Indian companies are shelling out huge premiums for artificial intelligence (AI) talent, as competition intensifies in the job market for a skillset that is hard to find.

Everyone from consumer Internet players and technology companies to financial services and automakers is betting big on AI, but the local talent pool for them to tap into is extremely limited. The demand-supply mismatch is driving up salaries. AI professionals are getting 60-80% hikes while switching jobs, compared with an average of 20-30% in other skill areas.

Even an entry-level AI role can command a 70%-plus premium over that of a plain vanilla computer science (CS) engineer, say recruitment firms and industry experts. Professionals with around 8-10 years of experience, with two-three years of that in AI, can easily get annual packages upwards of Rs 50 lakh, going up to Rs 1 crore and more while for those in senior strategic roles, salaries are up to Rs 2.5-3 crore.

“The entry salary of a CS engineer is Rs 3-3.5 lakh while that of an entry AI role is Rs 5.5-6 lakh,” said Anurag Malik, partner, people advisory services at EY India. “The majority of people with AI specialisation in India got into the area over the last two-three years. The maximum supply gap is of middle-level folks with 5-7 years of experience, as they are just not available.”

Source: https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/corporate-news/artificial-intelligence-commands-huge-premium-in-job-market/67951831