Google sees artificial intelligence as “an economic equaliser”, and believes technology is at its best when it is inclusive and democratic, giving even the leanest teams the same intelligence, speed and security as a large global enterprise, Preeti Lobana, Vice President and country manager of Google India, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Google Cloud Day event where she addressed over 600 business owners, managing directors and technology executives, Lobana said in her conversations with business leaders across the country, she often hears “a mix of excitement about AI’s promise” and understandable apprehension about the complexities ahead.
Many growing businesses, she said, worry about cost.
“In fact, many growing businesses worry that AI requires massive IT teams, complex integrations, and deep pockets. People worry about the cost. But at Google, we see AI differently,” she said.
For Google, AI is a powerful technology, which more than anything else, is “an economic equaliser”.
“Technology, as we’ve seen, has its absolute best when it is inclusive and it is democratic, giving the leanest teams the same intelligence, speed, capability, and security as any large-scale global enterprise,” she said.
Lobana cited the many ways in which AI has already transformed consumer habits across India.
She said small and medium businesses account for nearly one-third of India’s GDP and over 35 per cent of manufacturing output, and are the engine for Viksit Bharat 2047.
Their adoption of digital platforms, she added, creates a ripple effect across supply chains, tier two and tier three India and rural areas.
“As India works towards and builds for Viksit Bharat 2047, small and medium enterprises are truly the engine driving the nation’s economy forward,” Lobana said.
The Google India top executive noted that industry in India has moved past proofs of concept into actual business transformation, with the opportunity now lying in building a “continuous intelligence engine” where AI removes daily operational friction, freeing people to innovate, scale business to new markets, and build relationships.
Lobana said Google’s journey in India over the last two-plus decades has been anchored in a commitment to ensure that breakthrough technology directly empowers the country’s growth and ambitions.
“We’re going to compete with the best and build for India from India, and also build for the globe from India,” she said, explaining why Google has committed USD 15 billion to scale India’s digital and AI infrastructure.
She said the AI hub in Visakhapatnam, along with new subsea cables, will provide connectivity and low-latency compute to power India’s AI future.
This “physical anchor” is meant to support the IndiaAI Mission and strengthen the country’s digital backbone, so that every developer and enterprise, from a one-person setup to an organisation employing 200,000 people, can access world-class compute.
