Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said India's software talent, systems integration expertise and vast domestic market could position the country to capitalise on the next phase of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, arguing that its growing appeal among global investors stems from more than just its relatively limited exposure to the AI investment frenzy.
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra sees India as having a distinct opportunity in artificial intelligence, one that could be shaped by its technology ecosystem and the expanding adoption of AI across businesses.
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In a post on X, Mahindra said that India's return to favour among global investors was partly driven by the perception that the country had remained on the sidelines of the AI investment boost.
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. But perhaps there's another way to look at it. Stanford now ranks India #3 in global AI vibrancy. No, we don't make the most advanced chips or lead the race in foundational LLMs. But I'm reminded of an analogy I used in Tech Mahindra's Annual Report. Smartphones created the platform. Apps unlocked their potential. James Carville famously said, “It's the economy, stupid!” Perhaps the AI version should be, “It's the ecosystem, stupid!” 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? 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…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 10, 2026
However, he suggested that this perception overlooked the country's potential to emerge as a major beneficiary of the next phase of AI development.
Pointing to Stanford University's ranking of India at third place globally in AI vibrancy, Mahindra acknowledged that the country was not at the forefront of advanced semiconductor manufacturing or the development of foundational large language models (LLMs).
However, he argued that leadership in AI would not necessarily be determined by computing infrastructure or foundational models alone.
Drawing an analogy from an observation he had made in Tech Mahindra's annual report, Mahindra compared the evolution of AI with the smartphone revolution. While smartphones created the platform, applications unlocked their real-world potential.
He suggested that a similar transformation could unfold in AI, with applications, specialised domain expertise and enterprise-wide deployment driving the next wave of growth.
Invoking political strategist James Carville's famous phrase, "It's the economy, stupid!", Mahindra said the equivalent for AI could be: "It's the ecosystem, stupid!"
He said India's strength lies in its deep technology workforce, ability to integrate complex systems and a large domestic market that could accelerate the adoption of AI across industries.
Mahindra added that India could be more than a relatively safe destination for investors wary of inflated AI valuations, potentially offering a compelling investment opportunity as the technology ecosystem matures.
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