NTT DATA intends to retrain all its Indian employees to become AI-native developers, utilizing the country's large engineering talent pool to expand Gen AI capabilities worldwide, according to reports.

According to reports, it aims to customize its offerings to align with the nation's specific needs for cost awareness and data sovereignty/confidentiality.

The international IT services firm, which sources engineering talent from India, presently has more than 40,000 staff members in the nation.

"India is a key nation for the future. we employ over 40,000 individuals in India, and our intention is to upskill all of them to be AI-native developers," says Carlos Galve, Head of the Global Generative AI Office at NTT DATA Corporation.

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"The reskilling initiative will emphasize enhancing productivity to aid international projects. The identical group of individuals who can back, for instance, 10 projects could back 20 or even 100 projects (down the line),” says Kenji Motohashi, Head of the Global Generative AI Office, NTT DATA Group Corporation.

NTT DATA has a significant amount of Indian expertise at its research and development centers situated at its headquarters in Japan and in Silicon Valley, California, USA.

When questioned about the company's intentions to establish an R&D center in India later, Sean Lawrence, NTT's vice president and leader of the telco's IOWN Development Office, answered no.

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"We haven't increased our presence in numerous countries regarding fundamental core R&D for NTT. We aren't planning anything," Lawrence stated.

"However, in the future, it could be feasible akin to the software development hubs in India," stated Yosuke Aragane, VP of the IOWN Development Office at NTT.

In addition to converting Indian talent into a robust global delivery system, the company emphasized that the Indian AI market requires a tailored approach, focusing on cost effectiveness and data privacy.

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Regarding cost sensitivity, Motohashi noted that their partner OpenAI is providing its services, including ChatGPT Enterprise, at a much reduced price, particularly for clients in India to stay competitive.