Hunt for ‘Chief AI Officer’ role rises, India celebrates AI Appreciation Day – SME Futures

Home / News / Hunt for ‘Chief AI Officer’ role rises, India celebrates AI Appreciation Day
Tanay Kumar     July 16, 2025

India is celebrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) Appreciation Day today, acknowledging its growing significance in the global AI community. AI is impacting various sectors across the nation, including healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, and industry, from major tech centers to rural communities. Further, amidst the celebration, a survey by IBM has revealed that only 26 per cent of organisations around the world have CAIOs – Chief AI Officers, a new addition in CXOs and C-suites. And rest of them are expediting their hunt to hire CAIOs.
India’s AI journey began in the 1960s with early computer science research. A major step came in 1986 with the Knowledge-Based Computer Systems project. In the 1990s, organisations like C-DAC advanced supercomputing and early AI work. By the 2000s, IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro began investing in AI, while universities built a strong talent pool. The Digital India push in 2015 and NITI Aayog’s 2018 AI strategy accelerated growth.
Sharing delight over the day, Deekshith Marla, Co-Founder of Arya.ai says, “AI Appreciation Day is a reminder of how far artificial intelligence has come, not just as a technology, but as a trusted force shaping decisions, industries, and the way we live. At Arya.ai, we see this not just as a technical challenge but as a shared responsibility. It’s about ensuring that AI remains a force for clarity, not complexity, a partner in progress, not a black box.”
The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV), in collaboration with Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) and Oxford Economics, recently revealed a report – Solving the AI ROI Puzzle, after surveying over 600 CAIOs across 22 geographies and 21 industries in the first quarter of 2025.
The report states, “A growing number of organizations have created the CAIO role to accelerate and direct AI business outcomes. And many CAIOs are already driving incremental value and measurable success.”
Working at such a designation, Sachin Panicker, Chief AI Officer at Fulcrum Digital, shares his delight over AI Appreciation Day, “True appreciation of AI comes with responsibility. As we embed AI deeper into enterprise and societal frameworks, ethical stewardship, transparency, and human-centric design must remain front and center. The future of AI lies not in replacing human potential, but in amplifying it. That’s why we invest in developing AI talent pipelines, responsible frameworks, and adaptive learning models that ensure our solutions are as thoughtful as they are intelligent.”
After reaching out to over 2,300 organizations, the report states that only 26 per cent said they currently have a CAIO. This is up from 11 per cent in 2023 and 57 per cent of these CAIOs were appointed from the organisations internal talent pool, and 66 per cent expect most organisations will have a CAIO within the next two years.
With the establishment of the India AI Mission in 2024, the government allocated ₹10,300 crore over five years to strengthen AI capabilities. A key focus of this mission is the development of a high-end common computing facility equipped with 18,693 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), making it one of the most extensive AI compute infrastructures globally.
The government is facilitating the development of India’s foundational models, including Large Language Models (LLMs) and problem-specific AI solutions tailored to Indian needs. To foster AI research, multiple Centres of Excellence have also been set up.
“Our distinctive approach leverages deep, domain-specific AI expertise, integrating Generative AI into the software development lifecycle, championing ethical leadership, and forging strategic partnerships to accelerate solution delivery with clear, measurable outcomes. By applying a structured framework, we consistently move multiple AI & Gen-AI projects into production, adhering to best practices in MLOps and LLMOps with robust security guardrails. Additionally, we are pioneering advancements in emerging AI domains such as Bioinformatics, further expanding the value we bring to our clients,” Sridhar Mantha, CEO of Generative AI Business Services (GBS) at Happiest Minds Technologies, says on the importance of LLMs.
AI-driven technologies, such as autonomous agents, are helping SMBs scale efficiently, personalise customer experiences, and optimise operations. According to Salesforce, 78 per cent of Indian SMBs using AI reported revenue growth, while 93 per cent stated AI has contributed to increased revenues.
In its announcement of the India AI Mission, the government announced that a new common compute facility will soon be launched, allowing researchers and startups to access GPU power at a highly subsidised rate of ₹100 per hour, compared to the global cost of $2.5 to $3 per hour.
Enlightening over the importance of AI Compute and AI Appreciation Day, Shrirang Deshpande, Country Head of Strategic Programmes at Vertiv India, “Today, we celebrate AI for how far it has taken us and for the possibilities it continues to unlock. This shift is driving a fundamental transformation in critical digital infrastructure. With some compute racks now exceeding 100 kilowatts and AI training clusters reaching several megawatts, data centres must evolve rapidly to meet unprecedented power and cooling demands. To sustain this momentum, organisations must align their infrastructure strategies with the growing needs of AI.”
As AI adoption accelerates across industries, India’s proactive approach is not only strengthening its digital economy but also paving the way for self-reliance in critical technologies. With a clear vision for the future, India enjoys a vantage point in AI innovation, shaping the global AI landscape in the years to come.
© 2024, Polygon Media Pvt Ltd

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