India AI Impact Summit 2026: Hybrid AI deployment model is way to power India’s sovereign AI ambitions, says Qualcomm’s Sahil Arora

At the forefront of India's AI ambitions, Qualcomm is championing a hybrid deployment model that integrates on-device intelligence with cloud computing. This approach is seen as essential for advancing India from a consumer-centric tech landscape to a developer-driven ecosystem. During the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Sahil Arora, Qualcomm's Business Head for AI & Data Centres, shared insights on this transformative journey. He emphasized the importance of making AI accessible and scalable, stating, "AI must run where the user is." While Qualcomm has a stronghold in the smartphone market, Arora highlighted the company’s expansion into data centers, focusing on enhancing performance while minimizing energy consumption. Arora underscored that effective AI solutions for India cannot depend solely on cloud resources. He noted that models with 7 to 10 billion parameters can be effectively executed on-device, which is crucial for reducing computational demands and connectivity issues. This capability allows for faster processing and lower latency, which are vital for a country of India’s scale. Reflecting on India’s digital evolution through initiatives like UPI and Aadhaar, Arora suggested the nation is on the brink of a new AI-driven advancement. He acknowledged the successes of these initiatives while questioning what the next step would be. However, he cautioned that for AI to mainstream, it must be affordable, particularly emphasizing that extensive models may not be necessary for most daily applications in India. Instead, he identified models in the range of 40 to 50 billion parameters as ideal for achieving significant results. Arora reiterated that the future of AI in India lies in a hybrid architecture, blending edge devices with centralized processing capabilities. This infrastructure, featuring GPUs and NPUs in devices ranging from smartphones to automobiles, is pivotal for realizing large-scale AI implementations. His comments come at a crucial moment as India ramps up its GPU infrastructure under the India AI Mission, with industry partners working diligently to enhance domestic data center capacities.