Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Nandan Nilekani says India can become AI use case capital
Nandan Nilekani, a very famous businessman in India, shared his ideas about how India should use artificial intelligence, or AI.
He said India could become the place that uses AI in the cleverest ways.
He thinks other countries spend too much time building giant computer systems and chips.
Those machines will eventually become common and cheap, he says, so the real winners will be the people who make useful apps.
He said AI needs to understand Indian languages, voice, and the way people mix languages when they talk.
That way, AI can help more than a billion people.
India already has special digital systems, like Aadhaar and UPI, which can help AI assist farmers, doctors, and students.
He believes small companies and startups will create lots of new jobs.
He even said maybe a million companies will each employ one person instead of one company hiring a million people.
He wants the government to make rules simpler so more people can start their own businesses.
Nandan Nilekani said India can become the “AI use case capital of the world” as value shifts from infrastructure to the application layer.
He said AI must work in Indian languages, in voice, and in the way Indians naturally mix languages to serve over a billion people.
He cited India's Digital Public Infrastructure, including Aadhaar and UPI, as a foundation for deploying AI in agriculture, healthcare and education.
India's startup ecosystem has grown from fewer than 10,000 startups a decade ago to around 1.5 lakh today and could surpass one million by 2035.
He predicted jobs may come from “a million companies employing one person each” and urged simpler regulations, portable social security and digital credentials.
- Who
- Nandan Nilekani, speaking about the future of AI in India.
- What
- He said India can become the world's “AI use case capital” by building practical applications in Indian languages on its digital infrastructure, with startups driving job creation.
- When
- Not specified in the article.
- Where
- India (the focus of the discussion).
- Why
- To make AI work for over a billion people through multilingual, voice-first applications and to create millions of jobs through startups and small businesses.
Automation and infrastructure focus
Startup and application-layer focus
Where the value in AI lies
Automation and infrastructure focus
The Western focus on AI is on infrastructure, larger models, more chips and more data centres.
Startup and application-layer focus
Nilekani argues infrastructure eventually gets commoditised and value shifts to the application layer, where India can become the AI use-case capital.
AI's impact on employment
Automation and infrastructure focus
There are concerns that AI-led automation will replace jobs, since structured enterprises with repetitive tasks are easier for AI to automate.
Startup and application-layer focus
Nilekani says millions of small businesses and startups backed by AI tools, digital credit and market access will be the primary job creators, possibly “a million companies employing one person each.”
- Speaker
- Nandan Nilekani
- Core claim
- India can become the world's AI use-case capital
- Startups a decade ago
- Fewer than 10,000
- Startups today
- Around 1.5 lakh (150,000)
- Projected startups by 2035
- Over one million, if growth continues at about 20% annually
- DPI platforms cited
- Aadhaar and UPI
- Priority sectors for AI
- Agriculture, healthcare, education
- Job vision
- A million companies employing one person each