India’s mobile net playbook can help it leapfrog in AI too

India has the potential to lead in artificial intelligence (AI), along the lines of its success in mobile internet, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon told Subhrojit Mallickand Kiran Rathee in an interview. Despite geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism, Qualcomm is committed to developing technology that’s relevant, he said, citing the company’s on-device AI strategy as a way to cut inference costs in a large market like India.

Edited excerpts:

How do you rate India’s potential in the global AI race?

India has the right to be in a leadership position. Just as India leapfrogged legacy technology to embrace the mobile internet, evidenced by high data traffic and mature payment systems, I believe it will do the same with AI. The country has the scale, a young population interested in science, and a vibrant mobile ecosystem to support this.


How does India’s push for sovereign AI fit into your strategy of decentralised, hybrid AI?

We are shifting from an era of apps to agents. For an AI agent to be useful, it needs local context. What is relevant in California may not be relevant in Delhi. Sovereign AI ensures the model understands local culture and daily life. This requires a hybrid architecture where processing happens both in the cloud and on the device (the edge) to ensure instant, context-aware responses.

You announced a $150 million investment fund for Indian startups. Is there a specific timeline for utilising the amount?

There is no strict timeline; we are starting now. The goal is to identify high-quality projects rather than meet a deadline. We have historically invested in the country, but this fund is dedicated specifically to AI opportunities across mobile, PC, automotive, and industrial robotics. We are ready to invest immediately in founders with good ideas.

Are you worried about losing talent to the growing Indian number of AI startups?

No, I view it as complementary. A strong local ecosystem helps everyone. Qualcomm continues to do cutting-edge work here. For example, our India team recently designed a sophisticated 2-nanometre chip. If you want to work on advanced semiconductors, we are still the place to be.

With US-China tensions and the race for 6G, how does Qualcomm navigate geopolitics?

Companies like Qualcomm… Our mission is to push the technology roadmap forward and develop technology that's going to be relevant, that is going to change society. I think that's part of everything that we do including what we do in cellular. 6G will be a global standard and we will be working hard to make sure Qualcomm inventions are going to be part of the standard. It is no different to what has been in the past, so really, it's just the same.