Russian AI Solutions Speed Up International Trade
Russia’s digital economy is expanding beyond national borders and shaping new standards for international document processing. A notable example is Sberbank’s case: its AI system enables Indian exporters to prepare documentation for shipments to the Russian market in literally one day.
No Direct Analogues
CNBC reports that India’s exports to Russia this year amount to USD 4.88 billion. Most payments are processed through Sber, and the number of its corporate clients in India continues to grow. They are focused both on accelerating trade turnover and on faster transactions. Supporting both objectives is Sberbank’s innovative multi-agent AI solution, built on its proprietary neural network GigaChat.
The system automates the preparation of export documentation, including applications for tax-refund certificates. Previously, this process could take several months, but now it can be completed within one business day.
“There are no analogues to such a service on the Indian market,” states Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Executive Board.
Balancing Automation and Oversight
The technology works as follows: AI agents automatically read and process data from incoming documents, verify compliance with requirements, maintain transaction records, fill out necessary forms and generate regulatory reports. Final approval remains with employees of Sberbank’s Indian branch, ensuring a balance between automation and oversight. This approach not only speeds up processes but also reduces the number of human-factor errors.
Shorter document-processing cycles directly influence capital turnover, reduce costs for Indian exporters and increase their competitiveness in the Russian market. This is particularly important as Russia and India continue to expand bilateral trade — by the end of 2024, trade volume exceeded USD 70 billion, and by 2030 it may reach USD 100 billion.
Development Prospects
In the near future, Sberbank may expand the platform’s functionality. Automation of customs documentation, foreign-exchange controls and logistics forms — in other words, the entire export cycle — is possible. Such services could be offered not only to Indian companies but also to other foreign businesses interested in entering the Russian market.
Sber already positions itself as a developer of AI platforms, not only for financial institutions. It has its own IT hub in Bangalore, where specialists work alongside Russian colleagues to supply the international IT market with unique solutions. The bank is currently working with UNIDO on launching the AI SuccessHub platform for sharing AI-implementation cases among BRICS+ countries and their partners.
AI as Part of a Broader Strategy
Sber’s multi-agent AI solution for Indian exporters demonstrates the ability of Russian developers to compete globally. Moreover, this solution may become part of a broader strategy for exporting Russian software.
It is possible that the technology could serve as a template for adaptation in other markets. Given the growth of economic cooperation between Russia and friendly states, such technologies can accelerate integration into new trade chains and lower barriers for businesses.
In the context of global economic transformation and the restructuring of trade relations, innovative IT solutions are becoming critically important. They create a new digital infrastructure connecting Russia with partner countries, and their economies clearly benefit from this.
