Global AI race heats up in India with unprecedented hiring spree

Global tech leaders are establishing positions in India’s fast-growing AI sector.

According to CB Insights headcount data, AI firms such as Glean, Scale, and OpenAI have increased their workforce in the country by as much as 67% over the last six months. The country’s domestic AI companies have also seen 32% headcount growth over the same period.

Notably, India is now OpenAI’s second-largest market — with a user base that tripled in the past year — while global tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia have made substantial infrastructure investments in the country.

The boom has placed India at the forefront of corporate earnings calls, with mentions of “India” and “AI” up 6x since Q1’23.

Source: CB Insights — earnings transcript analysis

Below, we dig into 3 trends fueling the rise of India’s AI sector:

1. AI companies are capitalizing on the growth opportunity in India
2. Tech giants drive AI infrastructure buildout
3. VCs nearly double their deal volume to India’s AI startups

AI companies are capitalizing on the growth opportunity in India

Among the 16,000 AI companies CB Insights tracks, 14% have employees in India. Three-fourths of these are based outside the country. The number of top AI companies establishing or expanding their India presence has accelerated in the past year, with firms like OpenAI, Glean, and Scale leading this trend.

Global AI leaders focus on growing India-based teams

India recently became OpenAI’s second-largest market by number of users — with that figure tripling YoY — and the company has responded by boosting its headcount in India by 67% in the last 6 months (nearly 2x the growth rate of its US presence). This expansion comes even as OpenAI doesn’t have an official office in India.

Enterprise AI platform Glean has moved even more aggressively, establishing a Bengaluru office in July 2024 to tap into the talent pool in India and expand its R&D operations. India now makes up 36% of Glean’s global headcount.

Source: CB Insights — Glean headcount data

Similarly, Databricks opened a second Bengaluru office in February 2025 (following its first in May 2023) to tap into India’s talent pool of software engineers. Databricks claims it has seen “over 80% annualized growth” in India, with the country representing Databricks’ second-largest talent hub (8% of global headcount).