India Short Of Artificial Intelligence Engineers By 51%: NASSCOM

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a popular topic of discussion, and the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has attracted the attention of large tech companies, leading to a significant investment in developing AI tools. This has resulted in a growing demand for skilled AI professionals worldwide, including in India. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has stated that there is a shortage of at least 51% of AI engineers in India. Currently, India has 416,000 AI engineers, but the demand for an additional 213,000 AI engineers still exists.

India is commonly known as the global tech industry’s back office, but it is facing difficulties in meeting the demand for skilled talent. NASSCOM reports that India is one of the world’s top three talent markets, along with the US and China, with a 16% share of the global AI talent pool. India has the world’s second-largest pool of highly skilled talent in AI, machine learning, and big data.

Almost every tech company, such as Google, Baidu, and Microsoft, is engaged in creating AI engines. Consequently, the demand for AI engineers is at an all-time high, ranging from Silicon Valley to Bangalore. Although some prominent tech companies have let go of a considerable number of employees in the past few months, the downsizing has not affected the AI workforce.

Tech companies are willing to offer significant salaries to retain AI engineers, who are currently in high demand and frequently switching jobs for 30-50% pay increases. The shortage of skilled AI engineers is becoming more pronounced as demand for AI continues to rise in industries such as healthcare, finance, and entertainment. India has seen a surge in the number of tech innovation centres, called Global Capability Centers (CGCs) or Captives, with 66 new centres opening last year, bringing the total to around 1600. As a result, companies from all over the world are establishing CGCs and R&D hubs in India.