This week at the Global AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, I’ve heard from dozens of leaders from all over the world, and it’s clear most of us want the same thing: to realize the full potential of AI. However, making this goal a reality across the Global South is a matter of policy, as much as it is investment.

To see this approach in action, look to India: a country that’s reshaped the global landscape by harnessing the power of AI. Along the way, its leaders have reached the right balance between regulation, innovation, and adoption.

As Meta’s Head of Global Policy, I’m fortunate to hear directly from people about how they’re using technology and ways we can work together to build the future of human connection. India – with its deep bench of skilled, technical talent – is an exemplary global case study in using AI technology for economic and social good.
As a new report from the Linux Foundation and Meta shows, India’s leaders understand this concept more than most because they embrace three key things: strong workforce development programs, broad deployment of digital infrastructure, and investments in the startup economy.

As the report indicates, seventy percent of India’s population resides in rural areas with limited access to infrastructure and basic services.

AI is helping change that: once-isolated rural areas are gaining access to transformative services – from medical chatbots that answer questions for people who can’t reach a clinic, to AI tools from startups like CropIn that help farmers monitor crop growth and predict weather and disease – even if they don’t have the internet.

These examples offer insight into the ways AI can provide customized solutions for local needs. They also illustrate how investments in the startup sector coupled with investments in large-scale public initiatives is accelerating progress across the country.

The IndiaAI Mission pledged more than $1 billion to build out the country’s AI infrastructure “through a public-private partnership model aimed at nurturing India’s AI innovation ecosystem.” This commitment includes investments in foundational AI models, funding for more startup companies like CropIn, and building more than 10,000 GPUs – processing power that can help create smarter AI. This large computing capacity can support everything from improved medical diagnostics for patients to reduced court backlogs for legal professionals.

India’s bold investments in AI have spurred remarkable economic momentum. In 2020, AI contributed an estimated $3.2 billion to the country’s economy. By 2024, this figure rose to $6 billion, and by 2031, it’s expected to reach nearly $32 billion – a fivefold increase since 2024.

This rapid growth is finding its way to other markets too. In its November 2024 Regional Economic Outlook, the IMF named India the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Key drivers of this growth include tourism, construction, cloud services, and cybersecurity. Together, these sectors and others could add up to $1.9 trillion to India’s GDP by 2035.

Of course, all of this is monumental progress but there’s still more work to do.

India, like many other large economies, faces disparities in income, education, and digital access – challenges that are well recognized by policymakers and remain a key focus of the country’s development agenda.

To further address them, we need proactive policies in the Global South that open the door to more localized infrastructure investment, more compute capacity for communities, and more targeted reskilling programs like the newly-launched Skill India Assistant.

Built with Llama, Meta’s open source AI model, and developed in partnership with India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, this tool answers questions and offers personalized feedback in multiple languages. Available around the clock on WhatsApp and other platforms, it’s helping millions of learners in India get the professional support they need, whenever they need it.

To continue to reap the benefits of this AI revolution, my hope is that India’s leaders continue to forge a path forward for smart, pro-innovation regulation. Instead of imposing strict rules, India should favor a flexible approach – one that prioritizes innovation and collaboration over restrictive oversight.

To date, India’s regulatory landscape has paved the way for Meta’s ongoing investments, which help foster continued economic growth in the region. Unlike the EU where regulatory constraints led to significant delays in the roll out of AI features to Europeans, millions of Indians are already seeing the benefits of new India-specific features on Meta AI and in Reels translations, which now come in five Indian languages.

Additionally, our $100 million joint venture with India-based Reliance is developing enterprise AI solutions. And our multi-billion dollar investments in digital infrastructure, like the long-term Project Waterworth subsea cable investment, are designed to supercharge high-speed connectivity and provide a boost to India’s digital economy goals.

With more than 500 million people in India using Meta’s apps, these investments are not just about business – they’re about expanding opportunity, supporting local talent, and ensuring the benefits of digital breakthroughs reach every corner of the world’s largest democracy.

India’s AI journey is so much more than a story about economic acceleration; it’s a blueprint for inclusive, people-centered growth across the Global South. It’s proof that reaching the full potential of AI means fostering a new model for global development.

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