MUMBAI: The salary ladder is getting a little more intelligent. AI skills are commanding the sharpest pay growth in India’s technology market, with salaries for AI professionals rising 12 per cent year-on-year in 2026, after a 10 per cent increase in 2025.
According to the latest foundit Insights Tracker, that translates into 23 per cent compounded growth over two years, the strongest increase among the IT and IT-enabled services categories tracked. The trend also highlights a widening divide between specialised capabilities that businesses are actively seeking and more established technology roles.
The premium starts early. AI professionals with 0–3 years of experience earn between Rs 8.87 lakh and Rs 15.41 lakh a year, while those with more than 15 years can command Rs 70.99 lakh to Rs 89.24 lakh annually.
Cybersecurity is another high-value skill set, with Computer & Network Security recording 9 per cent salary growth in 2026 and 19 per cent over two years. At the senior end, professionals with more than 15 years of experience can earn as much as Rs 97.81 lakh, the highest salary ceiling among the categories tracked.
The contrast with mainstream IT roles is stark. Professionals with 0–3 years in Information Technology and IT Services earn between Rs 2.68 lakh and Rs 5.08 lakh, while those with more than 15 years earn Rs 57.55 lakh–Rs 72.13 lakh. Both categories saw salaries decline 1 per cent in 2026.
The broader technology market tells a similar story. Data Mining salaries rose 7 per cent in 2026 and 14 per cent over two years, while Analytics grew 5 per cent in 2026 and 13 per cent over two years. Computer Software recorded 1 per cent growth in 2026 after 7 per cent in 2025, giving it 8 per cent growth over two years. Enterprise Software rose 2 per cent in 2026 after 6 per cent in 2025, also reaching 8 per cent over two years.
At the other end of the spectrum, several legacy segments have been losing ground. Internet salaries declined 2 per cent in both 2025 and 2026, resulting in a 4 per cent two-year fall. Computer Hardware fell 3 per cent in 2025 and 4 per cent in 2026, while E-commerce dropped 4 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. Both ended with a 7 per cent decline over two years.
Information Technology salaries fell 1 per cent in 2026, after growing 5 per cent in 2025, leaving two-year growth at 4 per cent. Information Technology and Services also declined 1 per cent in 2026 after 3 per cent growth in 2025, resulting in just 2 per cent growth over two years.
The skills premium is spreading beyond traditional technology too. Semiconductor salaries rose 17 per cent over two years, accelerating from 7 per cent to 9 per cent, while Industrial Automation grew 13 per cent, with annual growth moving from 5 per cent to 8 per cent. Senior Industrial Automation professionals can earn up to Rs 58.90 lakh, compared with a Rs 48.49 lakh ceiling for senior semiconductor professionals. Automotive salaries increased 6 per cent in the latest year.
Specialised healthcare roles are also seeing stronger pay growth. Medical Practice led with 8 per cent, with senior salaries reaching Rs 56.70 lakh. Medical Devices grew 6 per cent, while Pharmaceuticals rose 4 per cent. Real Estate and Digital Marketing each recorded 7 per cent growth, while Oil & Energy increased 6 per cent.
Financial services were more measured, with Venture Capital & Private Equity salaries rising 5 per cent, followed by Investment Banking at 3 per cent and Banking at 2 per cent.
Location, meanwhile, still has a major say in the size of the AI pay packet. Bengaluru remains the highest-paying AI market, with senior professionals earning between Rs 61.70 lakh and Rs 91.25 lakh. Senior AI compensation in the city is around 10–15 per cent higher than in NCR and Mumbai, and the gap can reach 40 per cent compared with Chennai at the senior level.
Hyderabad is emerging as another significant AI market, supported by investments in global capability centres and product engineering. Pune and Chennai are also developing specialist premiums around automotive AI, industrial automation and manufacturing analytics, suggesting that the application of AI is becoming almost as important as the technology itself.
The metro advantage becomes more pronounced with experience. AI professionals in Tier-2 cities earn around 28 per cent less than their metro counterparts at 0–3 years, with the gap at 27–29 per cent for 4–6 years and around 28 per cent for 7–10 years. For those with 11–15 years, the gap widens to around 29–30 per cent, while professionals with more than 15 years face a difference of about 31 per cent. The tracker includes Tier-2 markets such as Coimbatore, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Indore.
The salary shift comes as hiring shows tentative signs of stabilisation. Overall hiring rose 5 per cent month-on-month in August, although it remained 10 per cent below the previous year. Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals posted 16 per cent annual hiring growth, Travel & Tourism rose 22 per cent and Real Estate increased 10 per cent. Medical roles grew 23 per cent, while Marketing & Communications rose 20 per cent.
Experience is also reshaping the hiring picture. Hiring among professionals with 7–10 years of experience increased 10 per cent year-on-year, while entry-level hiring for those with 0–3 years fell 9 per cent. Hiring among professionals with more than 15 years declined 11 per cent.
Among major cities, Bengaluru led hiring momentum with 5 per cent year-on-year growth, followed by Hyderabad and Kochi, while Chandigarh and Kolkata recorded the sharpest declines among the cities tracked.
The message from the numbers is becoming difficult to ignore: in India’s evolving jobs market, experience still matters, but specialised skills are increasingly deciding how much that experience is worth.