Three in four Indian firms see AI efforts stall after the proof-of-concept stage: Kyndryl CEO

Nearly three in four Indian organisations see their AI initiatives stall after the proof-of-concept stage due an (operational) readiness problem rather than an innovation gap, Martin Schroeter, chairman and chief executive of IT infra firm Kyndryl, said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Schroeter said that while more than two thirds of organisations worldwide are heavily investing in AI, almost half struggle to generate meaningful returns.

“Based on our research and experience with our customers in regulated and unregulated industries, the leading indicator for why projects stall is not because the technology isn't smart. It's brilliant. It's because we haven't industrialised it yet,” he said.


Schroeter added that enterprises are grappling with fragmented data across multiple clouds and legacy systems, business processes not designed for AI, and varying regulatory requirements.

However, he described India as a proving ground for AI at national scale, pointing to government backed digital public infrastructure and policy initiatives such as Digital India and the IndiaAI Mission.

He also cited platforms like the Unified Lending Interface, which he said are using AI to expand access to credit and reduce loan processing times.

As part of its India push, Kyndryl will open a new Cyber Defense Operations Center in Bengaluru to detect and contain AI driven threats, Schroeter said. The company is expanding its local engineering capabilities to support mission-critical systems across banking, telecom, airports, and citizen services.

“In every part of the globe, conversation about agentic must now shift from intelligence to industrialisation, from what AI can do to how it's orchestrated, governed, secured, and integrated, how it's sustained with agents and humans partnering to drive business impact. This is a transition every major technology invention has gone through,” he said.

He noted that the next phase of AI adoption will hinge on strengthening infrastructure, building trust, and reskilling workforces, adding that governments and companies share responsibility in ensuring AI is deployed responsibly at scale.