India’s AI Market: Consumer vs. Innovator?

India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) market is poised for substantial growth, with projections indicating a remarkable 5.3-fold expansion over the next five years, ultimately reaching an estimated $126 billion by 2030. Despite this optimistic financial outlook and widespread adoption, Mohit Saxena, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at InMobi and Glance, has voiced a critical perspective, asserting that India currently lags significantly in the realm of genuine AI innovation. He contends that the nation is predominantly functioning as a major consumer of AI technologies rather than a creator, a situation he attributes to a discernible lack of long-term capital investment and strategic patience within the ecosystem. This viewpoint underscores a fundamental challenge for India as it navigates the global technological landscape, aiming for both economic growth and technological self-reliance amidst rapid advancements worldwide.

India’s Standing in the Global AI Race Amidst Rapid Market Expansion

The anticipated surge in the Indian AI market to $126 billion by the close of the decade highlights a robust internal demand and an accelerating pace of technological integration across various sectors. However, this domestic growth narrative is intricately linked to and overshadowed by the intense global competition, particularly from established technological powerhouses like the United States and China. During his address at the third edition of Inc42’s AI Summit in Bengaluru, Mohit Saxena articulated this competitive environment, stating, “We are competing with the US on one side and China on the other.” He meticulously detailed the distinct advantages held by these leading nations, noting that the US benefits immensely from “trillions in funding and access to chipsets,” which are crucial for advanced AI development. Concurrently, China leverages its unparalleled position as a “manufacturing powerhouse,” enabling it to rapidly scale and deploy technological innovations. This comparison starkly positions India as a significant consumer within an AI ecosystem largely defined by the foundational capabilities and innovations originating from other global players.

The Critical Deficit: Patience and Capital Hindering Deep Tech Innovation

A cornerstone of Saxena’s insightful discussion, conducted during a fireside chat with Ankur Pahwa, managing partner at PeerCapital, centered on what he perceives as India’s significant shortfall in the sustained commitment necessary for profound technological breakthroughs, especially in deep tech. He drew parallels with China’s strategic response to limitations, suggesting that the lack of access to critical components, such as those produced by Nvidia, paradoxically served as a catalyst for indigenous development within China. This observation underscores the importance of adversity in driving innovation when coupled with strategic intent. Saxena elaborated that China has demonstrated an impressive investment of time and unwavering commitment to building its own technological foundations, a dedication he believes is conspicuously absent in India. He emphasized that endeavors like developing advanced semiconductor chips demand “20 years of commitment from VCs, founders, and the entire ecosystem,” highlighting a generational investment in both patience and substantial capital that India has yet to fully embrace. This long-term perspective is crucial for fostering true innovation rather than merely adopting existing solutions.

India’s Predominant Role as an AI Consumer: A Barrier to Indigenous Innovation

Mohit Saxena further elaborated on his concern regarding India’s current trajectory within the global AI landscape, asserting that the nation’s overwhelming focus on consuming external AI offerings might inadvertently be stifling its inherent capacity for original innovation. He stated unequivocally, “At best, we are one of the biggest consumers of what the world has to offer, and I think that is killing our own innovation.” This consumption-heavy paradigm, while indicative of widespread AI adoption and a readiness to integrate advanced technologies, simultaneously suggests a systemic dependency on solutions developed elsewhere. Such a reliance, Saxena argued, potentially deters the cultivation of a robust domestic research and development environment, which is essential for fostering groundbreaking AI advancements. The implication is clear: without a strategic shift towards investing in the arduous and often protracted process of creating foundational technologies, India risks remaining a follower in the global AI race, rather than emerging as a leader capable of driving its own technological destiny.

InMobi’s Strategic Framework for AI-Native Commerce and Global Expansion

In stark contrast to the broader challenges articulated for the Indian AI ecosystem, Saxena provided a detailed exposition of InMobi’s proactive and strategic playbook, specifically designed for building an AI-native commerce layer. He outlined the company’s operational philosophy, which is firmly anchored on four critical pillars: achieving superior cost efficiency, optimizing for minimal latency, establishing strong defensibility in its technological offerings, and pursuing aggressive global expansion. Reflecting on the company’s two-decade journey, Saxena underscored the pragmatic approach, stating, “One of the key things we have learnt over the last two decades is that performance, cost, and efficiency are everything. AI is just one part of it.” This statement highlights that while AI is integral, it serves as an enabler within a broader strategy focused on operational excellence. Founded in 2007, InMobi has evolved into a significant player, providing advanced adtech and monetization solutions through its flagship platforms, Glance and Roposo. The company’s robust growth trajectory is further supported by having successfully raised over $400 million from prominent investors, including SoftBank, demonstrating its capacity to attract substantial capital for its strategic initiatives.

Strategic Acquisitions Driving AI-Driven Marketing and Future Commerce Interfaces

InMobi’s commitment to embedding AI deeply within its core business operations and its vision for the future of commerce is clearly demonstrated through its strategic corporate acquisitions. In May 2026, the company significantly bolstered its capabilities by acquiring MobileAction, a San Francisco-based app analytics platform. This acquisition was a calculated move specifically aimed at enhancing InMobi’s AI-driven app marketing functionalities, particularly within the competitive iOS ecosystem. This move not only expands InMobi’s technological prowess but also reinforces its strategic focus on leveraging AI for more intelligent and effective marketing solutions. Looking ahead, Saxena offered a compelling vision for the future of commerce, where Artificial Intelligence is projected to become the primary interface for consumer interactions, and sophisticated intelligent agents will evolve into the decisive layer for transactional decisions. This forward-thinking perspective from InMobi’s CTO highlights the company’s proactive stance in anticipating and shaping the transformative impact of AI on the digital commerce landscape, positioning itself at the forefront of these technological shifts.

The insights shared by Mohit Saxena offer a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of India’s dual reality within the global AI sphere. While the financial projections for the Indian AI market are undeniably robust, anticipating a growth to $126 billion by 2030, the underlying challenge of cultivating profound technological innovation, especially in sectors demanding considerable capital and sustained, generational patience, remains a pivotal area for national development. InMobi’s strategic emphasis on operational efficiency, expansive global reach, and targeted acquisitions like MobileAction illustrates a viable pathway for Indian technology companies to effectively navigate and contribute meaningfully to the evolving AI landscape. However, the broader national ecosystem faces the imperative to bridge the critical gap between merely adopting AI technologies and genuinely fostering original AI development to fully realize India’s immense potential as a leading global AI powerhouse.