New Delhi, March 30 -- India may still trail the US and China in artificial intelligence (AI), but it can indeed build strong companies in the technology a fraction of the spending of the world's top firms, said G.V. Ravishankar, managing director at Peak XV Capital.

Speaking at the Mint India Investment Summit, Ravishankar said India's AI opportunity lies less in outspending global leaders and more in building useful products quickly and cost-effectively at scale, leveraging the country's deep engineering talent.

He outlined two broader areas where Indian startups can still create large businesses, even if the country is not yet at the cutting edge of global AI development.

The first opportunity, he said, is that India will be a quick...