- Access the World Bank report here
According to the World Bank’s October 2026 India Development Update, only 23% of surveyed formal firms in India use artificial intelligence, despite significant private investment in the technology. This is one third of the US level, notes the World Bank report.
Why the World Bank thinks India is positioned to benefit?
World Bank identifies three foundations: a large technical workforce, a globally integrated IT sector, and digital public infrastructure.
It connects digital public infrastructure to AI adoption in businesses and public services, noting that successful implementation requires skills, innovation, and privacy safeguards to work in concert.
World Bank focuses its lending on locally adapted tools rather than advanced frontier models. Through AgriConnect, it invests in “small AI” to ensure broad benefits and support for workers during the transition. The report highlights targeted applications appropriate for resource-limited settings.
Artificial Intelligence: The report’s special focus
The special focus section, titled India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity, rests on these figures:
- Private AI investment rose from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $4.1 billion in 2025, roughly a threefold increase.
- Global Capability Centers employed 1.9 million professionals in 2024 and 2.36 million in 2025.
A World Bank official describes India as one of the top 10 emerging-market performers on AI readiness. The organisation notes that the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on the economy and labor market remains uncertain. It does not forecast that artificial intelligence will increase growth or reduce jobs.
Regional recommendations on Artificial Intelligence
For most of South Asia, the World Bank says the largest gains come from adopting artificial intelligence and adapting it to local conditions. It highlights “small AI”: targeted applications suited to low-resource settings. It recommends:
- Lowering barriers to AI adoption by small firms.
- Fostering local AI innovation.
- Setting a clear regulatory framework that reduces uncertainty and safeguards data security and privacy.
How much are Indian companies investing in AI?
According to the World Bank, private AI investment in India increased 242% to $4.1 billion in 2025.
This increase adds $2.9 billion in private artificial intelligence investment within one year. However, the World Bank’s annual figures differ from the larger multi-year commitments announced by tech companies, which cover planned spending on data centres, computing infrastructure, and related digital services.
India’s cumulative private artificial intelligence investment from 2013 to 2024 reached approximately $11.1 billion, according to the Stanford AI Index 2025, as cited by the Indian government in February 2026. These figures indicate a significant acceleration in AI investment during 2025.
Investment announcements exceed actual annual funding
At the India AI Impact Summit in February 2026, Reliance Industries pledged $110 billion over seven years for AI-focused infrastructure, while Adani Enterprises announced plans to invest $100 billion by 2035.
The Tata Group announced a partnership with OpenAI to expand AI-ready data centre capacity. Google committed $15 billion to an artificial intelligence hub in Visakhapatnam, which also covers broader infrastructure development.
Others like General Catalyst pledged $5 billion over five years, while Lightspeed Venture Partners announced $10 billion in investments at the Summit.
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