New Delhi, May 5 -- India wants to become a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI), but a graphics processing unit (GPU) shortage-driven by geopolitics and steep US tariffs on China-is slowing things down. GPUs, once built for gaming, typically power most AI models because they process data much faster than central processing units (CPUs), the chips found in everyday devices like our smartphones, desktops and laptops.

But what if AI could run on CPUs-with no loss in speed or quality?

Ziroh Labs, a California-based deeptech startup, has done exactly this with its Kompact AI platform, built in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) and IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation. In less than a month of i...