Ahead of AI Summit, India's AI story in numbers

Vibrancy score doubles to 21.6, AI skills outpace USA, while 1,500+ startups raised $4billion despite recent funding dip

Feb 16, 2026, 15:23 IST1 min

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India's AI vibrancy score almost doubled from 12.9 to 21.6 between 2018-2024, securing third place globally behind USA and China.

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India witnessed explosive AI entrepreneurship with 1,505 companies founded between 2018-2025, peaking at 363 startups in 2024 before moderating in early 2025.

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Indian AI startups attracted $4.45 billion across 971 funding rounds from 2018-2026, with 2025 seeing strong recovery at $887 million despite previous year's slowdown.

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India's AI patent grants grew 73 percent from 230 in 2020 to 397 in 2024, demonstrating consistent innovation despite a slight dip from 2023.

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India's AI skill penetration reached 1.98 in 2024, outpacing the USA and indicating AI skills are nearly twice as concentrated as global occupational benchmarks.