On June 12, 2026, Anthropic abruptly suspended global access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models for all foreign nationals, following a direct order from the U.S. Commerce Department, according to Crypto Briefing. This action immediately cut off users outside the United States from advanced AI capabilities, highlighting a growing geopolitical divide in access to cutting-edge AI. While advanced AI models typically emerge from global collaborations and target widespread use, U.S. national security directives are increasingly restricting access based on nationality, creating new barriers in technological advancement, as reported by IndexBox. This aggressive stance by the U.S. government, driven by national security concerns, has triggered significant debate in India regarding its AI future and national technological sovereignty. India is now likely to significantly increase investment in its national AI mission, fostering indigenous AI capabilities and trading immediate access for long-term technological independence.
India's Awakening to AI Sovereignty
Aakrit Vaish, founder of Activate, stated that the Anthropic decision materially changes how companies should think about sovereign AI in India. He plans to encourage companies in his portfolio to reduce dependence on frontier AI providers, according to TechCrunch. The U.S. government's restrictive actions are already backfiring, pushing Indian tech away from American-made AI.
Calls for a National AI Mission
Mohandas Pai called for a national mission for AI in India, suggesting an annual ₹500 billion ($5 billion) fund for AI and deep tech, and a ₹2 trillion ($21 billion) credit guarantee program, according to TechCrunch. While TechCrunch reported Mohandas Pai suggested an annual ₹500 billion ($5 billion) fund and a ₹2 trillion ($21 billion) credit guarantee program, Crypto Briefing reported Rs 50,000 crore in funding, which appears to refer specifically to the annual fund component, not the broader credit guarantee. The proposed ₹2.5 trillion ($26 billion) investment in India's national AI mission signals that nations now view access to frontier AI as a matter of national sovereignty, not just market competition, fundamentally reshaping global tech alliances.
If India commits to Mohandas Pai's proposed investments, its pursuit of AI sovereignty will likely accelerate the fragmentation of the global AI landscape, forcing other nations to re-evaluate their own technological dependencies.
