The Great Tech Game Podcast: Geopolitics, Technology, Business and Global Affairs, with Anirudh Suri

In this episode of The Great Tech Game Podcast, Anirudh Suri, Author and Host of The Great Tech Game Podcast, sits down with Ian Bremmer, Founder and President of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Bremmer has spent his career helping business leaders, policymakers and the public make sense of global power shifts, and in this conversation he makes the case that tech companies, and the people running them, are evolving into a new category of geopolitical actors, one that didn't really exist before.We start with the Starlink decision during the Russia-Ukraine war as a case study in what this kind of power actually looks like in practice. From there, we dig into the structural forces driving today's geopolitics, the competing models of the US, China and Europe, the push for "sovereign AI," and where India stands in the global AI race.We explore:How are tech companies and their founders starting to function as sovereigns in the geopolitical space?What kind of social backlash could this shift in power trigger, and could it change how governments and tech companies work together?What are the structural forces reshaping the balance of power in the world today, but especially between the US, Russia and China? Is the "Thucydides Trap" the right historical analogy for the US-China relationship? What do the US, Chinese and European models of capitalism reveal about where each system is headed?Is "sovereign AI" a viable strategy for middle powers, or should countries think about it differently? Where does India genuinely stand in the AI race, and what's the risk most people aren't talking about? ▶️ Watch the full conversation now, and subscribe to The Great Tech Game Podcast!About the guest, Dr. Ian Bremmer: Dr. Ian Bremmer is the founder and president of Eurasia Group, one of the world's leading global research and advisory firms, and GZERO Media, a digital media company providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. He helps business leaders, policymakers and the general public make sense of global events through speeches, commentary, and media formats reaching a wide public audience.About Anirudh Suri, Host of The Great Tech Game Podcast: Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund.

In this episode of The Great Tech Game Podcast, Anirudh sits down with Amitabh Kant, India's former G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside Wilson White, Vice President of Government Affairs & Public Policy at Google Asia-Pacific.The relationship between governments and Big Tech is growing more precarious by the day, even as the two become increasingly interdependent. One would assume their larger interests to be aligned in service of society, but it's growing harder to tell if they're fundamentally at odds. And so as AI becomes a strategic asset, where does corporate power end and state control begin?We start with how these two central actors respond to a crisis as significant as Iran: Google's shift toward operational resilience, and governments' focus on securing supply chain stability. From there, we widen the lens to the global AI race and India's positioning within it: where its strengths lie, and what it can learn from examples elsewhere in the world.We explore:- What distinguishes how governments and Big Tech firms like Google respond to a global crisis like Iran?- Is India really a 'loser' in the AI race, as many argue, or does that framing limit how we think about AI's possibilities more holistically?- What steps do firms like Google take to ensure AI readiness?- In a world built on global interoperability and mutual learning, what does the idea of Sovereign AI really mean, and how should we view it through a wider lens?- What are the critical gaps in India's AI ecosystem that need urgent attention, and where do its unique strengths lie?- Finally, what lessons can India draw from other countries across the APAC region?▶️ Watch the full conversation now, and subscribe to The Great Tech Game Podcast!---Chapters:0:00 - Introduction3:38 - How India and Google Handled the Iran Crisis10:47 - What do India and Google Need to Power AI14:44 - Assessing India's AI Ecosystem21:40 - India's Critical Gaps and Unique Strengths25:48 - Lessons India Can Learn from APAC29:14 - How Can Big Tech Help India Achieve Its AI Ambitions?37:01 - Will Access to Frontier Models Be a Problem for India?41:28 -The Myth of Sovereign AI46:17 - Rapid Fire Round---About the Guests:Amitabh Kant is one of India's most influential policymakers, having served as the CEO of NITI Aayog and India's G20 Sherpa. Over a four-decade career in public service, he has led several of the country's most ambitious reform initiatives, including Make in India, Startup India, and the Aspirational Districts Programme. Wilson White is Google's Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy, based in Singapore, where he leads the company's engagement with governments and regulators across Asia-Pacific while also overseeing global policy efforts for several core product areas.About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast:Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund.---The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38MyFollow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: https://anirudhsuri.com/Book and Podcast: https://anirudhsuri.com/the-great-tech-game/#TheGreatTechGamePodcast #AmitabhKant #WilsonWhite #Google #NITIAayog #AIPolicy #ArtificialIntelligence #SovereignAI #AIRace #TechPolicy #Geopolitics #IndiaAI #BigTech #GlobalSouth #IndiaVsChina #FutureOfAI #TechAndPolicy

