Should India build the next AI-native bellwether, or copy models invented abroad?

There's a fork in the road for India right now—either take the high-risk/ high-return route to build the next AI-native McKinsey, Accenture, WPP, PricewaterhouseCoopers, or Infosys; or copy the models invented outside India, Dev Khare, partner, Lightspeed writes

By Dev Khare

Published: May 29, 2025 11:46:52 AM IST

The AI revolution offers huge opportunities for Indian startups, but with one big difference: The time to reach scale has shrunk dramatically. Illustration: Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur

Looking back at India’s tech story over the last 40 years, we see a clear pattern—from IT outsourcing that built giants like Infosys and TCS, to business process outsourcing that created Genpact and WNS, then software companies like Freshworks and Zoho. What connects these waves isn’t fancy tech for its own sake, but a sharp focus on business results.

Now, we’re seeing the rise of AI-powered solutions. From India, there’s a fork in the road—either take the high risk/high return route to build the next AI-native McKinsey, Accenture, Teleperformance, WPP, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Infosys, Cyril Amarchand & Mangaldas, Kotak Mahindra or Nielsen; otherwise copy models invented outside India.

India has special strengths in this AI revolution. Our BPO and software experience gives us deep knowledge of business processes. Our 1.4 billion internet users create valuable data exhaust that can train and improve AI systems. And our deep bench of entrepreneurs, deep private and public capital markets, digital infrastructure, access to global markets and the global diaspora of Indian professionals give us an advantage.

The AI revolution offers huge opportunities for Indian startups, but with one big difference: The time to reach scale has shrunk dramatically. Earlier, Indian companies needed 10 to 20 years to reach global scale. Today, AI startups are achieving in months the revenue scale it used to take years to get to.

The only real advantage in AI is speed—ship fast, sell fast. Our jugaad mindset—our uniquely Indian approach to solving problems with limited resources—fits perfectly with what the AI era demands.

Unlike previous tech waves that mainly served Western markets, AI can be widely used within India itself. Many Indian sectors have unstructured data and complex processes—from government services and manufacturing to education, health care, retail and entertainment—making them perfect for AI solutions.

We’re already seeing smart AI use across India. In education, companies like PhysicsWallah are using AI for creating content, personalising learning and building smart mock exams—all at nationwide scale while absorbing feedback to continuously improve.

Also read: India developing unique AI regulation model: Ashwini Vaishnaw

In entertainment, Pocket FM is using AI to create and adapt stories across languages and cultures, testing different versions with diverse audiences, and growing the best-performing content across formats from audio to comics and novels.

The business software world is transforming with AI solutions. Traditionally, many industry-specific software categories had just one or two dominant players—Veeva in lifesciences, Epic in health care, Procore in construction, and ServiceTitan in home services. Now AI is breaking these markets into many specialised subcategories that have manual processes and messy data, and enabling AI startups to expand market potential dramatically.

Also exciting is how AI is breaking down traditional industry boundaries. Companies can start with one specific service before expanding to related areas. Bridgetown Research shows this approach, starting with due diligence services for private equity funds, but aiming to build a wide range of consulting services like McKinsey or Bain—something nearly impossible before AI.

The $1.5 trillion IT services market, $300 billion BPO industry, trillion-dollar consulting sector, $3 trillion entertainment and media industry and many other global sectors are all being reimagined through AI. For Indian entrepreneurs coming out of the funding winter, the chance to build category-defining global market leaders has never been better.

Will Indian founders copy AI business models from elsewhere and be also-rans? Or will India take this high-risk/high-return path to produce world-class AI companies to shape the AI era—both globally and within Bharat itself? A fork in the road lies ahead.

(This story appears in the 30 May, 2025 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)