Insights into GenAI: What Indian Tech Leaders Really Think

The likes of IBM, Tech Mahindra, Lenovo, AMD, Google Cloud, Netapp, Deloitte, ServiceNow, and the like are all jumping onto the GenAI bandwagon. APAC News Network & CXO News explore the dynamics of some of these partnerships.

GenAI or Generative AI is fast gaining ground in India, especially in terms of acceptance by different stakeholders. These include the different enterprises across different verticals using GenAI in different facets of their businesses. Another stakeholder has been the Indian GenAI-based SaaS startups whose numbers too are rapidly rising every year. Add to this the IT services giants and software giants who too are jumping into the GenAI bandwagon. Last but not least, the government too is supporting the GenAI revolution with proactive policy formation and creating an appropriate implementation environment in the country.

Worldwide there is an explosion in the number of Gen AI-native SaaS companies and a surge in investment capital, with over $12 billion funneled into 60+ emerging domains in FY23 alone. The Indian players, on the other hand, raised $590 million in funding during the same time period.  While globally there are 259 generative AI startups as of 2024, in India there are around 20+ pure-play generative AI startups.

According to a study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 63% of executives of Indian enterprises believe that generative AI will be important for their sustainability efforts and consequently, 76% of the enterprises plan to increase their investment in generative AI for sustainability. “This commitment by Indian enterprises to invest in GenAI for future sustainability signals a promising move towards a greener, more prosperous future,” opines Sandip Patel, MD, IBM India.

Understanding Collaboration Dynamics

No wonder, therefore that the likes of software giants like IBM, SAP, and Salesforce or IT services giants like TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and HCL Tech are so active in the GenAI domain. The two constituents are collaborating in this space too. Tech Mahindra has partnered with IBM to open a Synergy Lounge to accelerate digital adoption for enterprises. Besides GenAI, the Lounge assists enterprises in operationalizing next-gen technologies, including Intelligent Automation, Hybrid Cloud, 5G, Edge Computing, and Cybersecurity, among others.

“We believe in infusing AI and GenAI into every facet of an enterprise and democratizing it responsibly. The Synergy Lounge will help customers embrace a digital-first future,” asserts Kunal Purohit, Chief Digital Services Officer, at Tech Mahindra. “The Synergy Lounge in Bengaluru is driven by our common vision to bring advanced technology like Watsonx AI and data platform to solve complex business challenges of enterprises,” concurs Chetan Krishnamurthy, VP, of Ecosystem and Digital Sales, Asia Pacific, IBM.

Lenovo and AMD too have joined hands to deliver hybrid AI solutions in enterprises starting from the edge to the cloud. Lenovo’s TruScale provides the IT infrastructure solutions required to manage the critical data of the enterprises, while the Lenovo Professional Services help enterprises navigate the AI landscape smoothly. “With capabilities to tackle large-scale GenAI and LLM workloads, we are driving the AI revolution forward,” claims Sumir Bhatia, President, Asia Pacific, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group.

“Recognizing the pivotal role AI plays in gaining competitive advantage, we’ve collaborated with AMD to offer a comprehensive suite of AI-centric systems and solutions,” added Amit Luthra, MD – India, Lenovo ISG. “Together with Lenovo, we are accelerating AI transformation for the enterprise in multiple manners,” concurred Vinay Sinha, Managing Director, Sales, India, AMD

As per another survey by Elastic, there is high enthusiasm for GenAI In India across regions and verticals, but key concerns amongst the organization’s top decision-makers stifle the operationalization strategies. Nevertheless, 81% of Indian enterprises are already implementing GenAI in some form or with 73% believing that it would enhance their operational efficiencies.

“The disruptive potential of GenAI has captured the imaginations and budgets of India’s CIOs and CDOs, as seen by the country’s lead in GenAI adoption,” informs Karthik Rajaram, area VP & GM, Elastic India. However, he sounds a note of caution too. “While the commitment of many enterprises to quickly harness the transformative opportunity of GenAI to drive innovation and efficiency is exciting, the fact is that only organizations that adopt search-powered GenAI grounded by business context will uncover the insights needed to securely innovate, build more efficient businesses, and pioneer new customer experiences,” adds Rajaram.