In this episode of The Great Tech Game podcast, we sit down with Kanwal Rekhi, venture capitalist, the first Indian-American to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ, and co-founder of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE). We discuss why he believes entrepreneurs are the new freedom fighters for India. Rekhi traces the journey of India from being branded as a "land of snake charmers" to becoming a global "technological powerhouse," arguing that the next phase of India’s independence is economic—freedom from hunger and poverty driven by a massive surge in entrepreneurship.Rekhi offers a provocative look at how India should aim to reclaim its #1 global economic spot by 2047. He challenges conventional wisdom on "brain drain," the role of the government in regulation, and why a "politics of wealth creation" must precede the "politics of wealth distribution".We explore:- How has the nature of starting a business changed from the early days of PC hardware and networking to the current era of AI?\- Why are entrepreneurs the "new freedom fighters"? - Is "brain drain" actually a benefit? Has the exodus of Indian talent to the US built a "brain trust" for India instead?- What is the "Noble Experiment" of India? Can a country this diverse and poor sustain both a constitutional democracy and a free market better than the model seen in China?- Why should India build 1,000 IITs? Why is investing in "people and their brains" the highest ROI the government can achieve?- How do we fix the "dead arm" of the Indian economy by empowering entrepreneurs in small towns?- What can India learn from the US about venture capital and taxes? - Why is the current Indian regulatory framework potentially stifling the 10 million entrepreneurs we need by 2047?▶️ Watch the full conversation now, and subscribe to The Great Tech Game.---About the Guest: Kanwal Rekhi is an Indian-American entrepreneur, investor, and mentor best known as the first Indian-American founder to take a venture-backed company public in the United States, when networking startup Excelan was listed on the stock exchange in 1987. After the company’s IPO and merger, Rekhi shifted his focus toward enabling entrepreneurship, mentoring more than 10,000 founders and investing in over 200 early-stage startups, including companies such as Exodus Communications, Poshmark, redBus, Sierra Atlantic, and NetMagic. Today, as Managing Director of Inventus Capital Partners and SV Quad, and as a co-founder of TiE Global, Rekhi continues to champion entrepreneurship with a mission to help create 10 million entrepreneurs by India’s 100th anniversary.About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast:Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#thegreattechgame #tgtgpodcast #anirudhsuri #IndianEconomy #Entrepreneurship #Startups #IndianStartups #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #IndiaAI #Technology #Innovation #Geopolitics #EconomicGrowth #ViksitBharat #SiliconValley #VentureCapital #FutureOfIndia #TechPodcast #GlobalSouth #IIT #EconomicFreedom #Entrepreneurs #TechAndGeopolitics #IndianTech #AIRevolution #KanwalRekhi

Join host Anirudh Suri and guest Sebastian Mallaby as they explore the historical evolution of capital and its profound impact on global finance. They discuss the pivotal role of the Industrial Revolution in shifting from small-scale operations to large companies, the influence of trade finance during the great trading era, and the emergence of powerful financial figures like JP Morgan. The conversation also highlights the significant contributions of contemporary financiers such as George Soros and Arthur Rock in shaping modern economics and technological innovation.

The Clip dives into an in-depth conversation about the percentage of population that drives growth and development in a society, often termed as 'the intellectual lead.' The presence of these people across societies, the factors that may prevent them from contributing, and influences from education and political systems are key focus areas in the discussion. The role of culture, including its capacity for change and the significance of pluralism are also examined. Full Episode Link (Part 1): https://youtu.be/iV21apDujg8 (Part 2): https://youtu.be/j-EtfjGJbV0 00:00 Introduction: The Power of a Small Number 00:30 The Role of Education and Society in Nurturing Creativity 01:14 The Barriers to Unleashing Creative Potential 01:40 The Struggle for Intellectual Freedom in Different Societies 02:46 The Importance of Pluralism and Challenging Established Knowledge 03:32 The European Enlightenment and the Desanctification of Past Knowledge 04:53 The Difficulty of Overcoming Established Knowledge Systems 06:07 The Act of Rebellion in Knowledge Creation In this two-part episode of The Great Tech Game podcast, host Anirudh Suri is joined by Joel Mokyr to dig deep into why some societies get rich, creative and successful while others don't. Mokyr and Suri discuss examples of countries that have unshackled themselves from their past, such as 19th century Japan during the Meiji Restoration and the East Asian tigers. They also explore how India can reverse its brain drain and become a tech nation, and not remain just a talent nation. Mokyr highlights the high levels of inequality being driven by the tech economy today, and both draw parallels with pre-WWI Europe and its experience with vast inequality driven by industrial capitalism. Jumping to the modern era, they discuss whether AI represents a new revolution in knowledge, or whether it is just hype. About Joel Mokyr: Joel Mokyr is Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University. Joel Mokyr conducts research on the economic history of Europe, and specializes in the period 1750-1914. His current research is focused on the understanding of the economic and intellectual roots of technological progress and the growth of useful knowledge in European societies, as well as the impact that industrialization and economic progress have had on economic welfare.

