India Is Emerging as a Key Player in the Global AI Race

As Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, addressed his shareholders during a much-anticipated yearly address last Thursday, he also unveiled "JioBrain," a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and applications that he says will transform a spate of businesses in energy, textiles, telecommunications and more that form his multinational conglomerate, Reliance Industries. "By perfecting JioBrain within Reliance, we will create a powerful AI service platform that we can offer to other enterprises as well," Ambani said during his speech. The Reliance Chairman's latest offering comes as India emerges as a crucial player in the global AI ecosystem, boasting a high-powered IT industry worth 250 billion, which serves many of the world's banks, manufacturers and firms. As the world's most populous country, India also has a robust workforce population with nearly 5 million programmers at a time when AI talent is in short supply globally, with analysts predicting that India's AI services could be worth 17 billion by 2027, according to a recent report by Nasscom and BCG. Puneet Chandok, the President of Microsoft India & South Asia, points to research that finds India has one of the highest AI adoption rates among knowledge workers, with 92% using generative AI at work--significantly higher than the global average of 75%.