Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl reveals what happened in closed-door meet with Sam Altman: 'Foundational models can only go so far'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has touched down in India as part of his global tour, arriving late Tuesday night in a country where OpenAI saw its user base triple last year. During his visit, he is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and key figures from India's thriving startup and venture capital ecosystem. Among those who had a closed-door discussion with Altman is Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Titan Capital and Snapdeal, who has now shared his insights and key takeaways from their conversation.

Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Titan Capital and Snapdeal, shared insights from his closed-door meeting with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his team in Delhi.

Reflecting on the discussion, he highlighted three key takeaways.

First, Bhal praised Altman and the OpenAI team's humility, noting that they acknowledge the limitations of foundational AI models. "They recognise that the foundational models can only go as far ("80-90% of the way") and for specific industry/company contexts a robust application layer will be needed to take it to the 100% levels."

This, he emphasised, is crucial for the many Indian startups focusing on building applications on top of AI models.

Second, he pointed out OpenAI's acknowledgment of high pricing. "Acknowledgment that pricing is high currently and that for mass scale adoption, it would need to come down dramatically. Possibly more updates on that in the future."

This hints at potential future cost reductions, making AI tools more accessible.

Lastly, he shed light on OpenAI's approach to information access through ChatGPT. "As ChatGPT becomes an entry point for information research for users, the intention is to not charge for linking out of ChatGPT (unlike Google), as they believe it can impact the perception of trust in the results."

He suggested this could have significant implications for intent-based advertising models, including Google's, and the businesses that rely heavily on them.

Why is Sam Altman in India?

Sam Altman last visited India in June 2023, and his current global tour is widely seen as an effort to respond to DeepSeek's recent advancements.

Credit: Reuters

DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company that has recently garnered significant attention for developing a powerful and cost-effective AI model.

Speaking at a fireside chat, Altman emphasised India's growing role in AI, stating, "India is an incredibly important market for AI in general and OpenAI in particular. It is our second biggest market, we tripled our users here in the last year."

He also expressed admiration for the country's progress in the AI space, adding, "But mostly seeing what people in India are building, the stack, chips, models, all the incredible applications ¡ª India should be doing everything, India should be among the leaders of the AI revolution."

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