R&D investments will decide India's AI tech gains: Kris Gopalakrishnan

India's ability to reap the full benefits of its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities will depend on the willingness to ramp up R&D investment and embrace continuous reinvention dramatically, said Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys co-founder and chairman, Axilor Ventures.

"We are in AI where we were in computing when it started in the 1980s. So AI is at the very beginning, and it will impact industries for the next 30 to 50 years, maybe faster," Gopalakrishnan told ET in an interview, on the sidelines of the Bengaluru Tech Summit, 2025.

Board Push


Gopalakrishnan urged boards of large industries to ask tough questions about their R&D budget and see if their R&D spend was above or below global average. He favoured industries to invest at least half of their R&D budget outside of the industry like in startups and research firms. Innovation is meant not just for startups, but also for large industries, he said, speaking at a discussion with IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and others.

(With inputs from KR Balasubramanyam)