Davos 2026: Indian govt taking a responsible, thoughtful approach to AI innovation, says Meta's Joel Kaplan

Meta chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan

• Meta's Kaplan praises India's pro-innovation approach to AI regulation and growth
• He suggests India focus on application layer over foundational models
• Meta to integrate Manus autonomous agent into services for Indian businesses

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The Indian government is taking a responsible and thoughtful approach to artificial intelligence innovation, Meta's chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan told Moneycontrol at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21.

"They are trying to ensure that they have a pro-growth, pro-innovation model, intentionally not trying to adopt the European model," Kaplan said.

He noted that the government recognises how valuable tech innovations are for entrepreneurs and small businesses, which reflects in the general approach the Indian government has adopted. "The DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) regulation was also quite consultative and deliberate," he added.

Also read: Davos 2026: India 'hugely important' for Meta's wearable and AI device strategy, says CTO Andrew Bosworth

Should India invest in foundational models or the application layer?

Kaplan also weighed in on the ongoing debate within India's startup ecosystem: should the country focus on building foundational AI models or dominating the application layer?

"In terms of where India should make the investment, I think that the application layer is the right place. The scale of the investment that's required to build these foundation models is quite significant and I am not sure it's the best allocation of taxpayer resources or capital," he said.

Kaplan said there is a huge opportunity for the Indian developer community to focus on the application layer. "That's what they're really going to deliver, the services and experiences that Indian consumers and businesses are going to value," he added.

Earlier today, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis also told Moneycontrol that India should focus on applied AI at present, given there are enough foundation model providers

"I would probably say applied AI is the right place to focus at this point ... work with foundation model providers," he said.

Also read: PM Modi’s embrace of open-source AI signals a more democratic tech future, says Meta's Joel Kaplan

Why is India important for Meta?

With a combined user base of over a billion monthly users, India is the largest market for Meta's family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. India is also a crucial region for Meta's future growth, particularly with its AI efforts.

The country, one of the largest markets for paid messaging globally, is also central to Meta's business messaging ambitions, which have become a strategic priority as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on digital advertising.

"We just acquired Manus, which is the leading general-purpose autonomous agent. We're going to be integrating that into all of our services, including WhatsApp. I think small businesses in India are going to jump at the chance to take advantage of that," Kaplan said.

In December, Meta acquired Singapore-based Manus that has built a popular autonomous general-purpose agent that can independently execute complex tasks like market research, coding, and data analysis.

“Manus is already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses worldwide ... We plan to scale this service to many more businesses,” Meta stated at the time.