India is taking a major leap in AI technology with the launch of a national-scale AI supercomputer boasting 8 exaflops of computing power. The project is a collaboration between G42, Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), Cerebras, and India’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

Announced at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the initiative follows strong India-UAE ties, including the 5th India-UAE Strategic Dialogue in December 2025 and the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in January 2026, reinforcing partnerships in defense, technology, space, and energy.

With 8 exaflops, the new system marks India’s move to exaflop-scale AI infrastructure. Hosted in India, the supercomputer will follow India-defined governance frameworks, ensuring full data sovereignty and compliance with national security standards.

Manu Jain, CEO of G42 India, said: “Sovereign AI infrastructure is key for national competitiveness. This project enables researchers and enterprises to innovate while keeping all data secure within India.”

Once operational, the system will be accessible to universities, startups, SMEs, and government departments, promoting inclusive AI development across the nation.

Richard Morton, Executive Director at MBZUAI, highlighted the system’s role in supporting research in healthcare, agriculture, and education, while Andy Hock, Chief Strategy Officer at Cerebras, emphasized that the project will accelerate large-scale AI model training and deployment in India.

This initiative builds on G42’s earlier collaboration with MBZUAI, including the release of the Hindi-English LLM, NANDA 87B, featuring 87 billion parameters, strengthening India’s position as a key player in AI innovation.