India has emerged as the world’s third most vibrant artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, overtaking the UK and South Korea, according to Stanford University’s 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Index.
The country has climbed sharply from seventh position last year, reflecting rapid progress driven by policy momentum, a booming startup ecosystem and strong talent growth.
Based on 2024 data, India now ranks behind only the United States and China, underscoring its growing influence in global AI development. With a score of 21.59, India trails the US (78.6) and China (36.95) but has moved ahead of several advanced economies.
The ranking highlights India’s growing strength in AI research, talent, economic activity, policy frameworks, and digital infrastructure.
Stanford’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool evaluates countries across seven key pillars—research, talent, economy, policy, infrastructure, responsible AI and public opinion—to assess the competitiveness and maturity of national AI ecosystems.
India’s rapid rise has been attributed to a combination of strong government backing, an active private sector and a deepening talent pool.
Over the past year, the country recorded improvements across multiple indicators, including higher research output, increased AI-related economic activity, better digital infrastructure and more coordinated policy initiatives.
A major driver has been India’s thriving startup and enterprise landscape. Growing AI adoption across sectors such as healthcare, finance, education and logistics has strengthened India’s position as one of the most competitive AI economies among emerging markets, supported by a large digital user base and active technology firms.
India’s talent advantage also stood out in the rankings. The country saw the highest year-on-year growth in AI hiring globally and emerged as the second-largest contributor to AI-related GitHub projects in 2024.
High levels of AI skill penetration further underline the scale and capability of India’s engineering workforce.
While India continues to lag behind the US and China in absolute research output, it has shown steady gains in AI publications and patent filings.
Stanford’s AI Index points to India’s rising role as a strategic AI development hub, particularly through closer collaboration between academia and industry.
Government initiatives have played a crucial role in this ascent. The IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of over Rs 10,300 crore over five years, has strengthened India’s standing in policy and infrastructure.
Key initiatives include deploying more than 10,000 GPUs to boost compute capacity, creating a national non-personal data platform and establishing frameworks for safe and trusted AI.
Despite the high ranking, experts caution that challenges remain. India still lacks globally dominant foundational AI models, attracts lower levels of high-value private investment compared to the US and China, and faces gaps in data quality, advanced R&D capacity and responsible AI regulation, particularly beyond major urban centres.
Overall, the third-place ranking positions India as a leading global AI power and the frontrunner among lower- and middle-income countries.
Analysts believe sustained investment in infrastructure, stronger research capabilities and inclusive, ethical AI governance could significantly accelerate India’s AI growth over the next decade.