AI is no longer an auxiliary project in India’s boardrooms, it has become a strategic priority for the country’s largest conglomerates. Industry majors are setting up dedicated AI units, partnering with US tech majors, hiring specialist teams and reworking business models to tap the technology’s transformative potential. With India poised to be the world’s largest population-scale AI market after China, companies see a rare opportunity to ride the next wave of digital disruption. From citizen services to customer experience, businesses are racing to embed AI early. The rush has also triggered an aggressive hiring wave for data scientists, AI researchers and domain experts. ET takes stock of some of these big bets.