1 week ago
Study Finds Limited Anti-Competitive Conduct in India’s AI Market
A study looked at how businesses and developers use artificial intelligence in India.
It found few clear signs that companies are unfairly blocking competition so far.
Most developers said they had enough cloud-service choices.
Moving work from one cloud provider to another was difficult mainly because of technical problems.
Many developers also use open-source tools, which can give smaller companies more options.
Most businesses said AI has helped them.
The study says India should watch the market carefully instead of immediately imposing very broad rules.
It also recommends improving access to computing power and making different AI systems work together more easily.
A Dialogue study of 308 businesses, AI developers and consumers found limited evidence of anti-competitive conduct in India’s AI ecosystem.
Among surveyed developers, 74.5% reported sufficient choice among cloud providers, while about 85% mainly used public cloud infrastructure.
Technical migration problems, including data transfer and compatibility, were bigger switching barriers than a lack of alternative providers.
Open-source AI models and tools were used by 96.2% of developers, and more than 79% viewed them as partial substitutes for proprietary models.
AI adoption was rated positively by 85% of businesses, while the study recommended better computing access, interoperability and monitoring of major partnerships.
- Who
- The Dialogue, surveying 308 businesses, AI developers and consumers; Kazim Rizvi commented on the findings.
- What
- A study found limited demonstrated anti-competitive conduct in India’s AI ecosystem and reported broadly positive business impacts from AI adoption.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The study was reported alongside competition concerns in AI markets; the article also refers to the Competition Commission of India’s October 2025 AI market study and the 2024 draft Digital Competition Bill.
- Why
- The study aimed to assess competition risks and business effects as India considers how to regulate evolving AI markets.
Evidence-Led Monitoring and Targeted Measures
Broader Ex-Ante Competition Obligations
How AI markets should be regulated
Evidence-Led Monitoring and Targeted Measures
The Dialogue study says competition risks should be distinguished from demonstrated market harm, with monitoring and targeted technical or regulatory measures favored while the sector evolves.
Broader Ex-Ante Competition Obligations
The draft Digital Competition Bill proposes ex-ante obligations for systemically significant digital enterprises, although its current list of nine core digital services includes cloud services but not AI services.
Addressing cloud switching difficulties
Evidence-Led Monitoring and Targeted Measures
The study says switching problems primarily result from technical complexity, such as data transfer, compatibility and service-disruption risks, and may not be solved by conventional competition interventions.
Broader Ex-Ante Competition Obligations
A competition-focused approach could still examine cloud concentration and switching conditions, particularly because about 85% of developers rely predominantly on public cloud infrastructure.
Key facts
- Survey size
- 308 businesses, AI developers and consumers
- Cloud-provider choice
- 74.5% of AI developers said there was sufficient choice among cloud providers
- Public-cloud reliance
- About 85% of surveyed AI developers relied predominantly on public cloud infrastructure
- Switching barrier
- Only 14.6% cited a lack of alternative providers; technical difficulties were reported as the larger obstacle
- Open-source usage
- 96.2% of AI developers relied on open-source models and tools
- Open-source substitution
- More than 79% viewed open-source AI as a partial substitute for proprietary frontier models
- Business impact
- 85% of businesses rated AI’s impact positively
Quotes
Kazim Rizvi
Founding director at The Dialogue
“"India’s AI ecosystem is showing encouraging signs of competition, innovation and adoption. The evidence in this study is important because it helps distinguish between potential competition risks and demonstrated market harm. India should continue creating the conditions for competition, experimentation and innovation to flourish through an evidence‑led approach."”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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