Link to the Main Episode: https://youtu.be/riXxhdBmC1M The conversation between Anirudh and George on the early stages of 'The Great AI Game', emphasizes the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on global competition across markets and nations. They delve into the strategic investments by tech firms and countries in AI, highlighting the significant socioeconomic and geopolitical implications, particularly of generative AI. Anirudh and George explore AI's potential to profoundly affect economics, productivity, defense, culture, and the global competitive landscape. The discussion reflects on the urgency and complexity of thought leadership in navigating this transformative era. 00:00 The Dawn of the Great AI Game: Navigating New Competitive Dynamics 00:53 The Rush of Tech Firms and National Strategies in AI 01:26 Exploring the Geopolitics of AI: A Timely Discussion 01:41 Reflecting on the Evolution of AI and Its Global Impact 02:59 Generative AI: A Game-Changer for Nations and Global Markets #AI #technology #geopolitics #business In this comprehensive episode of the Great Tech Game podcast, Anirudh Suri and guest, George Lee, delve into the convergence of technology, geopolitics, business, and innovation through the lens of the emerging generative AI revolution. They discuss the current landscape of global AI competition, highlighting the US's early lead, China's formidable presence, and the potential contributions of other nations, including India's open data approach. Follow Anirudh here: X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuri Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suri Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.in Website: [www.anirudhsuri.com](http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: [www.greattechgame.com](http://www.greattechgame.com/) Book Links: Anirudh Suri: The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri : https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My George Lee Article: About George Lee: https://www.goldmansachs.com/about-us/people-and-leadership/leadership/management-committee/george-lee.html

Full Episode Link: https://youtu.be/LfmxGA7nOR4 This episode explores the concentration and diffusion of AI research and talent. It highlights how top universities and research institutions like Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT attract the best researchers. Despite their concentration in a few top labs in academia and the private sector, the wide availability of published AI research and models online facilitates rapid knowledge diffusion. This allows a broader audience to access and build upon cutting-edge discoveries in AI. As always, watch, share and subscribe! Book Links: #AnirudhSuri: The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri : [amzn.eu/d/1Su38My](http://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My) #PaulScharre: Four Battlegrounds - Power In The A: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence : https://amzn.eu/d/1GnHu2i Army of None – Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War : https://amzn.eu/d/b8wFXQn 00:00 Introduction to Research and Talent in AI 00:49 Concentration of Top Researchers 01:11 Diffusion of AI Knowledge #Research, #Talent, #AIResearch, #CuttingEdge, #CloudComputing, #Infrastructure, #TopUniversities, #Stanford, #CarnegieMellon, #MIT, #PrivateSector, #Academia, #AI, #Breakthroughs, #OnlinePapers, #KnowledgeDiffusion, #TrainedModels, #Researchers, #Innovation, #TechInstitutions

This conversation delves into the concept of 'informal empires' and challenges the notion that these empires feel 'informal' to those under their influence. It argues that historians, particularly in the West, might minimize the impact of informal empires, which, in reality, exert significant control and governance, often through private enterprises rather than state mechanisms. In this episode of The Great Tech Game podcast, host Anirudh Suri is joined by Phil Stern, professor of history at Duke University, to dive into the history of colonial corporations such as East India Company and what that might teach us about how the current tug of war between nation-states and big tech firms such as Apple and Google might play out.Stern and Suri together delve into the history of joint stock corporations and trading empires of corporations such as East India Company and others. They explore how these joint stock corporations of the 17th and 18th centuries were critical in the rise of colonial empires, but eventually ran afoul of their patrons and political masters. They discuss how the attempt of the British Crown, for example, to regulate the activities of the East India Company played out, and what lessons that holds for today's attempt by countries like the US, India and Europe to regulate Big Tech firms.About Phil Stern: https://scholars.duke.edu/person/philip.stern/Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: [www.anirudhsuri.com](http://www.anirudhsuri.com/)Book and Podcast: [www.greattechgame.com](http://www.greattechgame.com/)Book Links:Anirudh Suri:The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri : https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My