India has become one of the world’s largest pools for AI talent

Despite a 1% share of the global AI market, the country produces 16% of the world’s AI talent pool, according to a report by Microsoft, consultancy firm Bain & Company, and industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Third tallest in the world.

In India, the demand for AI talent comes on the back of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) looking for AI contractors, and large organizations looking for AI and machine learning talent for digital transformation.

However, the demand-supply gap for AI-educated workforce is wider than ever, despite the country being a major hub for AI talent globally.

This was highlighted in another report published on June 23 by industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), which stated that the demand for AI talent in India grew by almost 14% in 2018. But last time this difference had increased to 33%. Year.

Yet, even though AI adoption in India has grown at a steady pace over the past year, it still remains an early stage market.

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The NASSCOM report states that the adoption of AI and automation services in Indian enterprises is also in the early stages – that is, they are acquiring AI services from technology companies and deploying across departments for operational efficiencies, and Not innovating to build your services on top. Forum.

According to Kashyap Kompela, chief executive of AI industry analysis firm RPA2AI, India is still a mature market when it comes to AI, which is why a major part of AI talent demand comes from markets outside the country.

“There is a strong demand for AI talent in a market like the US, which is one of the areas that Indians cater to,” he added. ,

This demand is being fueled by early-stage AI adopters among enterprises, who are also ramping up existing human resources to meet their AI needs.

Saikat Banerjee, Associate Partner, Technology and Cloud Services, Bain, said, “Organizations today already have individuals who have learned how to work on data models and engineering, who are required to build and develop AI applications for their firms. being upgraded to learn.”

Banerjee said that the introduction of AI at the university level, as well as the upcoming addition of AI as a study area within schools, could further boost India’s AI talent pool.