Majority of Indian Techies Say Country Lags in AI Race: Survey

India’s tech workforce is increasingly sceptical of the country’s position in the global AI race, with a majority believing it is falling behind despite significant government and corporate investment, according to a new survey by Blind, which hosts anonymous discussions from verified professionals.

The study, conducted between March 27 and April 1 this year, surveyed 1,723 India-based professionals across the technology sector to assess perceptions of India’s competitiveness in artificial intelligence, key bottlenecks, and long-term risks.

Findings show that 53% of respondents believe India is currently “behind” global leaders in AI development, while only 5% consider the country a leader. A further 16% said India is “catching up,” and 13% placed it in a mid-tier position, indicating limited confidence in the country’s current standing.

The government has positioned AI as a priority, backed by large-scale infrastructure plans and investment commitments. Global technology firms, including Microsoft and Google, have also announced multi-billion-dollar investments in India’s digital and AI ecosystem.

However, the survey suggests that infrastructure-led growth is not addressing deeper structural concerns. A majority of respondents (62%) identified the lack of homegrown research and development (R&D) and intellectual property as the primary barrier to India’s AI progress. 

This significantly outweighed other concerns such as access to long-term risk capital (12%), regulatory uncertainty (11%), and compute infrastructure constraints (10%).

There are also concerns over long-term strategic dependence. 

If India fails to close the gap, 55% of respondents believe the country risks becoming reliant on foreign AI systems, while 24% warned of reduced global influence in shaping AI standards and governance. Smaller proportions cited slower productivity growth (10%) and rising risks such as fraud and deepfakes (6%).

One Microsoft respondent on the Blind forum noted that success for many Indian professionals occurs “despite” domestic conditions, while another from Adobe argued that building globally competitive AI firms would require stronger innovation ecosystems rather than policy signalling alone.