Kishore Lulla says Anthropic restrictions expose India’s AI dependence; calls sovereign AI a ‘national necessity’

New Delhi News : Eros Innovation Founder and Executive Chairman Kishore Lulla has said that the US government’s decision to restrict foreign access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models should serve as a wake-up call for countries that remain dependent on overseas AI platforms and infrastructure.

The comments come after Anthropic suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models following a US government directive that classified the systems under stricter export controls and barred access for foreign nationals on national security grounds. Anthropic has said it complied with the order while disagreeing with the government’s assessment. 

Reacting to the development, Lulla said the move demonstrates the risks of relying on foreign-controlled AI systems for critical technological and cultural capabilities.

“I have said this before and I will say it again - this was inevitable. When a nation’s cultural expression depends on foreign platforms, foreign models and foreign infrastructure, those platforms will always make decisions that reflect their own priorities, not ours. Claude restricting access to Indian users is not a surprise. It is a consequence of a structural dependency that India must urgently address.

This is precisely why we built the Eros LCM family as a sovereign AI initiative, recognised by MeitY, anchored at IIT Madras, trained on Indian data that we own and control. India cannot afford to be a consumer of AI built elsewhere. Every time a foreign platform restricts access, changes terms, or simply decides that India is not a priority, we are reminded of what is at stake.

Sovereign AI is not a policy ambition. It is a national necessity. India has the data, the talent, the institutions and the government commitment to build it. The question is urgency. I hope this moment accelerates it.”

According to reports, the US order requires Anthropic to halt access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for foreign nationals as Washington expands export-control measures around frontier AI systems, citing national security concerns. The move has triggered debate across the global technology ecosystem about access to advanced AI models and the strategic importance of domestic AI capabilities.

Lulla said the development reinforces the argument that countries such as India must invest in indigenous AI models, datasets and infrastructure that remain under domestic control, rather than relying exclusively on technologies whose availability can be altered by foreign governments or corporations.