New Delhi, July 27 -- Amid the rapidly expanding universe of business-to-business (B2B) artificial intelligence (AI) startups, enterprises are now increasingly willing to pay for projects rather than seek free pilots-a sign of the market's growing confidence and maturity. However, most startups are yet to secure the large, multi-year contracts needed to scale, setting the stage for consolidation in the sector.

As per data platform Tracxn, the total number of AI native startups in India rose from 182 in 2022 to 465 in 2025 and 246 now.

The commercial shift coincides with faster enterprise adoption of AI. About 40% of Indian respondents reported significant or full AI usage, compared with a global average of about 28%, according to Deloit...