As per a report by Bain & Company in collaboration with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Microsoft says that AI is no longer a fringe technology in India, as approximately 80% of enterprises have at least one AI model in production, indicating extensive penetration of AI/ML across enterprises.

The thrust in adoption for enterprises is maximum in sectors such as communication, over-the-top (OTT) and gaming, technology, and financial services, which have seen broad AI adoption (more than three AI/ML models in production at scale) among 40%–55% of organisations.

Source: Bain & Company

The report titled ‘From Buzz to Reality: The Accelerating Pace of AI in India’ expects, the Indian AI market to grow at the second-fastest rate of 20% among major economies over the next five years, behind only China. 

When it comes to talent, although India constitutes a small share of the global AI market, it produces 16% of global AI talent, placing it among the top three contributors in the world. With a legacy of exporting tech talent globally, India produces more talent than it consumes. India’s technology workforce grew up in an internet/cloud-first world. Its ability to assemble solutions from combinations of legacy, cloud and SaaS components is world-class.

The report further says that to systematically build AI talent for enterprise demand, support from academic institutions is needed to introduce comprehensive formal education in core AI technology. It also mentioned the steps that have been taken to this effect with the establishment of the National Education Policy 2020, which includes provisions to include AI in each stage of education and has directed universities to work toward offering masters and doctoral programmes in this field.

One can read the complete report here.