Washington DC [US], January 18 : In a first-of-its-kind event, Elon Musk hosted a delegation of leading Indian business figures at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas. The exclusive gathering provided an opportunity for Indian entrepreneurs to engage directly with Musk and tour the company's cutting-edge space exploration facilities. The visit on Friday included a tour of Starbase and a chance to witness the successful launch and booster catch of SpaceX's Starship Flight 7.
During a moderated discussion, Musk emphasised the potential for deeper collaboration between the United States and India, particularly in areas like technology and space exploration. "Things are trending positive. I'm certainly in favour of lowering trade barriers to increase commerce between the US and India," he remarked.
Speaking about India, Musk said: "India is one of the ancient civilizations and a very great and very complex one."
The Indian delegation, representing diverse sectors from technology and manufacturing to renewable energy, discussed opportunities for collaboration on global challenges. Topics included the role of technology in finance and regulation, partnerships in space and AI innovation, and India's growing role in the global innovation landscape.
Musk offered insights into his companies' work, including SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink, highlighting his belief in the transformative potential of technology. "The goal of SpaceX is to expand the scope and scale of consciousness beyond what we know to understand what questions to ask about the answer that is the universe.
He went on to state: "One of the things we're aiming for with Grok is we're pretty confident that soon Grok 3 will be the most sophisticated AI in the world"
"This event underscores the growing importance of collaboration between India and global pioneers in shaping a sustainable and technology-driven future," said IGF founder Manoj Ladwa.
"As the world's most powerful democracy transitions to a Trump presidency, meaningful dialogue is more important than ever in these challenging times. At India Global Forum, our mission is to bring together global leaders and innovators to tackle the defining challenges of our time. As I often say, democracies thrive when they work together. This moment underscores the need for collaboration, bold ideas, and shared purpose. I believe India's rise presents limitless opportunities, and this meeting signifies the potential for powerful partnerships," Ladwa said.
The IGF delegation included Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital; Jay Kotak, Co-Head, Kotak811; Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, OYO; Kalyan Raman, CEO, Flipkart; Aryaman Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited; Nilesh Ved, Chairman, Apparel Group, and Author Amish Tripathi among several others.
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