Statsguru: India's AI engine is running, but not yet fully inventing

India’s artificial intelligence (AI) journey is at a turning point. Microsoft’s recent layoffs and a call for AI upskilling underscore both the opportunity and the urgency. Back home, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman remarked that India’s AI skill penetration was among the highest globally. But a closer look reveals India’s AI ecosystem still lacks depth at the top tier. India ranks second globally in AI skill penetration, just behind the US.  

 

The country also leads the world in AI hiring through LinkedIn.  

 

Yet, despite this base, India is absent from the top 2 per cent of AI researchers globally. The US and China dominate, while even smaller nations like Germany and the UK find a place.  

 

A major contributor to this is brain drain. India had a net AI talent outflow of 1.55 per 10,000 LinkedIn members in 2024, second only to Israel.  

 

India also lags in AI patents. In 2024, it registered just 3.5 per cent of China’s total.  

 

Finally, India attracted only \$1.16 billion in private AI investment in 2024, compared to \$109.08 billion in the US and over \$9 billion in China.  

 

Despite having penetration and skills, India is yet to produce a globally visible AI breakthrough like the US’ ChatGPT or China’s DeepSeek. What’s missing is the ecosystem to translate talent into top-tier research, patented innovation, and billion-dollar AI products.