Venture capitalists are sitting on $20 billion of cash to invest in Indian start-ups and the most important theme on their mind at the moment is artificial intelligence (AI), Peak XV Partners Managing Director Rajan Anandan said on December 13.

"India has $20 billion of dry powder, that is Rs 1.6 lakh crore of venture capital dry powder, waiting to be invested. And the number one thing that we're all going after is AI," Anandan said at the Global Partnership for AI Summit in Delhi.

"We have 400 active companies in India, about 100 of them are software product companies that are targeting the world, and 25 are AI companies," he added.

The VC investor said that his firm has an investment thesis to look for startups applying AI products and services to solve the biggest problems of the largest companies in the world.

"Over the next 15 to 20 years, India will have at least 50 billion-dollar new companies that are going to solve problems of the largest companies around the world," he added.