Why cognitive connectivity is the next frontier for India’s deeptech space

A quiet revolution is underway across India’s hinterlands. It’s not happening in corporate boardrooms or gleaming tech parks, but in village homes, small-town schools and remote healthcare centers. Here, internet usage is growing at nearly double the rate of urban India. As of 2024, over 55% of India’s 900 million internet users reside in rural areas, according to IAMAI-Kantar's ICUBE report. This isn’t just a statistic.

It is a signal. And it is calling India’s deeptech sector to build for the next billion.

This vast new user base, diverse in digital behavior and expectations, presents both a challenge and an unprecedented opportunity to create cognitive, intelligent networks that adapt in real-time, self-heal and ensure seamless experiences in environments far removed from traditional connectivity ecosystems. This is where cognitive connectivity steps in.

The shift from passive pipes to intelligent infrastructure

For years, we viewed connectivity as infrastructure, a necessary one, but passive. But as Digital Bharat gathers pace, the expectation from networks has fundamentally shifted. It is no longer enough for networks to merely connect. They must understand, predict, and act.

This is where AI, specifically, Agentic AI, can play a transformative role. Unlike traditional automation, agentic systems make autonomous decisions, adapting continuously to optimise user experience. Think of networks that sense deteriorating quality and self-correct or those that predict congestion before it happens and reroute accordingly. That is not futuristic speculation. It is the next logical step in connectivity.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global AI-in-Networks market is projected to reach $46.8 billion by 2029. Meanwhile, Indian deeptech funding hit $324 million in Q1 2025 alone (Tracxn), showing growing investor appetite. The convergence of these two trends is setting the stage for India’s next tech leap.

Deeptech meets Digital Bharat

What makes India’s rural surge unique is not just the scale, but the complexity. Devices vary widely and user behaviours differ dramatically. This chaotic canvas becomes a stress test and a proving ground for AI-led network intelligence.

This complexity has unlocked a wide blue ocean of possibilities for India’s deeptech landscape. As networks evolve from hard-coded decision trees to dynamic, learning-based systems, the demand for indigenous AI innovation is rising. Building cognitive connectivity for such a diverse digital terrain not only advances the domestic internet experience but also serves as a template for global rollouts.

India, with its scale, diversity, and frugality-driven innovation culture, stands at the cusp of redefining how intelligence is embedded into connectivity. The push for cognitive networks is giving rise to a new breed of deeptech innovation—grounded in AI, built for scale, and designed to thrive amid heterogeneity.

Building for the world, from India

What’s exciting is that India is not just a use case. It is becoming a launchpad. Our low-cost R&D ecosystem, deep engineering talent pool and vast, diverse user base make us uniquely suited to build cognitive infrastructure that works across continents.

Several emerging economies face similar infrastructure gaps, device fragmentation and volatile user environments. Indian deeptech startups, having learned to solve these challenges at home, are now positioned to export AI-led network solutions to Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

The way ahead

Yet, very few Indian startups are thinking beyond the current automation layer. The real opportunity lies in building cognitive capabilities that continuously learn and improve. This means building AI systems that don’t just operate on rules, but on patterns.

Cognitive connectivity is a foundational shift in how digital infrastructure is conceived and delivered. It offers Indian deeptech companies a chance to become core infrastructure enablers for the world, not just peripheral service providers.

Pramod Gummaraj is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Aprecomm.