Stepping off a flight in Seoul, you are immediately greeted by automated checkpoints that scan your face and passport to clear immigration. It is a striking example of a society that has integrated high-speed automation into the basic mechanics of daily life with little friction.
While South Korea is busy embedding automation into its public transit and border systems, India is taking a different approach by investing heavily in the creation of sovereign AI infrastructure. Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam recently raised $234 million, including a significant $150 million stake from HCLTech, to build AI models tailored to the Indian market.
Local context shapes the technology
The way a country adopts AI depends entirely on its starting point. South Korea’s success relies on a pre-existing culture of high-density digital infrastructure, where the systems—like subway payment and immigration—were already primed for machine-assisted interaction. In contrast, India’s path is focused on building foundational models from the ground up that solve its unique linguistic and economic challenges, aiming to create tools that function independently of Western tech giants.
For the professional observer, the takeaway is that there is no singular 'global' AI trajectory. A software developer in Bengaluru is solving for scale and accessibility in a complex developing market, while a subway commuter in Seoul experiences AI as a utility, like electricity or plumbing. We should stop looking for a universal adoption curve and start watching how national culture dictates which problems get solved first.
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