Sridhar Vembu backs Palantir CEO Alex Karp, says enterprises should own AI instead of renting it

Zoho Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu has echoed Palantir CEO Alex Karp's views on enterprise artificial intelligence, arguing that businesses should build and control their AI capabilities instead of relying heavily on proprietary AI platforms operated by a handful of technology companies.In a post on X, Vembu shared a recent interview featuring Karp, describing it as a strong critique of frontier AI laboratories. He said the discussion reinforced his long-standing belief that enterprises—and even countries—should retain ownership of the critical technologies that power their operations.Strong attack on frontier AI labs from silicon valley insider and Palantir CEO Alex Karp.He explicitly mentions that enterprises must own the "means of production" in the video interview. I have long talked about why no large enterprise or nation that wants to be wealthy should… Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) July 3, 2026 According to Vembu, organisations risk weakening their long-term competitiveness if they outsource core AI capabilities to external providers. He argued that ownership of production technologies has historically been a key driver of economic value, and AI should be viewed through the same lens.To illustrate his point, Vembu drew a parallel with the manufacturing sector, noting that investments in expensive industrial equipment can significantly influence where value is created across supply chains. He suggested that enterprise AI could follow a similar trajectory if businesses become dependent on proprietary AI infrastructure instead of developing or controlling their own systems.Vembu also criticised what he described as "tokenmaxxing"—a model where software companies rely extensively on token-based pricing from frontier AI providers. According to him, this approach allows AI platform owners to capture an increasing share of the value generated by businesses that build products on top of their models.He argued that the massive investments being made by leading AI companies depend on recovering those costs by monetising enterprise AI usage at scale, potentially concentrating economic gains among a small number of technology providers.Vembu added that resistance to this model is beginning to emerge, with more businesses seeking greater control over their AI infrastructure, data and intellectual property.His comments were made while endorsing observations from Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who said enterprise customers increasingly want ownership of their AI stack rather than remaining tied to a single vendor. Karp also highlighted growing interest in open-source AI models and interoperable systems that allow organisations to retain control over their data and deployments.