US tells Anthropic to cut Fable 5, impacting Indian startups
Indian AI startups are in a tough spot after the US government told Anthropic to cut off its Fable 5 model for foreign nationals, citing national security worries.
Industry executives said it was the first known instance of an AI model being subjected to export controls, and it's left Indian teams who rely on tools like Claude suddenly searching for alternatives.
Startups adopt open-source or homegrown AI
With projects disrupted, like CRASH Lab's evaluations, and companies such as VetoAI now unable to access Fable 5 while their US rivals still can, Indian founders are turning to open-source models like Meta's Llama or building their own tech from scratch.
The whole situation has sparked bigger conversations about India's heavy reliance on foreign AI and why experts say it's time to invest in homegrown solutions.
As one industry expert put it, Fable 5 withdrawal is a wake-up call: we need our own AI capabilities.