India Ranks Third Globally in Most Vibrant AI Hub After US and China

India has secured the third position on Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool (GVT), which measures how “vibrant” a country’s artificial intelligence ecosystem is. The ranking highlights India’s rapid rise in the global AI landscape, while also underscoring the gap it still needs to bridge compared with the two leaders.

Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy Tool is an online dashboard that compares the strength and activity of national AI ecosystems. Rather than relying on a single metric, it evaluates 42 indicators grouped across eight broad areas, including research, economic strength, infrastructure, government policy and public opinion.

By combining these factors, the tool shows where AI talent and innovation are expanding and where countries may be lagging. It blends traditional measures such as research output with newer aspects, including government involvement and the responsible use of AI.

According to the Global AI Vibrancy Tool, India ranked third this year with a score of 21.59. It trailed the US, which topped the list with 78.60, and China, which came second with 36.95. South Korea ranked fourth with 17.24, followed by the United Kingdom in fifth place with 16.64.

India recorded a sharp jump in the rankings, moving from seventh place in 2023 to third in 2024. The UK also improved marginally, rising from sixth to fifth. Both countries have recently announced major initiatives to strengthen their AI capabilities, reflecting how governments increasingly view AI as a national priority.

The announcement comes just days after several global technology giants unveiled plans to invest billions of dollars in India’s AI infrastructure over the coming years.

Amazon said it will invest $35 billion in India by 2030 to expand AI, logistics and cloud computing infrastructure. Microsoft has committed $17.5 billion, its largest investment in Asia, to scale up its cloud and AI operations in the country.

Earlier, companies such as Intel, Cognizant and OpenAI also announced investment and collaboration plans. These moves highlight growing global confidence in India as a key AI hub, alongside the US and China.

The US remained the clear leader in 2024, performing strongly across most categories, particularly in research, the economy and infrastructure. It led in developing major AI models, attracting private investment and building large-scale computing capacity. Many high-profile AI models released in 2024, such as Gemini 2.0 Pro, o1 and Llama 3.1, were developed by US companies including Google, OpenAI and Meta.

China ranked second, with its greatest strength in research and development. In 2024, it led the world in the number of AI research papers, citations and patents, and ranked second in producing major AI models. Chinese AI launches such as DeepSeek drew attention in early 2025, alongside the government’s push to expand AI adoption across the economy.

However, the data may not fully capture the true scale of China’s AI ecosystem, the university report noted.