New Delhi (Feb 10): India is charging ahead as a global AI juggernaut, clinching the second spot worldwide for enterprise AI and machine learning (AI/ML) transactions—just behind the United States—according to a bombshell new report from cloud security leader Zscaler.
The eye-opening insights are detailed in the freshly released Zscaler ThreatLabz 2026 AI Security Report, which paints a picture of India’s explosive growth in AI deployment across businesses. This surge underscores the country’s leap from an emerging player to a serious contender in the AI race, fueled by a booming tech ecosystem, government initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission, and a massive talent pool of engineers and data scientists.
The report’s timing couldn’t be more perfect, dropping just a week before the marquee India AI Impact Summit 2026, set to light up the national capital from February 16-20. Billed as a must-attend for the world’s AI elite, the summit will draw top-tier policymakers, innovators, and industry titans to dissect AI’s transformative potential—and its risks—in areas like security, ethics, and economic impact.
Expect fireworks on stage with an unparalleled roster of speakers: Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO and architect of the GPU revolution powering modern AI; Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and the mind behind ChatGPT and frontier AI models; Sundar Pichai, Google/Alphabet CEO steering AI integration across search, cloud, and beyond; Dario Amodei, Anthropic CEO championing safe and interpretable AI systems; and Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm CEO driving AI into mobile and edge computing.
This powerhouse gathering highlights India’s rising clout: hosting such luminaries signals confidence in its role as an AI innovation hub, especially as global investments pour in.
Zscaler’s analysis, based on threat intelligence from millions of global transactions, spotlights India’s aggressive enterprise AI uptake. Key takeaways include a transaction volume boom—India trails only the US in sheer number of AI/ML deals, reflecting widespread adoption in sectors like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and e-commerce. There’s also a security imperative: with great power comes great vulnerability, as the report warns of rising AI-specific threats like model poisoning, data exfiltration, and adversarial attacks, urging robust cloud-native defenses. Plus, India’s startups and hyperscalers are outpacing many peers in Asia-Pacific, bolstered by affordable cloud infrastructure and a regulatory push for responsible AI.
Experts say this positions India to capture a slice of the projected $15.7 trillion global AI economic boost by 2030 (per PwC estimates). Yet challenges loom: talent retention, data privacy under the DPDP Act, and bridging urban-rural digital divides.
As the summit approaches, the Zscaler findings serve as both a badge of honor and a wake-up call. India isn’t just playing catch-up—it’s redefining the AI game on its terms.
