Most Indian executives (96 per cent) believe that AI can positively impact their sustainability goals….reports Asian Lite News
About 98 per cent of Indian business leaders are planning to increase investment in IT for sustainability over the next 12 months, as the country remains a leader in AI-driven sustainability initiatives, a report said on Thursday.
The majority of Indian respondents view investments in IT as vital not only for environmental responsibility but also to drive long-term business resilience (61 per cent) and brand reputation (64 per cent), according to the IBM’s ‘State of Sustainability Readiness Report.’
“As sustainability becomes central to business growth strategies, AI is proving to be a game-changer in driving responsible growth,” said Sandip Patel, Managing Director of IBM India/South Asia.
“India stands out as a leader in AI-driven sustainability. Business leaders across the country view sustainability as a strategic lever for transformation, and IBM is advancing AI solutions to help accelerate their sustainability goals,” Patel added.
Most Indian executives (96 per cent) believe that AI can positively impact their sustainability goals. Underscoring India’s commitment to sustainable innovation, most business leaders are already leveraging the power of AI, with 64 per cent of Indian companies actively using AI in their sustainability efforts.
The report also highlighted water usage as one of the top challenges specific to Indian companies. Brand reputation (64 per cent) is the top driver of IT sustainability investment at companies in India, followed by long-term business resilience (61 per cent).
While 81 per cent of Indian leaders adopt a proactive approach towards climate resilience, 54 per cent implement opportunity-driven sustainability investments. Further, 79 per cent of Indian leaders report having mature systems to track sustainability goals through data, the report mentioned.
The report suggested business leaders and organisations to invest in AI tools that are right for them.
Generative AI can provide insights that help identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and create scenarios and algorithms for more sustainable business practices. This can provide organisations the insights needed to address climate crises and turn sustainability ambition into action.
“As top challenges to sustainability continue to evolve, organisations should collect data from across their business to better understand the difference in perceptions between C-suite and lower-level decision makers,” the report noted.
‘The Next AI Chip Capital’
As India makes strides in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, SoftBank’s Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has said that the country can become the AI chip capital of the world.
New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) As India makes strides in artificial intelligence (AI), SoftBank’s Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son has said that the country can become the AI chip capital of the world.
In a meeting with some leading Indian startup founders in the national capital, Son who has invested in several companies in the country, said he will invest more and more in AI in India in the coming years.
This was Son’s first trip to India in about two years. He was also reported to have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although there was no official communication about the meeting yet.
SoftBank has invested in several Indian startups, including Snapdeal, Ola, Oyo, Housing.com and Grofers (now Blinkit and a Zomato company).
Son had earlier declared that SoftBank would invest $10 billion in India over the coming years.
As the generative AI race heats up, SoftBank CEO was reportedly aiming to raise about $100 billion for his AI venture, reports surfaced earlier this year.
The Japan’s investment major swung to its biggest quarterly profit in two years in the September quarter, owing to growing number of IPOs in the Indian markets.
SoftBank reported a net income of 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion) for the September quarter, a stark turnaround from last year’s net loss of 931 billion yen. The tech conglomerate’s gains were driven by rising share prices of publicly listed Indian companies within its Vision Fund investments.
“After we were making large losses in the Vision Funds, we were very conservative. So now we were able to generate good profits as a result of learning from that,” SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said after the earnings.
The two Vision funds fully or partially exited investments to the tune of $1.85 billion. It made full exits from 10 portfolio companies, including digital payment firm Paytm
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