At a time when artificial intelligence is shaping global power equations and countries are racing to secure their place in the next wave of innovation, India has quietly become a key part of Washington’s game plan. The White House has described India as “a technology powerhouse,” focusing on its growing importance in America’s global AI push and its expanding role in the world’s digital economy.
Speaking to Fox News,w, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, praised India’s strength in engineering talent and product development. “India is a technology powerhouse,” Kratsios said in the interview. “It graduates an incredible number of engineers, has deep domestic talent, and is building strong products and applications.”
Kratsios, a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, had recently returned from India after attending the India AI Impact Summit.
India has ‘long been a strong partner’: White House
Kratsios placed India within a bigger US strategy to expand “real AI sovereignty” among partner countries. “The divergence in AI adoption between developed and developing countries is growing every day,” he said. “We see the world in two broad categories, and different tools are needed for each.”
Kratsios also pointed to the financial hurdles many developing countries face. “The AI stack is expensive,” he said, highlighting the need for “data centres, semiconductors, power generation” as critical infrastructure.
He added that India has “long been a strong partner in how the United States shares technology abroad,” adding that American hyperscalers already operate data centres and research facilities in India, helping deepen integration within the American AI stack.
He warned that developing nations could risk “falling behind at a fundamental inflection point” if they do not move quickly to adopt AI. According to him, countries should focus on sectors that bring “concrete benefits: healthcare, education, energy infrastructure, agriculture, and citizen-facing government services.”
To support this effort, the White House is promoting the American AI Exports Program. “For too long, countries seeking development support faced a false choice,” Kratsios said. “We believe the American AI Exports Program offers a different path: trusted best-in-class technology, financing to overcome adoption barriers, and deployment support.”
What “real AI sovereignty” means
Kratsios explained that “real AI sovereignty” is about “owning and using best-in-class technology for the benefit of your people, and charting your national destiny in the midst of global transformations.”
He stressed that the strategy is not about isolation. “We do not see this as being about any one competitor,” Kratsios said. “This is about the fact that the United States has the best AI technology in the world, and many countries want it in their ecosystems.”
Looking ahead, Kratsios said the next phase of innovation “will center on agents.”
“How those agents communicate and orchestrate their actions would benefit greatly from unified standards,” he said.