New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Around 74 per cent of corporate leaders in India ranked artificial intelligence (AI) among their top three technology adoption choices, a report said on Tuesday.

The report from Standard Chartered bank said that AI was followed by cloud computing at 64 per cent and digital assets at 46 per cent as next top choices.

On a global scale, approximately seven in 10 corporate leaders are focusing on building strong foundational systems of emerging technologies in the short to medium term — notably cloud computing.

Respondents cited AI (55 per cent) and digital assets (50 per cent) among the top three drivers shaping the future of trade digitalisation, reflecting a pragmatic view that robust underlying infrastructure must precede emerging technologies to deliver value at scale.

“By prioritising connected data flows, compliance, and consistency, corporates are setting the stage for technologies like artificial intelligence and digital assets to scale responsibly and efficiently. When these underlying layers are strong, innovation can accelerate and sustain long-term growth across global value chains,” said Michael Spiegel, Global Head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered.

The report said that bullish sentiment about AI is supported by government initiatives, such as the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence.

Several AI firms have been investing and expanding their operations in the world’s most populous market, the report noted.

The bank said that 68 per cent of Indian respondents reported outsourcing digitalisation work completely, 30 per cent work with third‑party providers, and 3 per cent handle it entirely in‑house.

Over half of the corporates cited lack of interoperability and integration as the main challenge to trade digitalisation, with regulatory and implementation challenges keeping many processes paper‑based.

The report, based on a survey of 1,200 C‑suite and senior leaders across 17 markets, said that 80 per cent of respondents used banking partners to advise on digitalisation and the adoption of digital assets.

–IANS

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