The Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla, noted that companies are adopting a more measured approach to investments in artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on tangible returns, productivity enhancement, and prudent capital allocation. He emphasized that the focus is shifting from an 'AI arms race' to an 'AI return race.'
Birla stated that a year ago there was a sense of fear regarding AI potentially 'swallowing' a company if one was not fully knowledgeable about it. However, this fear has now dissipated, and discussions have moved toward what benefits AI can bring to business, including enterprises within the Aditya Birla Group. He cautioned, however, against making AI investments solely due to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).
He added that the implementation approach will be more gradual than previously anticipated, given the substantial investments involved. The Group is studying the impact of AI across its entire structure, and specific areas yielding results have already been identified, such as improving customer interfaces, increasing production efficiency, and boosting net interest margins in the Group's financial business.
Furthermore, Birla pointed out that for a large, diversified group to grow, effective capital allocation, consideration of geopolitical changes, and maintaining employee enthusiasm are crucial. He noted that growth is impossible without constant demands on capital. Since the Group is a global organization, any significant world event will inevitably affect it.
Aditya Birla Group, led by Kumar Mangalam Birla, operates in over 20 sectors across 41 countries on six continents, employs over 2.27 lakh people, and has more than 600 manufacturing units. The Group's financial results for FY26 were approximately $72 billion in revenue and $8.5 billion in EBITDA.
Birla also stressed the critical importance of maintaining high morale in a people-driven organization, as the lines between important and urgent become blurred. He believes that people are the decisive factor, and maintaining their energy and engagement is no less important a task.
To ensure business sustainability, Birla cited continuous learning and operational stability as key prerequisites for achieving scale at low cost. The Group's manufacturing enterprises aim to be in the bottom tenth percentile of the global cost curve. Specifically, the Group's cement capacity reached 200 million tons this year, making it the largest cement producer outside of China, and the company added 2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to its cement business. He concluded that systematic movement of knowledge and personnel between different units helps maintain the pace of business, and best global practices adopted in some units set a global standard.