India's ambition to become a global artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse is facing a significant challenge as an increasing number of its top AI professionals are choosing to build their careers in the United States. Higher salaries, access to advanced AI research and a mature startup ecosystem are emerging as the primary factors driving this migration.

According to a Forbes India report, many Indian AI researchers working in Silicon Valley say they have little incentive to return home. The trend has also encouraged several Indian entrepreneurs to establish AI startups in the US instead of India, raising concerns over the country's long-term competitiveness in the global AI race.

Despite being regarded as one of the world's largest hubs for enterprise AI talent, India continues to lose highly skilled professionals to overseas markets. Experts believe that while the country produces a large number of engineering graduates, retaining advanced AI talent remains a growing challenge.

The demand for AI specialists is also reshaping India's technology hiring landscape. According to the JobSpeak June 2026 report, AI-related job opportunities have increased by 16%, even as overall hiring in the IT sector declined by 3%. Companies are prioritising recruitment of AI experts while investing in reskilling existing employees to meet changing industry demands.

The talent gap is expected to widen further in the coming years. NASSCOM estimates that India could face a shortage of more than 6 lakh AI professionals by 2027. Although over 90% of early-career technology professionals use AI tools, only 23% possess the technical expertise required to independently develop and deploy AI systems.

Industry leaders say the issue is not merely a shortage of graduates but a lack of industry-ready skills. According to Anand Mahurkar, CEO of Findability Sciences, many graduates are familiar with machine learning concepts and Python programming but lack hands-on experience with real-world AI applications, creating a significant gap between academic learning and industry expectations.

As global competition for AI talent intensifies, experts believe India will need stronger research infrastructure, better compensation, startup incentives and industry-academia collaboration to retain its best minds and strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.

Mana Jampala, a Grade 7 student based in Kelowna, British Columbia, is the founder of Voxa, an AI-powered virtual receptionist designed to handle customer calls around the clock. The platform was created to solve a real business problem and is now being used by businesses in Canada, India and Cambodia, according to reports.

Mana's journey into technology began much earlier than most aspiring entrepreneurs. She first explored programming through Scratch coding camps before teaching herself Python at the age of nine. By the time she turned 11, she had already started developing AI-based applications, eventually launching Voxa after identifying a recurring issue at her father's workplace.

The idea emerged from watching employees struggle to answer customer calls while attending to clients. Missed calls often translated into missed business opportunities, prompting Mana to build an AI voice assistant capable of answering calls, booking appointments, taking restaurant orders, responding to customer queries, sending follow-up messages and generating call summaries automatically.

According to information shared on the company's profile, Voxa focuses on service-based businesses where every missed call can directly affect revenue. The platform automates routine communication while helping businesses reduce staff workload and improve customer response times. Mana has said the startup is currently expanding pilot projects and live deployments, particularly for restaurants, pharmacies and other service providers.

Her work has also attracted wider attention within the global startup ecosystem. Business Insider recently reported that Voxa has already handled hundreds of customer calls, while Mana has expanded the platform with another product called "Voxa Agents," allowing users to build customised AI agents using simple text prompts instead of writing code. The report added that she hopes to continue growing the business through bootstrapping before eventually joining an accelerator programme and seeking venture funding.

Despite her age, Mana says building a startup has not been without challenges. During in-person meetings, potential customers often focused on how young she was rather than the product itself. She has since shifted much of her customer outreach online, where discussions tend to centre more on the technology and its capabilities than her age.

Her achievements extend beyond entrepreneurship. Reports indicate that she has participated in coding competitions, earned recognition for her technical skills and continues balancing school education with product development. While she spends time improving her software, she also remains active in extracurricular activities and is part of a growing community of young technology enthusiasts.

Mana's story comes at a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping industries worldwide, with young innovators increasingly using accessible AI tools to solve practical business problems. Her startup reflects how early exposure to programming and problem-solving can translate into real-world innovation, even at a young age.

As AI adoption accelerates across sectors, stories like Mana Jampala's are highlighting a new generation of entrepreneurs who are turning everyday challenges into scalable technology solutions long before reaching adulthood.