‘2026 is when India entered the AI race.’ 🤖 No major publicly traded pure-play AI companies yet. But is India's real AI story unfolding in the private markets? Speaking to Shereen Bhan on Young Turks Reloaded, ‘Lift-Off Nation’ co-authors Rajan Anandan and

This shift signals that AI value creation is currently concentrated in private ventures, meaning you must look beyond stock tickers to identify growth areas. For your career, this implies that early-stage innovation and private equity sectors are the new hubs for AI talent. You should prioritise skills in AI Strategy and Data Science, as these are critical for building scalable solutions in unlisted environments. Do not wait for public market maturity to upskill. Instead, seek roles in startups or consultancies where AI integration is experimental yet high-impact. Focus on understanding how to apply AI commercially rather than just technically. By positioning yourself in private market ecosystems, you gain exposure to cutting-edge applications before they become mainstream, securing a competitive advantage in the evolving job market.

For this story, the fields that convert it into pay are AI Strategy, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Business And Management — exactly the programmes matched below. The chart shows the indicative salary uplift certified professionals report in each of those fields; every one of them is a click away, from £79, finishing in as few as 20 days.