Shivani Tiwari | Page 2

Startups that can overcome early challenges and build resilient, scalable, and explainable AI systems may still emerge as global success stories

"Every time, for the past 10 years, I've heard that India is two years away. I feel like it's never been more true right now. This feels India is on the precipice of something very big," says Ted Sarandos, co-ceo, Netflix

From Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Databricks to Nvidia and Samsung, numerous new AI capabilities have been announced

While Magistral puts Mistral in closer competition with well-known reasoning AI models, there are still doubts across the industry about how well current LLMs can actually "reason"

"People were desperately looking for solutions, but the market was dominated by unorganised players selling hope, not help," shares Rajat Jadhav, co-founder, Bold Care

"We didn't wait for the perfect moment we jumped in, took risks, and built everything from scratch," Siddhant Bhalinge, Founder, Ugaoo

"One day, I was in the metro carrying a power bank. A man saw it and asked, 'What are you doing with this gadget?' I said, 'I'm charging my phone.' He asked, 'Will it charge mine too?' That's when it hit me that we were solving a real problem people hadn't even named yet," says Ashok Rajpal, Founder and Director, Ambrane

"Homeschooling and self-paced learning are gaining momentum. However, while technical expertise is crucial, social skills, emotional intelligence, and real-world collaboration remain equally important," says Jayalekshmi M. Nair, Principal, Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of Technology

"India is one of the most dynamic countries in the world for AI development. We're proud to partner with IndiaAI to help more people confidently and meaningfully use AI in their lives and communities," Jason Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer, OpenAI

"Without skilled workers to maintain these systems, long-term gains are harder to secure. AI offers clear efficiency boosts, but it's not a plug-and-play solution; it requires system-wide adaptation," says Pratik Mandvia, Solar Business Head, Mufin Green Finance

"I believe India is at the start of its industrial decade, where hardtech and IP-led innovation will define global competitiveness," says Ashish Taneja, Founder & CEO, growX

AI now surpasses human-level performance and realism in multiple areas, including realistic conversations, voice generation, and image creation

"The 8% drop in Victoria's Secret's stock, translating to over USD 150 million in lost market value, shows that cybersecurity breaches are now perceived as significant financial risks," says Manoj Joshi, Group CEO, SA Technologies

In 2025, government bodies accounted for 42% of all nation-state attack targets, up from 39% in 2023

"Specifically, adversaries are deploying Natural Language Generation (NLG) models to produce synthetic news articles, social media posts, and deepfake multimedia content that appear highly credible and are designed to sow discord or confusion among the population," says, Ankush Sabharwal, Founder and CEO, CoRover

More than 61,220 employees in the tech sector have already lost their jobs in 2025, spread across 130 companies

"I believe in strong bonds, community bonds, family bonds, and giving life to what brings people together. I really wanted to serve our community and our country in a different way," says Indra Anita Anand, Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs

"Overdependence on AI becomes a shortcut for thinking, and that's not how companies can be built," Sanjay Varnwal, CEO and Co-founder, Spyne

In Q1 FY25, Apple registered 23% year-on-year growth in India, its challenge now is sustaining this rise without compromising the trust that built its brand

Despite India's top-tier global ranking, gaps in training, infrastructure, and accountability suggest a different reality

For Agentic AI to truly thrive, experts say that businesses must embrace more than just technological upgrades

"India has no shortage of skilled people, but we need stronger investment in R&D," says Rajesh Chhabra, General Manager – India & South Asia at Acronis, on the country's potential to lead cybersecurity in South Asia

India's linguistic diversity, regional disparities, and mobile-first user base make SLMs particularly compelling

"We're not just thinking about how we encrypt data; we're asking whether we can reduce dependency on foreign firmware and build a true root of trust," Golok Simli, CTO of Passport Seva

"What we're trying to build isn't just an AI infrastructure—it's a collaborative ecosystem. Government sets the direction and enables access. Private players bring innovation. That's the model we need for the decade ahead," Abhishek Singh Additional Secretary and CEO India AI Mission

Asked once what gave him hope, he spoke not of theology or politics, but of people — heroic mothers, men with dreams, women who look toward the future. In a world of suffering, he still believed in the basic goodness of human beings

"Indians are more informed and discerning than ever before and seek holistic experiences during their travel," Sanjay Khanna, CEO and Country Manager at American Express Banking Corp India

While the tariff war between the U.S. and China has spiraled—from 10% in February to 145% on Chinese goods, met with 125% retaliation—India has taken a more pragmatic route by choosing dialogue over retaliation

The average global cost of a data breach has hit a record high—USD 4.88 million, up 10 per cent from last year. In India, that number stands at USD 2.18 million

If executed well, Sahkar Taxi could mark a pivotal shift not just in the cab market, but in how we reimagine fair, inclusive, and cooperative-led economic models in India