Get All Access for $5/mo

How AI is Transforming Every Industry: The Investors Perspective The biggest application of AI nowadays is in customer experience. In the next 5-7 years, every enterprise and every startup will be an AI-native startup.

By Minakshi Sangwan

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

[L-R] Paromita Gupta, Kanika Mayar, Manoj Agarwal and Shubham Sandeep

A recent study conducted by IBM revealed that over 59% of India's enterprise-scale companies (over 1,000 employees) actively use AI in their operations. Early adopters are setting the standard, according to the "IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2023," with 74% of Indian firms already using AI and having increased their investments in the technology over the previous 24 months in areas like workforce reskilling and research and development.

During a panel discussion on 'Investors Perspective on AI', at the Tech and Innovation Summit in Bangalore, organised by Entrepreneur Media, various investors came together to share their perspective.

The biggest application of AI nowadays, according to Manoj Agarwal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SeaFund, is in customer experience. "The data showed us that about 38% of usage revolved around customer experience. Similarly, in health care and various other areas, the use of AI will grow in applications," he said.

Shubham Sandeep, Managing Director, pi Ventures, feels that ten years ago, cloud computing was a thing. Now every enterprise is a cloud-native company. "In the next five to seven years, every enterprise and every startup will be an AI-native startup."

The US is currently the home of artificial intelligence, claims Kanika Mayar, Partner, Investment, Vertex Ventures. "The majority of founders in India and Southeast Asia look to the US for ideas and inspiration because a large portion of deep tech research has its roots there," she said.

Currently, Sandeep is focusing on three main themes: AI tooling and infra. The second is foundation models, and the third is Edge AI. He emphasised that data security is going to be a challenge. "I think all nations will insist that all data flowing through foundation models reside in local data centres," he said.

Manoj claims that the government is acknowledging AI as a significant advancement. "There was an announcement by the minister for an INR 10,000 crore fund for AI to invest in infrastructure and in technologies, which is a positive sign," he remarked.

As far as the regulations are concerned Mayar sees this as a sign of improvement. According to her, regulation is starting to come in, which is actually a positive sign. "It means that there is enough activity now in the ecosystem that the government needs to think about it. If you look at all the other sectors, whether it's IT services, automotive, or energy, the government has largely been an enabler."

Investors also feel that India has to be careful in terms of what it regulates and what it doesn't. "I think if you try to cuff the hands of founders and enterprises, then a lot of the talent will actually move out and start winning. And we've actually seen that a lot of the infra and tooling companies either move to Singapore or the US," added Sandeep.

AI SaaS, or AI infrastructure, according to Sandeep might be the next big thing that the Indian tech industry exports to the rest of the globe, given the talent that India possesses and the abundance of capital that is chasing these founders.

Minakshi Sangwan

Junior Writer

Data & Recovery

Get $60 off This Portable VPN Travel Router

Why keep paying for a VPN service when you can have a tiny, lightweight piece of hardware that can provide you with a lifetime of maximum VPN protection?

Growing a Business

6 Effective Strategies to Secure Funding

Use these six proven strategies to secure the funding you need.

Growing a Business

How Visionary Leaders Transform Curiosity Into Groundbreaking Ideas

Lee Brian Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, discusses the spark that launched FoodieCon, his best practices for running popular food events, and why all business owners need to adapt to social media trends.

Business News

In Just 3 Words, Kevin O'Leary Offers a Grim Outlook on Interest Rates and Inflation

The "Shark Tank" star appeared on Fox Business' "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy" and said it is "hard to see" mortgage rates dropping any time soon.

Business News

Toyota Loses Over $15 Billion in Market Value After Investigation

The company was accused of falsifying engine test results that stopped shipment on three vehicle models earlier this year.

News and Trends

Battery Smart Raises USD 65 Mn in Series B to Boost EV Battery Swapping Network

Orios Venture Partners achieves a 29x return with a strategic partial exit from Delhi-based EV startup, enhancing early-stage investment success.