‘India must manufacture hardware domestically to reduce dependence on other countries’

Sanjay Lodha, chairman and MD of Netweb Technologies India, in an interaction with Rakesh Kumar talks about the company’s latest innovations, India’s AI momentum, and the importance of technological sovereignty. Edited excerpts
Netweb
Netweb
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What solutions is Netweb Technologies showcasing at the India AI Impact Summit 2026?

We are showcasing a range of advanced solutions from Netweb Technologies, a company that designs and manufactures supercomputers in India. In fact, we were among the first companies in the country to begin designing and manufacturing supercomputers. Today, we have installed more than 600 supercomputers across India. Technology is evolving rapidly, especially on the GPU front, where AI is gaining momentum. At Netweb, we operate across three key areas: supercomputing, private cloud and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), and artificial intelligence (AI). We build and manufacture a complete AI ecosystem in India. We are one of NVIDIA’s top-tier OEM partners. We design our hardware, manufacture it locally, architect the systems, and develop the software layer on top. At this summit, we are showcasing the GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip, NVIDIA’s latest-generation chipset, integrated into a fully “Make in India” liquid-cooled system. We are also working with the B100 and B200 GPUs. All the latest NVIDIA GPUs are available in India through Netweb and are manufactured locally as part of our integrated solutions.

You mentioned three key business segments. Could you elaborate each of them?

In supercomputing, we began nearly 20 years ago, at a time when India faced restrictions on accessing supercomputing technologies from the US. Over the years, we have contributed to several major projects, including systems under the PARAM series and large installations for institutions such as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. We have also built India’s fastest AI supercomputer. In private cloud and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), we primarily serve enterprises and data centres. The era of bare-metal infrastructure is gradually fading, with enterprises increasingly shifting toward private cloud environments. We have been active in this segment for over a decade and have established a strong presence in the market.

In artificial intelligence, we bring more than 15 years of experience, built on our supercomputing foundation. AI workloads require high-performance computing infrastructure. It is important that India does not become merely a destination for imported hardware. Technological sovereignty is critical. That is why we focus on designing and manufacturing systems in India. Sovereignty—both in hardware and software—has become increasingly important in today’s geopolitical environment.

Where does India stand today in terms of AI development?

India is at the forefront of AI development. Under the vision of Narendra Modi, initiatives such as the India AI Mission are creating strong momentum. The AI Impact Summit itself reflects this commitment. For example, the GB200 chipset from NVIDIA is now being integrated into systems manufactured in India. We are not lagging in hardware integration and system manufacturing. On the software side, India has always been strong. The Government of India is investing significantly through the India AI Mission to provide GPU compute infrastructure to LLM developers and startups. The ecosystem is being built rapidly. I am confident that in the coming years, India will emerge as a global AI leader, driving innovation and large-scale employment.

How do you see US-India trade deal impacting technology providers in India?

AI system manufacturing is largely insulated from trade deals because we are focused on domestic manufacturing and value addition. However, sovereignty remains the most important factor. I recently had a detailed meeting with PM Modi, where the discussion centered around technological sovereignty. India must manufacture hardware domestically to reduce dependence on other countries. The same principle applies to software ecosystems and large language models. While GPU chips originate globally from companies like NVIDIA, the real value addition—system design, integration, manufacturing, and ecosystem development—can and should take place in India. Trade negotiations increasingly reflect the need to maintain sovereignty across the entire technology stack.

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