India's AI training data startups: Room to grow
India makes up just 2% of global startups focused on AI training data, while the US leads the pack at 40%, says the Economic Survey 2025-26.
Despite having tons of diverse data—think health, agriculture, and finance—Indian startups haven't scaled up yet.
Missed opportunities and a way forward
The survey suggests India should use its advantage in domestic data sources (rich local data) to build practical, decentralized AI for sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, finance, education and governance instead of chasing expensive frontier models.
It also urges greater participation from Indian companies to capture more value from homegrown data.
Why does this matter?
With better policies and a focus on real-world problems, India could turn its massive digital footprint into a bigger role in global AI—opening up new jobs and tech opportunities for young innovators.