Tech Giants Microsoft and Google Target India's Thriving AI Talent Pool

In the pursuit of tapping into India's vast reservoir of talent, executives from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. are embarking on a week-long tour to engage with the country's programmers and promote the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) services.

Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, is scheduled to address developers and technologists in Bangalore, the technology hub of India. His focus will be on "discovering new opportunities with AI." Additionally, he plans to engage Mumbai industry leaders to discuss the prospects and challenges associated with next-generation AI. Simultaneously, Google's Chief Scientist, Jeff Dean, will speak on the next frontier of AI with researchers, developers, and startups in Bangalore and then participate in a fireside chat exploring India's role in leveraging AI for significant societal impact.

This concerted effort underscores India's pivotal role in the strategies of these tech giants and the broader AI sector. With an impressive pool of over 5 million programmers, India is a significant source of AI talent for startups and global enterprises. This comes at a crucial juncture when the demand for AI expertise escalates globally. During a visit to India last year, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp., predicted that India could become the world's largest exporter of AI expertise.

“There's a worldwide transition toward AI in the next five to ten years, and the Indian developer will be at the heart of it,” said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys Ltd., Asia's second-largest technology services firm, concurs, stating, "The Indian developer will determine which AI stack will dominate."

Notably, Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai share a common background, having grown up in India and pursuing engineering studies before continuing their education in the United States. For them, the current emphasis on AI could be a defining moment in their careers. Pichai has even characterized the shift to AI as 'bigger than the internet,' while Nadella sees it as 'Microsoft's moment.'

Highlighting India's increasing influence in the AI domain, Ahmed Mazhari, President of Microsoft Asia, pointed to the significant developer activity on GitHub, a Microsoft-owned platform for developers. "Today, one in four AI projects on GitHub comes from India," Mazhari stated, emphasizing India's unique position to facilitate the widespread adoption of AI both domestically and in international markets. “By 2026, India will have eclipsed the US. India is very uniquely positioned to enable the adoption of AI at scale at home and in international markets.” In alignment with this commitment, Microsoft has recently announced plans to train 100,000 developers in India on the latest AI technology and tools.

India's burgeoning importance in AI is further underscored by Nasscom, the technology industry trade body, which reported nearly half a million developers specializing in AI and data sciences last year. Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President of Nasscom, predicts a surge in top AI companies establishing a presence in India. Major technology services companies like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Infosys are already making substantial investments in AI, training hundreds of thousands of engineers to meet the growing demand. Gupta notes, "Enterprises want to adopt AI, and developers can speed up the transition." The momentum is building, positioning India as a central player in the global AI landscape.