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India’s most expensive number
An Indian company, Puch AI, wants to take on ChatGPT and Grok AI with the help of the country’s most expensive mobile number that works on WhatsApp.
Puch AI cofounder says they want to give India its own sovereign AI that speaks in its language
The country is mostly relying on AI models built outside of India, which means the responses from AI chatbots will be customised to local processing.
Puch AI wants to give India its own sovereign AI that speaks in its language and also gives contextually relevant responses for the region.
Siddharth Bhatia, Co-founder of Puch AI, said that this company is doing this with the help of a mobile number 9090909090, which is the most expensive mobile number one can buy in India.
He has raised a pitch that first engages the people and hopefully works its magic with investors.
“Why did we buy India’s most expensive number?” Bhatia posted on X. “Because India deserves its own AI.”
“Sovereign AI is a bigger priority than even nuclear energy in ways we can’t yet imagine,” he further said.
According to the co-founder, though China is already releasing powerful open-source models, every single one of them calls Arunachal Pradesh “South Tibet.”
“That’s how subtle propaganda seeps in,” Bhatia said. “Relying on the US or any other foreign country is no safer.”
The entrepreneur reasoned that this is why they are building Puch AI. “India’s first AI, the true gateway to AI for a billion+ people.”
According to him, India has witnessed three defining shifts over the last decade: Jio made the internet accessible, UPI revolutionised payments, and Quick Commerce redefined shopping.
“The next leap is mass AI adoption,” he remarked.
Today, nearly a million people use Puch every month, Bhatia said, sharing a story of how he insisted an Uber driver use the app.
“In small towns, people use Puch in their own languages, often through voice notes, because that’s how they naturally communicate,” he said.
Can Puch AI compete with OpenAI, Meta, and Google?
“Despite minimal resources, and even with WhatsApp’s restrictions, Puch already offers better video generation than Grok (sorry, Elon) and stronger multilingual support than Meta AI, all of it fully self-hosted without using any external APIs,” Bhatia said.
He explained that the bigger game is the distribution part.
“If we wanted, we’d love to beat them at their game,” the startup founder remarked.
The Indian AI startup founder shared that he is all for winning; however, his company needs investors and proper distribution.
“There’s plenty of news about OpenAI, Google, and Meta trying to expand into India,” Bhatia said. “But if we can reject an acquisition worth millions, if one of our own employees can turn down a personal offer from Sam Altman, the only way they beat us here is by bribing government officials. Nothing else would be enough.”
He concluded the post with an offer.
“If you tag an investor whose money we accept, you win an iPhone.”
Why did we buy India’s most expensive number?
— Siddharth Bhatia (@siddharthb_) September 2, 2025
Because India deserves its own AI.
Sovereign AI is a bigger priority than even nuclear energy in ways we can’t yet imagine. China is already releasing powerful open-source models, but every single one of them calls Arunachal Pradesh… pic.twitter.com/qqZ2pNZeZs
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