Indian Firms May Be Overusing AI Tag

Experts Say Country Trails Global Peers in Core AI

- JADEN MATHEW PAUL

Experts in India's artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem fear an overuse of the AI label by companies, which see it more as an efficiency layer rather than a core innovation driver.

According to them, some recently established companies are branding themselves as AI-driven, though in many cases AI functions more as a tool to enhance efficiency rather than redefine workflows.

Abhishek Srivastava, general partner at Kae Capital, said while vertical software as a service (SaaS) companies are integrating AI to optimize repetitive tasks, their core technology stack and workflows remain largely unchanged—making AI more of a "wrapper". In contrast, truly vertical AI applications fundamentally alter processes, he said.