New Delhi, July 16 -- Voice is fast becoming the defining layer of human-AI interaction in India, despite being the most challenging to train. Artificial intelligence (AI) startups are sharpening their focus on sculpting this intgeraction with design, authentic emotion, and intent. Yet, India presents a unique challenge: the sheer diversity of its accents, languages, and tonalities.

Unlike text, which is relatively uniform, spoken language is richly-layered-with cultural nuances, colloquialisms and emotion. Startups building voice-first AI models are now doubling down on one thing above all else: the depth and diversity of datasets.

In India, where oral tradition plays a pivotal role in communication, voice isn't just a convenience-it's...