Qualcomm is positioning India as more than a massive technology market. The company now sees the country as one of the places helping shape the next phase of personal AI.
That view came from Dino Bekis, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Wearables and Personal AI. Speaking at Snapdragon For India in Delhi, he said India’s technology ecosystem has changed sharply over the past two decades and has moved from an infrastructure-driven mindset to one that is more willing to build globally relevant new technologies.
According to Bekis, the country is no longer just a place where technology is consumed. It is increasingly a place where new ideas are being developed to solve major domestic problems, supported by a growing pool of educated talent.
India’s shift from scale to innovation
Bekis described India’s earlier technology landscape as dominated by large, monolithic companies. He contrasted that with today’s environment, which he said feels more energetic, more entrepreneurial, and more willing to take risks in emerging technologies.
He also said the change is visible in how Indian companies and talent are being used. Rather than focusing only on established industrial projects, the ecosystem is now pushing into new categories that can compete at a global level.
Bekis said he has been visiting India for nearly 20 years, giving him a long view of how the industry has evolved. From that perspective, he sees the country’s rise not only in scale but also in ambition.
Voice as the next interface for AI
Beyond the India story, Bekis focused on how personal computing is likely to change as AI becomes more deeply integrated into devices. He argued that voice will become the main interface as AI becomes more natural to use.
He compared this shift to earlier transitions in computing, from mouse-driven interaction to touchscreens. In his view, the next step is voice, because it is the most natural way people communicate.
Bekis said natural spoken language offers the lowest friction for users and that AI will reach its full potential only if interaction is made as simple as possible. He went so far as to call voice a required interface for AI at this stage, at least until devices can one day be controlled by thought.
That perspective helps explain why Qualcomm is talking about more than chips. The company is also emphasizing user experience, including network and voice, as part of its broader effort to improve devices.
A wider push into AI-first devices
Bekis also said Qualcomm is already working with several companies on devices built entirely around AI. He described the company as highly active in preparing AI-first products for the market.
Recent industry reports have pointed to OpenAI working on multiple AI-first gadgets, including augmented earbuds and a pendant powered by technology similar to ChatGPT. Bekis did not confirm or deny Qualcomm’s involvement in those efforts, but he said the company is broadly present in this category.
He suggested that many rumored AI devices in the industry are likely to include Qualcomm technology, whether the work is taking place in Silicon Valley or China.
Bekis also pointed to Qualcomm’s long-term investment in wearables as a key reason the company is well placed in this new wave. He said Qualcomm was already at the front of wearable technology before the category became mainstream.
That foundation, he said, gives the company an advantage as the industry now moves toward devices designed with AI at the center of the experience.
No company has announced a firm launch date for these AI-first devices yet. Still, Bekis said the market is likely to see products in this category within six to 12 months, or by the end of this year into the beginning of next year, and he said Qualcomm will be part of that rollout.
Source: www.indiatoday.in
