlighted a budget of ₹10,300 crore allocated for the IndiaAI Mission.
She brought attention to initiatives like BharatGen and Sarvam-1 for AI language technologies and the establishment of the Srijan Centre for Generative AI at IIT-Jodhpur.
Sitharaman also shared information regarding a proposed ₹1 lakh crore (USD 12 billion) corpus for a private-sector-driven research, development, and innovation scheme.
Mr. Saha expressed interest in contributing to the AI Centre of Excellence, which recently received ₹500 crore in the Union Budget 2025-26.
In a meeting with Turing CEO Jonathan Siddharth, Sitharaman discussed India’s AI policy framework and encouraged him to explore collaboration opportunities that could elevate India’s position in the global AI landscape.
Siddharth expressed enthusiasm for India to take a leading role in the AI revolution, suggesting a collaborative model that incorporates Indian contributions.
Amidst her busy schedule, Sitharaman attended a luncheon roundtable hosted by the Consulate General of India in San Francisco.
This gathering included pension fund managers and institutional investors, where they shared insights about government reforms and provided feedback on existing policy frameworks.
These finance leaders expressed their commitment to fostering deeper investment collaboration between the US and India.
Sitharaman expressed gratitude for their feedback and emphasized the potential for collaboration in energy and sustainability, alongside the proposed investment fund and GIFT-IFSC.
Later, she delivered a keynote address on ‘Laying the Foundations for a Developed India #ViksitBharat by 2047’ at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, followed by a fireside chat with Professor Steve Davis.
Following her engagements in San Francisco, Sitharaman is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C. from April 22 to April 25.
There, she will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in addition to the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor (FMCBG) meetings, Development Committee Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.
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