India is poised to play a key role in the development of practical and impactful AI applications, with both companies and startups already spearheading innovative solutions that operate at impressive scale and complexity, according to Ashutosh Kulkarni, CEO of Elastic, a NYSE-listed tech company specializing in search-powered business solutions.
“I categorize the world into two main groups: those building AI systems and those using them. India will play a major role in the latter, and I see this happening across the board,” he said.
Indian companies are developing AI-driven applications across various sectors. However, the country is still at the nascent stage of building AI systems, including large language models.
As AI adoption accelerates, Kulkarni explained that its use in different sectors will depend on their risk tolerance. “Digital-native industries like fintech, logistics, tech, and e-commerce are likely to lead in AI adoption where data is abundant,” he noted.
AI is currently utilized in the financial services sector, particularly in safer areas such as automating customer service. “They’ll expand AI usage as they become more confident in managing biases and other potential risks,” Kulkarni added.
The CEO, who took over the role in January 2022, expressed optimism about the increasing adoption of AI by government organizations, not just in the US but globally.
“Interestingly, India is adopting AI within the public sector just as aggressively as the US. In contrast, Europe is more cautious, with countries showing more hesitance. However, the recent approval of the EU AI Act may gradually shift this perspective. In India, there’s already a strong drive to experiment with AI in the public sector, which is a positive sign,” he stated.
Industry experts note that the IT landscape is undergoing a major transformation as technologies like AI, cloud computing, and data analytics converge to create new opportunities and reshape business operations.
“These trends are interconnected in fascinating ways. Cloud computing, once affordable, became a game changer, allowing companies to manage vast unstructured data—like audio and video—on a much larger scale than structured data. He clarified that AI has now enabled greater human-centric interaction with that data.
However, the biggest challenge for companies in the AI era will be ensuring that search results are relevant, accurate, and contextually meaningful.
“Developing sophisticated machine learning and natural language processing models to manage a variety of data sources and user inquiries is challenging and calls for constant innovation. The main distinction is that you’re looking for meaning rather than just text. Finding relevance is harder as data volume increases, which is where Elastic’s search and observability technology really comes into its own,” he continued.
Much like the way social media, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things reshaped industries in the past, AI is now viewed as a transformative force in the IT industry. The question remains: how significantly could artificial intelligence reshape the technology landscape?
This is a significant change. This change is revolutionary. The majority of organizations handle 1,000 times more unstructured data than structured data, although a huge portion of it is still unexplored. He stated, “Its use could enhance human-machine interactions, deepen customer insights, and transform services.”
According to the IT executive, who was formerly employed by McAfee and Akamai Technologies, the real thrill was in the concurrent innovation occurring in both software and hardware, even while the demand for computing power was still increasing.