A Decade Ahead in Innovation

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Bhavesh Goswami, Founder and CEO, CloudThat.

Q1) What can you tell us about the current Generative AI Landscape in India?

Ans) India is witnessing an extraordinary transformation in its technological landscape, fueled by the rapid rise of generative AI. The country’s burgeoning GenAI ecosystem is a testament to its innovative spirit and technological prowess with a vibrant landscape of startups, substantial investments, and a wealth of skilled talent. This is definitely India’s time, and its growth story is being written stemming strongly from India’s AI capabilities.

The Generative AI capabilities we are witnessing today are ahead of their time, at least by 10 years. Inc42 Media reports that the number of GenAI startups has doubled between 2021 and 2023. These startups focus on various sectors, including code & data, marketing, and education. The AI sector has attracted substantial funding, exceeding $440 million since 2019. The majority of this investment flowed in 2022, highlighting investor confidence in the technology.

This is supported by India’s large pool of skilled engineers and researchers, contributing to the rapid pace of innovation in the field. Leading research institutions and universities in India are actively involved in GenAI research, pushing the boundaries of the technology, combined with active research in leading institutions, further solidifies its position as a thriving hub for GenAI advancement.

Q2) How has the current pace of innovation been so far? How has adoption been across industries?

Ans) The pace of AI innovation in India is accelerating rapidly. While it currently accounts for approximately 1% of the global AI market, it’s expected to experience the second-fastest growth rate among major economies over the next five years, just behind China. Indian companies are increasingly adopting AI solutions across various sectors, from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and retail. This is fueled by a growing recognition of AI’s potential to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and drive innovation.

GenAI has been absorbed across industries

Sector-agnostic solutions are dominating the Indian GenAI landscape, with 81% of products designed to cater to a wide array of industries. Early adopters like IT, marketing, and education are already leveraging GenAI for tasks ranging from content creation and code generation to personalized learning experiences. Emerging applications are also gaining traction, with GenAI proving its value in sectors like healthcare (medical imaging analysis), finance (fraud detection), and agriculture (crop yield prediction).

Generative AI’s Impact on Enterprises has been monumental: 

• Improved Productivity and Efficiency: LLMs are streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and accelerating decision-making in various functions like customer service, marketing, and software development.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: LLMs are powering chatbots and virtual assistants, enabling personalized customer interactions and 24/7 support.
• New Revenue Streams: Enterprises are exploring the potential of LLMs to create innovative products and services, opening up new revenue streams.
• Competitive Advantage: Early adoption of LLMs is giving some enterprises a competitive edge in their respective markets.

Q3) How has enterprise been impacted by LLM Adoption?

Ans) Large Language Model (LLM) adoption has begun to significantly impact enterprises across various functions. In customer service, LLMs are enhancing chatbots and virtual assistants, enabling more natural and helpful interactions with customers. Content generation has been revolutionized, with LLMs assisting in drafting marketing copy, creating reports, and even generating code. Data analysis and decision-making have also seen improvements, as LLMs can quickly summarize large datasets and provide insights that inform business strategies. Additionally, LLMs are being integrated into workflows to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for more strategic activities. While still in its early stages, the adoption of LLMs has the potential to transform the enterprise landscape, enhancing efficiency, improving customer experiences, and unlocking new opportunities for innovation. However, it’s crucial for businesses to carefully consider ethical and legal implications, data privacy concerns, and the need for human oversight to ensure responsible and effective use of LLMs.

In fact with every upgrade, we are seeing a revolution of out of proportions. For example, take ChatGPT 3.5 to ChatGPT 4 Omnichannel, the newest upgrade brought by OpenAI. It is nothing short of AI being able to perceive reality in real time! An executive can ask the new model to calculate the amount of capacity available at a warehouse just by showing it a photo. 

Generative AI is revolutionizing how we conduct business, and the potential for transformation is immense. While every business stands to benefit, we found out that many hesitate due to the perceived risks and costs involved.

Q4) CloudThat recently launched its Center for Generative AI Innovation. What can you tell us about it and what impact do you expect it to have?

Ans) Without a clear strategy aligned with business goals, attempts to adopt generative AI flounder. And even with a strategy, businesses need the infrastructure – technology, tools, talent – to bring generative AI projects to their full potential. The enthusiasm is there, but for half of businesses interested in generative AI, the capacity is not. This gap between interest and successful adoption highlights the need for expert guidance and support when navigating the complex generative AI landscape.

That’s why we created the Center of Generative AI Innovation, a low-risk but powerful sandbox environment designed to empower companies to experiment and tailor generative AI models to their specific needs. 

Inspired by AWS’s GenAI capabilities and their vision for democratizing GenAI for India, at CloudThat , we have established this center with the aim to bridge the gap between a company’s interest in generative AI and its practical implementation, ensuring that no business gets left behind in this transformative era. The time to embrace Generative AI and adopt new practices is now. The future of business is here. And the center is developed to bridge the gap between what organizations interest and actual execution.

Going one step forward, we intend to do our very best to ensure all businesses can innovate with GenAI and hence, come up with a set-up of free GenAI readiness assessment for organizations. This technology needs to be democratized and at CloudThat we are taking that step forward to fuel innovation at all levels and across industries.

Q5) What does the road ahead look like for Gen AI Development in India?

Ans) The road ahead for Generative AI (Gen AI) development in India is brimming with potential and promises transformative advancements across various sectors. With a burgeoning tech-savvy population and increasing digital penetration, the adoption and growth of Gen AI are set to accelerate exponentially.

One of the most promising aspects is the potential economic impact. Gen AI is projected to significantly boost India’s GDP, adding billions of dollars by 2030 and potentially trillions in cumulative impact over the next few years.

The Indian government is playing a crucial role in fostering an AI-friendly ecosystem through various initiatives and policies. These efforts aim to encourage research, development, and adoption of AI technologies across the country. The government also recognizes the importance of responsible AI development, prioritizing ethical considerations and addressing potential risks.

Overall, the future of Gen AI development in India looks incredibly promising. With the right investments, policies, and collaborations, Gen AI has the potential to drive innovation, economic growth, and societal development. India is poised to become a global leader in Gen AI, creating a brighter future for its citizens and the world.