India Posts Biggest Gain In AI Talent Share, Enters Top Three Global Destinations

India has hit another milestone in artificial intelligence. A new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study finds that India was the fastest-growing country in the world for attracting AI talent in 2025.

India now holds around 6% of global AI talent share and sits alongside the US and the UK in the top three preferred destinations for AI professionals. What stands out is the pace: India added 1.3 percentage points to its AI talent share this year alone.

Strong Gains in STEM Talent Too
The country’s progress isn’t limited to AI specifically. India has also emerged as one of the world’s leading hubs for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professionals, holding close to a 7% share globally. This growth carries extra weight at a time when the migration of highly skilled professionals worldwide is slowing down overall, making India’s gains stand out even more.

NRIs Returning Home Are Driving the Shift
According to BCG’s analysis, skilled non-resident Indians (NRIs) who had moved abroad are now increasingly returning home as opportunities within the country grow, and that reverse migration is lifting India’s share across the board. The expansion of the domestic tech ecosystem and a sharp rise in AI-related investment appear to be the main forces behind this trend. As a result, India strengthened its talent base by 0.3 percentage points in research roles and 0.7 percentage points in STEM roles.

Why Talent Concentration Matters
BCG’s report makes a pointed claim: countries that build a strong talent base in a given technology are 17 times more likely to go on and dominate that technology’s market in the future. The US currently leads the broader tech sector. But experts note that India’s aggressive push on AI talent could end up being a major factor in how the global technology competition plays out over the next decade.