New Delhi [India], November 10 (ANI): India has a promising opportunity in the global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, despite not leading in advanced chip manufacturing or foundational AI models, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said on Tuesday.

Taking to his official X account, Mahindra highlighted India's growing potential in AI applications, software development and enterprise-wide adoption, suggesting that the country's strengths could position it favourably in the evolving global AI landscape.

'I recently posted about the irony of India coming back into favour with global investors, partly because we were seen as being outside the supposedly overheated AI trade,' he said. 

However, Mahindra suggested that India's investment appeal could extend beyond its relatively limited exposure to the global AI infrastructure boom.

'Perhaps India isn't just a refuge from the AI hype. It may have a compelling AI opportunity of its own. And if that's true, the renewed interest in Indian equities may have more staying power than we think...,' he said in his post.

Highlighting India's position in the global AI landscape, Mahindra cited Stanford University's ranking, which places India third globally in AI vibrancy.

'But perhaps there's another way to look at it,' he said, adding, 'Stanford now ranks India #3 in global AI vibrancy,' he noted. 

Mahindra also acknowledged India's limitations in advanced semiconductor manufacturing and the development of foundational large language models (LLMs), and emphasised the importance of building applications and developing a broader AI ecosystem.

'No, we don't make the most advanced chips or lead the race in foundational LLMs,' he said. Drawing a comparison with the evolution of smartphones, Mahindra recalled an analogy he had used in Tech Mahindra's Annual Report.

'Smartphones created the platform. Apps unlocked their potential,' he said. Referring to political strategist James Carville's famous phrase, Mahindra added, "It's the economy, stupid!" Perhaps the AI version should be, "It's the ecosystem, stupid!"

He further indicated that the next phase of AI growth could be driven by the widespread development of applications, specialised industry expertise and adoption across enterprises.

'The real explosion of applications, domain expertise & enterprise-wide deployment may still lie ahead. And with our software talent, systems integration expertise & enormous domestic market for AI use cases, surely India has a promising hand to play?,' he noted. (ANI)