AI broadens India office demand beyond Fortune 500, Embassy REIT says

Around 250,000 people are currently part of India’s AI and machine-learning workforce.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to reshape India’s office market by bringing a new cohort of mid-sized global companies and smaller Global Capability Centres (GCCs) into the country, beyond the traditional Fortune 500 occupiers, according to Embassy REIT CEO Amit Shetty.

Embassy REIT, which reported a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to ₹1,241 crore and a similar growth in net operating income (NOI) to ₹1,020 crore in the first quarter of FY27, said 86 per cent of its leasing during the quarter came from new entrants. AI-related organisations accounted for 21 per cent of leasing, indicating that AI is emerging as a demand enabler for office space rather than simply a technology trend.

“The new set of guys who are actually coming into the country” includes G2000 or the Fortune 2000 companies, mid-market firms and smaller companies looking to use India’s talent pool to innovate, transform products and processes and deploy AI, Amit Shetty said.

The shift is also visible in the broader GCC ecosystem. Around 110 new GCCs were set up in India in the first half of calendar 2026, Shetty said adding that the emergence of these companies is helping build an ecosystem around India’s AI talent base.

This demand is also becoming more diverse. While technology companies have traditionally driven GCC-led office demand, Embassy is now seeing companies from semiconductors, robotics, telecom, healthcare and pharmaceuticals taking space in India.

Shetty said India’s large and increasingly fungible technology talent pool is lowering the entry barrier for smaller overseas companies. Around 250,000 people are currently part of the country’s AI and machine-learning workforce, while existing IT professionals are also upskilling to work with newer technologies.

“Size really doesn’t matter” anymore when companies assess India as a location, he said, pointing to the depth and width of the country’s talent pool.

The broader office market is supporting this demand. Around 45.5 million sq ft of gross leasing was recorded in the first half of calendar 2026, while vacancy declined, pushing rentals higher.

Embassy is responding with a 6.2-million-sq-ft development pipeline involving a capital outlay of ₹3,500 crore. About 60 per cent of the space planned for delivery over the next two years is already leased, reflecting strong pre-commitment demand.

The REIT is also seeing confidence to develop ahead of demand in key markets. In Chennai, it is developing 2 million sq ft at Embassy Splendid Tech Zone, while in Bengaluru it has launched a 1.4-million-sq-ft redevelopment at Manyata.

Published on August 9, 2026