CHENNAI: India ranks eighth among 11 countries in terms of accumulated investment in artificial intelligence, according to a World Economic Forum white paper that evaluates historical AI spending as a share of national GDP. The ranking places India behind leading economies such as the United States and Singapore, highlighting a gap between the country’s AI ambitions and the level of capital deployed over the past decade and more.
The WEF assessment looks at how consistently nations have invested in AI since 2010, covering public and private spending on research, infrastructure, startups and ecosystem development. India’s position reflects relatively modest long-term investment when measured against the size of its economy, even as AI adoption and digital innovation have accelerated in recent years. By contrast, countries at the top of the ranking have sustained deep investments in advanced computing, foundational research, chip design and large-scale AI platforms over extended periods.
At the same time, the ranking underscores a nuanced reality for India’s AI story. While cumulative investment remains lower than several peers, India has emerged as a major global hub for AI talent, software development and application-led innovation. The country’s technology sector, large pool of skilled engineers and growing startup ecosystem have helped drive rapid adoption of AI across sectors such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and public services.
Government-led initiatives have also gathered momentum, with policy frameworks aimed at expanding compute capacity, supporting AI research and accelerating skill development. These efforts have been complemented by state-level programmes and private-sector investments focused on data centres, AI-driven platforms and digital public infrastructure. However, the WEF findings suggest that translating this momentum into sustained, large-scale capital deployment remains a challenge.
Experts note that investment rankings based on historical spending do not fully capture emerging strengths such as workforce readiness, deployment at scale or the ability to apply AI to real-world problems. India’s strengths lie in its application-focused ecosystem and cost-efficient innovation model, but the country continues to lag in capital-intensive areas such as advanced semiconductor development, frontier model research and high-end AI infrastructure.
The WEF paper therefore highlights both progress and gaps. India has built strong foundations in talent and adoption, but the relatively lower level of long-term investment points to the need for deeper and more sustained funding if the country is to compete with leading AI powers. As artificial intelligence becomes a core driver of productivity and economic growth, bridging this investment gap while leveraging existing strengths will be critical for India’s ambition to emerge as a global AI leader.