Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, expressed his displeasure yesterday over India’s failure to fully capitalize on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) on a large scale.

“We underestimate AI’s potential.  We back home don’t care that startups in the Bay Area (US) are raising billions of dollars.  During a fireside discussion at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Sharma expressed his displeasure that his country is not taking use of the AI opportunity to the extent that it should.

He argued for reducing this reliance and developing a domestic “operating system” (OS) for the AI era, pointing out that India has historically depended on US-made systems throughout its technological development.

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Sharma added that India must do everything in its power to preserve its sovereignty over AI.

“In a sense, AI sovereignty is the same as virginity.  India should never cede its AI sovereignty to the outside world.  I think we can and will develop it as a nation,” he continued.

Sharma also radiated confidence that ambition and belief, not competence, are what India lacks.  The CEO of Paytm criticized the frequently cited claim that Indian AI startups lacked patient capital and encouraged creators to develop in-house AI solutions.

We also have access to risk capital for the first time.  Capital inflow has actually increased, if not decreased, in comparison to 2005 and 2015.  The time has come for all of us, but particularly for digital entrepreneurs, to stake our claim that we will not allow the AI of any other nation to take over our business,” Sharma continued.

The CEO of Paytm responded to a query by stating that the fintech company will work on artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025 and that Paytm will use a more modern brand identity for the AI services.  However, he didn’t go into additional detail about this.

The announcement of Paytm’s AI-powered soundbox for small and medium-sized businesses coincided with this.  The gadget, which was unveiled at the GFF 2025, has an AI assistant that communicates with retailers in eleven regional languages and offers real-time information and responses based on their payments and business success.

According to the startup, the Android-based soundbox would make it easier for merchants to manage their businesses and keep track of collections using both speech and screen.  The Paytm AI Soundbox has two screens: a top display for real-time updates and a front touchscreen for simple interaction. It also facilitates card and QR transactions.

The finance behemoth has rapidly expanded its AI-powered products.  Sharma declared in September of last year that Paytm was totally dedicated to incorporating AI into its main payment system.

The technology is already being used by the business to automate customer service procedures and for marketing.  Additionally, earlier this year, it collaborated with the AI search engine Perplexity to offer users real-time financial support through its app.

In terms of finances, Paytm turned a profit in the first quarter of FY26, recording a consolidated net profit of INR 122.5 Cr as opposed to a net loss of INR 840.1 Cr in the same quarter last year.  In the meantime, operating revenue increased by 28% to INR 1,918 Cr in the reviewed quarter from INR 1,502 Cr in the first quarter of FY25.