India Holds 20% Of Global Data But Only 2% Of Servers, Says Intel India MD

"India constitutes 20 per cent of the world’s data but only 2 per cent of the world’s servers,” said Santhosh Viswanathan, Vice President and Managing Director, India Region, Intel while unveiling a joint report assessing the AI maturity level across eight markets, including India.

A joint report by Intel and IDC examining AI maturity in eight Asia-Pacific markets, including India, was presented on Tuesday. The report assessed AI adoption across three dimensions: enterprise, government and socio-economic factors. 

While the study found that Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan are all at an intermediate stage of AI maturity, India emerged as a potential leader with the highest projected growth rate in AI spending.

India currently classified as an "AI Practitioner" (stage 2) in AI adoption, faces a significant gap between business recognition of AI's advantages and its strategic integration, according to the IDC study.  While 80 per cent of large organisations surveyed utilise AI/ML for business purposes, only 6 per cent consider AI central to their competitiveness. This highlights the need for improved change management strategies to bridge this gap and maximise the impact of AI deployments.

India's AI spending is forecast to experience the fastest expansion among the surveyed markets, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.5 per cent from 2023. This rapid growth is expected to propel the Indian AI market to a value of USD 5.1 billion by 2027.
"Amazing India reflects the massive opportunity AI unlocks for our country. With an unmatched talent pool, frugal innovation and data at scale, India stands poised to lead the global AI revolution. India's commitment to AI, underscored by its proactive approach, is driving transformative growth,” said Viswanathan

He further stated, "The aim is to make Gaudi the go-to GPU for Indian companies. We want to ensure access for everyone, seeing all customers as equal. Whoever needs it, we’ll deliver it."     

Additionally, the Indian government's commitment to AI development is reflected in its allocation of USD 30.7 million in FY 2024-25 to establish three centres of excellence focusing on agriculture, healthcare and sustainable cities. This investment underscores the government's vision for leveraging AI to address critical national challenges.

Themed "Bringing AI Everywhere," the AI For India Conference highlighted the importance of AI adoption for businesses to remain competitive in the digital age. The conference program explored various aspects of AI integration across diverse industries.

The findings presented at the conference paint a promising picture of India's potential as an AI powerhouse. The country's robust talent pool, data availability and government support position it for significant growth in AI spending and development in the coming years. However, addressing the gap between AI adoption and strategic integration remains crucial to maximising the benefits of this transformative technology.

Further, this report comes after the news that Intel is in the final stages of closing a USD 11 billion investment in Ireland for a new fabrication plant. The tech giant is expanding aggressively and re-doing its supply chain. However, it establishing a manufacturing facility in the country still seems like a far-fetched dream. Viswanathan stated earlier this month that an Indian plant would require more confidence in the Indian market. While India, with its Rs 76,000 crore financial incentive scheme is ready for the Global leader in chip-making to establish a fabrication plant in the country, let's forget that Intel did attempt for the same in 1969 and again in 2005. 

For now, India is a key market for Intel with immense growth potential. With AI companies in India looking for options other than Nvidia which has a minimum deployment time of sixteen weeks, Intel is striking while the iron is hot.