India’s next boom will be in creativity, Adobe CEO says at WAVES 2025

The rise of generative AI will enable India to forge a new economic boom built on creativity, Adobe Chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen told global industry leaders and creative professionals last week at the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai, India.

Inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India and hosted by the Indian government, WAVES 2025 brought together dignitaries, ambassadors, global industry leaders, policymakers, academics, celebrated artists, and content creators from more than 90 countries to shape the future of storytelling, technology, and creative talent in India and beyond.

“Given the size and breadth of the creative opportunity that AI unlocks, it’s fair to say that India’s next growth as an economy won’t be in software code but in creativity,” Narayen said, pointing to the potential of India’s booming digital and creative ecosystem.

During his keynote, he emphasized India’s opportunity to train local large language models on India-specific data, to revolutionize production with hyper-localized and personalized content, and to define the future of work, creativity and global contribution with AI. Watch the full keynote here.

Fuelling creativity in India

At the summit, Adobe also announced a series of strategic partnerships with educational institutions and businesses — all focused on equipping the next generation of Indian creators with the power of Adobe’s industry-leading creative tools.

• A partnership with Tata Consultancy Services to launch a new AI-powered Creative Experience Studio (ACES).
• A partnership with the Indian Institute of Creative Technology to advance digital creativity and innovation in education.
• Collaboration with Accenture to help students from 50+ design institutes in India gain new skills.
• Collaboration with WAVES Bazaar, a global e-marketplace, to help sellers elevate their marketing with standout creative content and provide India’s best creative talent access to leading creative products.

Adobe’s presence in India spans more than 25 years. WAVES was another monumental opportunity to build on this foundation and strengthen the company’s commitment to advancing digital skilling and creative ecosystems in the nation.

Read the media release for more details about these partnerships.

Transforming education for 20 million young creators

Adobe Express, the quick and easy content creation app, is making creativity accessible to students across India. To accelerate digital creativity and AI skills for students in India, Adobe is working with the Ministry of Education to integrate Adobe Express into the national curriculum — aiming to reach 20 million students and 500,000 educators in the coming years.

Over the past year, the number of monthly active users of Adobe Express in India has tripled. Bringing the power of generative AI and linguistic diversity to millions, Express offers features in eight Indian languages. To scale this impact further, Adobe now plans to deliver one million new localized Express templates to empower students, educators, and content creators nationwide.

Leading with responsible AI

In his keynote, Narayen emphasized the importance of establishing responsible AI practices to further bolster local industry growth and spur unprecedented creator activity in India. He called for stronger public-private partnerships to establish responsible AI practices, develop ethical datasets, and create frontier AI models accessible to students, researchers, and industry professionals. Adobe is working with the Indian government to develop policies that govern the safe and responsible use of AI.

Adobe continues to champion these values through the Content Authenticity Initiative — a global standard for transparent content attribution. More than 4,500 organizations, including major Indian media outlets such as The Times of India and Press Trust of India, are now a part of this growing movement to protect digital creativity.

Shaping the future together

As India sets its sights on a trillion-dollar digital economy, the creative sector will play a defining role in this transformation. Whether it's democratizing design in classrooms, building ethical guardrails for AI, or enabling creators to monetize their talent globally, Adobe is powering the platforms, tools and trust needed to turn India’s creative potential into global impact.