Why India is the world’s AI epicenter

By Malhar Kamdar, Chief Customer Officer & President Celonis India

We can say it: AI is now old news. With 99% of organizations already deploying AI in one form or another, it’s everywhere and used by (almost) everyone. Today, the focus is not on adopting AI, but harnessing it in useful ways that deliver tangible value to the enterprise. And If there’s anywhere on Earth poised to turn AI’s potential into ROI, it’s India. 

“What’s happening with AI adoption in India right now is amazing to watch… India is outpacing the world,” said Sam Altman in early 2025. For years, I’ve spoken about how India is the process excellence epicenter, and I’m not changing my tune — in fact, I’m turning up the volume. This very leadership in process excellence makes India the global hub for effective enterprise AI. 

India’s role as a Global Capability Center (GCC) leader only further confirms how great the opportunity is for business leaders here. Roughly once a week, a new GCC opens in India, earning it the reputation of the world’s office. As GCCs move from cost centers to strategic innovation centers, the opportunities to make AI useful for the enterprise are limitless.

Where AI falls short 

While GCCs are rapidly embracing AI — some 72% of Finance and Shared Services teams plan to boost their AI budgets this year — many leaders are coming up against its limitations and feeling let down by its promises. 

To understand the crux of the problem, let’s take the example of a GPS. A GPS requires more than just data on streets, buildings, and bridges to get you to your desired destination. It needs context on how those elements connect and flow. Similarly, for AI to work effectively for the enterprise, it needs two critical inputs to understand how your operations actually run: 

1. Process data: An end‑to‑end view of what happens upstream and downstream, including hand‑offs and exceptions.
2. Business context: KPI definitions, business rules, and the roles involved.

This is especially critical for India’s GCCs. You’re running complex global processes, across functions and time zones. And to optimize those workflows, you need AI that truly understands how your business runs — not just what the data says, but why it matters.

Unfortunately, no single system today provides that end-to-end view. And that’s what’s holding enterprise AI back from delivering its full potential.

There’s no AI without PI

If we return to our example of the GPS, Process Intelligence (PI) provides the map data. 

Using process mining and business context, PI creates a living digital twin of your business operation that’s system-agnostic and without bias. The result is a map of the enterprise, connecting all the data across your systems and making sense of it so AI understands how your organization uniquely runs. 

Fed Process Intelligence, your AI copilots can provide fast process insights in an intuitive chat interface. Your AI assistants can give you proactive recommendations for you to review and accept. And you can build AI agents in leading AI platforms that understand how your business uniquely runs and how it can run better.

There is no enterprise AI future without India as its engine. And when GCC’s here harness their processes, this country will rightfully be known worldwide as the AI epicenter.