Artificial intelligence (AI) skill demand in India's Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) sector jumped nearly three-fold in two years between 2023 and 2025, reflecting a sharp shift in hiring trends, according to a report.
In its report released on Thursday, hiring solutions provider CIEL HR said AI-linked skill demand in the CDMO sector surged to 17.2% in 2025 from 6.2% in 2023.
The report further revealed that AI demand remained highest in technology and digital roles at nearly 38%.
The CIEL HR report is based on inputs from over 50 CDMO and pharma manufacturing organisations operating in India across calendar years 2023, 2024 and 2025.
These companies collectively represent API manufacturing, formulations, biologics, speciality pharma, contract manufacturing and integrated development platforms. Demand intelligence was derived from more than 50 companies by analysing hiring trends across calendar years.
The report further stated that, overall, the CDMO sector saw a 52 per cent increase in talent demand between 2023 and 2025, indicating sustained capacity expansion and rising complexity in outsourced pharmaceutical programmes.
Manufacturing and operations emerged as the largest segments, accounting for 1,820 roles in 2025. However, growth in these functions remained the slowest among all positions, at around 8 per cent year-on-year. Hiring momentum is increasingly shifting away from labour intensity toward automation, planning accuracy and quality predictability, the report added.
The report, however, found a widening gap between demand and available talent, particularly in high-value roles.
While demand for AI skills in research and development roles increased to 24 per cent, the supply of AI-skilled talent in these functions remained below 1 per cent, creating a significant execution constraint.
The report also outlined geographic concentrations, with over 60 per cent of CDMO talent clustered across fewer key states, led by Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana, increasing dependence on limited talent pools.
At the same time, emerging hubs like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and NCR have a lot of catch-up to do, the report stated.
"The CDMO sector is entering a phase where competitive advantage will be the ability to integrate intelligence into every layer of operations. AI is becoming central to how research is accelerated, manufacturing is optimised and client commitments are delivered. The real challenge ahead is building depth of talent that can translate this potential into consistent outcomes at scale," CIEL HR MD and CEO Aditya Narayana Mishra said.
