The recent AI summit in India marked a significant shift in U.S. strategy towards the Global South, focusing on AI adoption, supply chain security, and international cooperation.
The massive AI summit held in India this week appeared, at first glance, to be a typical gathering of world leaders and technology executives in New Delhi, complete with impressive investment figures and carefully crafted joint statements. However, this summit was notable for being the largest global AI event to date and the first of its kind hosted in the Global South.
During the summit, I had the opportunity to observe the closed-door sessions, bilateral meetings, and formal agreements. While much of the media coverage concentrated on press releases and individual deal announcements, a more strategic agenda was quietly taking shape.
Over just a few days, the United States effectively developed a comprehensive strategy for the Global South, focusing on how emerging economies can adopt artificial intelligence, secure financing for that adoption, and ensure the security of their AI infrastructures. This initiative pairs the diffusion of AI technology with supply chain security, firmly establishing India as a central player in this new framework. This marks a significant shift in how the U.S. intends to assert its technological leadership at a time when domestic politics are increasingly inward-looking.
The strategy consists of two main components. The first involves the supply chain and critical resources, encapsulated in the initiative known as Pax Silica. Key U.S. officials, including Jacob Helberg, the undersecretary of state for economic affairs, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, and Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, gathered in New Delhi to sign an agreement that formally welcomes India into Pax Silica. This declaration emphasizes cooperation in areas such as critical minerals, semiconductor manufacturing, energy, and data-center infrastructure, explicitly linking economic resilience to national security.
Helberg framed this initiative as a response to what he termed “weaponized dependency,” asserting that “economic security is national security.” He argued that sovereignty in the modern era derives from the ability to produce essential technologies, from extracting minerals to manufacturing silicon wafers and developing the intelligence that powers AI systems. Ambassador Gor reinforced this message, stating that India’s involvement is “not symbolic” but “strategic and essential,” directly connecting the initiative to broader U.S.-India trade, technology, and defense cooperation. The language used by U.S. officials was notably direct and assertive.
The second component of the U.S. strategy was unveiled during a press conference that garnered less media attention. Kratsios outlined a new AI export framework, representing a new phase in U.S. AI policy. This coordinated effort aims to export the American AI ecosystem on a large scale, supported by financing, standards-setting, and deployment assistance. “We want to share the great American technology,” he stated, highlighting the importance of collaboration.
This strategic focus on India as the host of the summit, rather than Washington, underscores the importance of adoption over abstraction. The summit featured leaders from the Global South, emerging AI firms, and multilateral lenders, all of whom were present by design. Indian officials emphasized the practical challenges of AI deployment and the importance of sovereignty, rather than merely aligning values. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pointed out the significant talent shortages in semiconductor manufacturing, noting that the global industry will require “roughly one million additional skilled professionals.” India is addressing this need through nationwide programs involving hundreds of universities and providing free access to advanced chip-design tools from companies like Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens.
U.S. officials consistently highlighted India’s critical role in this new framework. Unlike many emerging economies that typically engage in a single segment of the technology value chain—such as minerals, low-cost assembly, or consumption—India operates across the entire spectrum. U.S. representatives emphasized that India possesses significant engineering talent, active participation in advanced chip design, a burgeoning domestic AI product ecosystem, and the capacity to absorb large-scale investments in data centers and energy. This positions India not just as a market but as a stabilizing node for both AI diffusion and the diversification of supply chains that have become increasingly concentrated.
The summit also highlighted a challenge in the Global South that Washington has often shied away from addressing directly. Artificial intelligence has evolved beyond being a standalone sector; it is now an essential infrastructure layer for the future economy. Effective AI deployment requires secure inputs, energy, standards, skilled labor, and sustained capital. Countries that fail to adopt AI at scale risk losing influence over its governance and will inherit systems designed elsewhere. Regulation without active participation does not provide sovereignty or stability.
The U.S. response articulated in New Delhi reflects an understanding of this reality. The American AI ecosystem is being positioned as a foundation for others to build upon, rather than a closed platform that must be rented. Financing tools from various agencies, including the U.S. Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank, are being aligned to reduce barriers to adoption. Partner-country firms are being integrated into the system rather than excluded, and standards—particularly for next-generation AI agents—are being established early, with Kratsios noting that interoperability will be crucial for smooth scaling.
Pax Silica and the AI export initiative are designed to work in tandem, creating a feedback loop between capability and resilience.
The summit’s announcement of over $250 billion in AI deals indicates that markets recognize this strategic direction. Microsoft has pledged approximately $50 billion for AI infrastructure investments across the Global South by the end of the decade. OpenAI and AMD have formed partnerships with India’s Tata Group related to AI infrastructure and deployment. Blackstone participated in a $600 million funding round for Indian AI infrastructure firm Neysa, while Nvidia expanded its venture partnerships in India. Additionally, Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani have outlined substantial investments in data centers, measured in multiple gigawatts of capacity.
As domestic politics in the United States become increasingly consuming ahead of the midterm elections, the White House appears to be solidifying a parallel agenda abroad—one that is not reliant on legislative cycles or headline battles at home. The Global South, where AI adoption will shape growth trajectories and political alignments for decades to come, is now central to this effort. The United States is moving beyond relying solely on innovation to maintain its technological leadership. It is actively constructing an adoption architecture, securing its foundational elements, and extending its influence outward at a time when the U.S. is turning its focus inward.
This article was first published by Fox Business.