The industry is witnessing a number of collaborations on the GenAI front with another partnership inked between Deloitte and Yotta Data Services. The partnership combines Deloitte’s deep AI experience with Yotta’s GPU cloud platform to help enterprises quickly build new AI applications that unlock the full value and potential of GenAI. The alliance expands the capabilities of Deloitte’s GenAI practice and comes close on the heels of he launch of Quartz AI, a suite of industry-specific AI service offerings built on NVIDIA platforms.

Says Vinay Prabhakar, Leader, Sales, Alliances, and Pursuit Excellence, Deloitte India, “Our alliance with Yotta in the Indian market will help us empower enterprises to navigate the transformative landscape of GenAI with confidence.” Adds Sunil Gupta, Co-Founder, MD, and CEO, Yotta Data Services, “Our scalable GPU cloud platform and AI services, can successfully combine with Deloitte’s service offerings. This will subsequently energize Indian enterprises by leveraging AI as a service.

NetApp has also partnered with Google Cloud to enable enterprises to leverage their data for GenAI and other hybrid cloud workloads. Accordingly, the two announced the Flex service level for Google Cloud NetApp Volumes which supports storage volumes of nearly any size. “We are now delivering a flexible form factor that can be run on existing infrastructure across Google Cloud system. This can happen without any tradeoffs to enterprise data management capabilities,” reveals Pravjit Tiwana, SVP & GM, Cloud Storage, NetApp.

“Google Cloud NetApp Volumes remains a critical component of the digital transformation strategy of every enterprise,” adds Sameet Agarwal, GM/VP, Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud. “Utilizing Google Cloud technologies, NetApp Volumes can now power new capabilities that can improve how enterprises operate and create real-world value for their businesses.”

ServiceNow and nVidia also partnered to launch telco-specific generative AI solutions to elevate service experiences. “GenAI is a game-changer for telcos who are always on the lookout to boost productivity, improve customer experiences, and drive cost savings,” opines Rohit Batra, GM & VP, of telecom, media, and tech, ServiceNow. “Together, ServiceNow and NVIDIA will in the future help telcos realize business value and lead to a large-scale transformation for the industry,” he adds.

Vodex leverages Generative AI solutions to craft voice conversations that closely mimic human interaction, enhancing outbound sales calls with a more personal and engaging experience. This eliminates the need for traditional call centers, enabling enterprises to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and connect with customers on a deeper level.

No wonder, therefore that Vodex has raised $2million from Unicorn India & Pentathlon Ventures. Informs Anshul Shrivastava, CEO, of Vodex, “This investment is a testament to the immense potential of Generative AI in revolutionizing sales. We at Vodex now plan to build a dedicated support team to ensure improved customer service.” Adds Bhaskar Majumdar, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, “The disruptive capabilities in Vodex can help it better apply the power of GenAI and SaaS to help enterprises manage their CRM engagements more efficiently.”

MachineHack is another GenAI startup that hosts generative AI competitions, courses, assessments, and coding challenges. The company has built an AI co-pilot for developers, offering guidance throughout their AI career journey

Mockey is an online mockup generator that utilizes AI/ML technology through which users can create impressive mock-ups for apparel, accessories, and a wide range of products, and conveniently download high-resolution photos suitable for any purpose. 

Revision claims to have developed the world’s first centralized system for customer support. The platform offers a unified support interface, allowing consumers to instantly access support from enterprises using a single universal ID/Account and application. 

Insight AI provides an AI-powered solution that optimizes sales conversion and decreases the turnaround time by providing the enterprise with real-time insight and exact product match for businesses (D2C) and enterprises.

Symptomatic India creates smart digital solutions for individuals, startup companies, and brands. It offers expertise in IT strategy and consulting, artificial intelligence, and website and app development.

Nocturnal is a MedTech startup that provides point-of-care & Non-Invasive Screening of Infectious diseases such as Pulmonary Tuberculosis & COVID-19 (including monitoring) offering real-time results leveraging ML over Aural and Clinical inputs. In the non-communicable area, it also screens for lung cancer & COPD.

Rajneesh De, Consulting Editor, APAC News Network