From diapers to drugs: How India’s global corporate hubs are putting AI to work

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across a wide spectrum of corporate functions. Firms are leveraging AI for tasks ranging from identifying social media influencers to promote products like Huggies diapers, to analyzing vast datasets for faster drug launches. This technological shift aims to automate time-consuming, repetitive tasks, freeing up human resources for more complex and innovative work.

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That is 20% time given ​back to doctors. That is 20% time back to patients.

AI has moved beyond simple chatbots and is now embedded in the core operations of these GCCs. For example, the Indian hospital chain Apollo Hospitals uses an AI clinical assistant developed with Microsoft to help doctors quickly gather patient data and generate insights, reportedly saving doctors 20% of their time. In Bengaluru, Catalyst Brands is piloting computer-generated imagery for product visuals and videos, potentially reducing the need for global inventory movement for photo shoots. Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies, employs an internal AI tool to identify and evaluate social media influencers, enhancing marketing outreach.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Denmark's Novo Nordisk is using AI to streamline critical aspects of drug launches, including drafting regulatory documents, analyzing safety data, and supporting commercial analytics. This mirrors global trends where companies like Amgen and AstraZeneca are using AI to accelerate clinical trial recruitment and reduce the time needed for drug safety reports, leading to significant cost savings. IBM India is collaborating with a top college and local authorities to implement AI-enabled air-quality monitoring systems and is exploring broader AI adoption and upskilling initiatives with the government.

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at the nose of the rocket

Sunil Jose, President of Workday India, emphasizes that GCCs are no longer just building small modules but are instrumental in developing entire AI models collaboratively with global teams. This highlights the evolving role of Indian GCCs as integral components in their parent corporations' strategic operations and technological advancements.

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For us, it’s no more about ⁠saying - hey, ​we’re part of that rubric where we’ll build a few ​modules in the Lego module. It’s about building the entire model together.