Linux Foundation India: Join the AI Bus via Open Source
The Indian IT community stands at a pivotal juncture, facing a clear call to action from the Linux Foundation India: embrace open source to truly “catch the AI bus.” Arpit Joshipura, head of the Linux Foundation India, emphasizes that active participation and contribution to the open-source ecosystem are not merely an option but the singular path forward for India to secure a leading position in the global artificial intelligence landscape.
This clarion call arrives as the Linux Foundation India (LF India) celebrates its first year of operation, having officially launched in December 2024. Established to foster open collaboration among Indian developers, enterprises, government organizations, and intergovernmental bodies, LF India has positioned itself as a crucial “sandbox for innovation” in the region. Its strategic focus areas include cloud native technologies, telecommunications, Edge/IoT, blockchain, security, and, significantly, domain-specific AI technologies. Under Joshipura’s leadership, LF India is actively investing in the burgeoning developer community through training programs, local events, and meetups, aiming to accelerate the incubation and support of open-source software projects. The organization’s momentum is evident, having welcomed six new sub-foundations in 2025, including LF AI & Data, further solidifying its commitment to AI and data initiatives within the open-source framework.
India’s burgeoning developer talent forms a formidable foundation for this ambition. The nation is on track to boast the world’s largest developer community by 2028, with nearly 200,000 Indian developers already contributing to Linux Foundation-hosted open-source projects. This vibrant ecosystem is already making its mark; recent data indicates that 25% of all AI projects on GitHub now originate from India, underscoring its growing influence. The embrace of open source is not limited to individual developers; an IBM study from early 2025 revealed that 93% of Indian businesses plan to increase their AI investments, with a significant 71% expected to leverage open-source ecosystems to optimize their AI deployments.
The Indian government, too, is a powerful proponent of open-source AI, recognizing its potential to democratize access and foster indigenous innovation. Initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission are actively promoting open-source AI development, exemplified by the commitment to make government-sponsored Large Language Models (LLMs) openly available, such as Sarvam AI’s sovereign LLM. Collaborations like the “Srijan” Center for Generative AI at IIT Jodhpur and the “YuvAI” initiative, launched in partnership with Meta and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), are designed to empower young developers and accelerate research in open-source AI, tailoring solutions for local challenges in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and education. Even global tech giants like Google are contributing, unveiling open-source AI innovations specifically tailored for Indian agriculture and cultural heritage preservation. This collective push highlights a strategic shift for India, moving from being primarily an AI consumer to a significant contributor, leveraging open source to build responsible AI solutions that can be fine-tuned for the nation’s unique linguistic and societal diversity.
While the opportunities are vast, challenges persist. India’s AI adoption journey faces hurdles such as the need for robust AI governance frameworks, a persistent shortage of specialized AI expertise, technology integration complexities, and data management challenges, including the availability of high-quality, representative datasets. However, these challenges also present a clear mandate for the open-source community. By fostering collaborative environments, providing essential training, and acting as a “sandbox for innovation,” organizations like LF India are directly addressing these gaps, ensuring that India’s deep talent pool can effectively contribute to and lead in the global AI revolution, shaping technology that is both impactful and accessible.