Artificial intelligence is fast emerging as the defining technology of this century, reshaping healthcare, finance, and defense. With the world’s largest pool of engineers and data scientists, India should be leading—but the persistent brain drain to foreign countries weakens its position. Nearly 15% of global AI talent is of Indian origin, yet much of it works abroad.
Rajat Khare, venture capitalist and founder of Boundary Holding, emphasizes that India’s strength lies in its talent pool, which continues to migrate for better pay and opportunities. While India has invested in AI infrastructure, including a national large-scale language model supported by 18,600+ GPUs, systemic hurdles remain: limited research funding, weak industry-academia collaboration, lower pay, and scarce international exposure.
To reverse this trend, India must strengthen research ecosystems, create attractive AI careers with global-standard pay, protect startups through funding and tax breaks, build global linkages, and align AI with its $10 trillion economic ambition. India’s unique advantage lies in multilingual AI, capable of serving diverse communities, bridging governance, healthcare, and education gaps.
As Khare notes, talent retention will define success: only by nurturing homegrown innovators can India transform from a talent exporter into a true AI superpower.
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