India has a rare opportunity to shape technologies that will define the next decade. That was the central message at IBM Think on Tour 2026 in Mumbai, where Sandip Patel, IBM MD, India & South Asia, said the country was at a defining moment. “When India builds, it builds for billions,” he said, capturing the potential for solutions developed in India to scale globally.
Scale, however, depends on using AI differently. Patel’s sharpest point was that, despite the hype, the transformation is only the beginning. Many enterprises already use AI, he noted, but often at the margins: one workflow here, one use case there.
The winners, he argued, will not simply be companies deploying more AI. They will redesign operations around AI agents, real-time data, automation, hybrid architecture and, above all, trust. That requires more than a powerful model; it calls for an AI-led operating model that brings these capabilities together.
One concrete step was IBM’s memorandum of understanding with MeitY Start-up Hub, an initiative of the ministry for electronics & information technology. The agreement aims to accelerate India’s deep-tech start-up ecosystem by giving founders access to IBM’s technology expertise, mentorship, enterprise engagement and skilling programmes.
Start-ups will receive technical guidance on IBM Watsonx (its enterprise AI and data platform), as well as IBM Bob (an AI coding agent) and IBM Sovereign Core (a software platform designed to help organisations operate within defined sovereign boundaries). The collaboration will also cover hybrid cloud, quantum computing, security and automation, with a focus on promising founders in Tier II and III cities.
“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening our country’s deep-tech start-up ecosystem,” affirmed Patel. “These start-ups are playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology-led growth for India and the world. Together, we aim to help founders innovate faster, scale responsibly, and build solutions that address both national and global challenges.”
Sovereignty ran through the event. Patel describes digital sovereignty as ‘Digital swaraj’: governments and enterprises retaining control over their data, infrastructure and AI systems. IBM is positioning Bharat Core as an India-focussed adaptation of Sovereign Core, designed for the local context. IBM is working with the Andhra Pradesh government on a sovereign AI reference architecture. For regulated sectors such as banking and government, the pitch is practical: innovation must co-exist with control, security and compliance.
The quantum leap
Andhra Pradesh anchors IBM’s quantum plans. Working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the state government, IBM plans to install an IBM Quantum System Two at the Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati, equipped with a 156-qubit Heron processor. The planned system has been described as India’s largest quantum computer. TCS will help develop algorithms and applications for Indian industry and academia, while park participants can access IBM quantum systems through the cloud.
The emphasis is on practical applications and preparation. The facility is expected to support research while helping Indian enterprises prepare for post-quantum cryptography, as advances in quantum computing could eventually threaten some of today’s encryption methods. IBM and TCS have outlined plans to build the wider research and skills ecosystem around the installation. Patel said the machine is expected to arrive in early 2027, while mainstream quantum use in India could still be three to four years away.
Patel’s view on governance follows the same logic. He argued against artificially pausing innovation, emphasising the need to govern technology without stifling investment. His approach centres on continuous vigilance: proactive governance, trust built into systems, multi-agent orchestration and real-time data integration. Safety, in this view, is something enterprises must engineer into AI as they scale, rather than treat as a reason to halt progress.
The throughline was ambition paired with pragmatism: redesign operating models, widen the start-up pipeline, retain control over critical digital infrastructure and prepare for quantum. Whether IBM can turn these announcements into measurable outcomes remains the real test. But the message to Indian enterprises was clear: marginal AI will no longer be enough.