Top 13 Indian GenAI Leaders to Follow in 2024

Yana Khare 30 Jul, 2024
8 min read

Introduction

Generative AI (GenAI) is rapidly gaining traction in India and is embraced by enterprises across various sectors and a growing number of GenAI-based SaaS startups. Supported by proactive government policies, the landscape includes major IT and software giants like TCS, Infosys, IBM, and Salesforce, diving into the GenAI wave. Globally, GenAI investments soared to over $12 billion in FY23, with Indian startups securing $590 million in the same period.

Indian enterprises increasingly recognize GenAI’s potential, with 63% of executives considering it crucial for sustainability efforts and 76% planning to boost investments in this technology. Collaborative efforts among industry leaders are accelerating GenAI adoption and operational efficiencies. Startups like Vodex, MachineHack, and Nocturnal are revolutionizing customer support, sales, and healthcare sectors. This article highlights the top 13 Indian GenAI leaders setting benchmarks in AI application, research, and development, driving ethical and impactful deployment worldwide.

Rohini Srivathsa

At Microsoft, Rohini Srivathsa oversees investments in cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence to foster creativity and strategic expansion. She recognizes and supports startups and projects that align with Microsoft’s vision.

Rohini Srivathsa is crucial in advancing genAI through AI research and development investments. She backs projects that promote the advancement of AI technologies, allowing Microsoft to incorporate AI features in its products and services, ultimately improving their effectiveness and influence.

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Anand C

Indian GenAI leaders

Anand Chandrasekaran is an Indian entrepreneur and business executive. He was the former Chief Product officer of Snapdeal and Airtel. Chandrasekaran earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications Engineering from PSG College of Technology and his master’s in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Anand is the Founder and President of Crescendo, an AI-first contact center business co-created and backed by General Catalyst (GC). Anand C has helped advise organizations on AI strategy, implementation, and scaling, making valuable contributions to genAI. He assists customers in grasping AI’s potential, building AI skills, and incorporating AI into their processes to enhance business value and spur innovation.

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Shailendra Kumar

Shailendra Kumar, an Indian GenAI leader, is the Head of Data and Artificial Intelligence at NEOM Hotels. He has engineering experience and has held multiple leadership positions in technology-focused logistics firms.

He has helped design and architect a scalable and robust data infrastructure leveraging cutting-edge technologies to support the immersive guest experience for The Line at NEOM. Furthermore, he helps execute and orchestrate advanced Artificial Intelligence processes, harnessing machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and deep learning models to drive innovation and operational efficiency at NEOM.

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Arvind Krishna

Indian GenAI leaders

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Debjani Ghosh

Debjani Ghosh has greatly aided India’s use of AI. She has helped initiatives that develop AI expertise, advance AI research, and create a strong atmosphere fostering AI creativity. She has initiated programs and formed partnerships via NASSCOM to speed up the implementation of AI solutions in different industries, thus enhancing the overall AI environment.

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Ashwini Asokan

Indian GenAI leaders

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By creating AI platforms like Vue.ai, which uses computer vision and machine learning to enhance the retail business, Ashwini Asokan has significantly advanced genAI. Her work has democratized AI, increasing its use and benefits for companies of all sizes. She strongly supports the development of ethical AI and inclusive technology.

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Amit Prakash

Amit Prakash is the co-founder and CTO of ThoughtSpot, which focuses on creating AI-driven analytics and business intelligence platforms. He has extensive experience in building large-scale data systems and AI technologies.

Before co-founding ThoughtSpot, Amit worked at Google and Microsoft, contributing to significant projects like Google’s AdSense and AdWords. His expertise lies in the intersection of AI, data, and scalable systems, which has been instrumental in ThoughtSpot’s development and success.

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Sharath Keshava Narayana

Indian GenAI leaders

Sharath Keshava Narayana is the co-founder and COO of Sanas.AI, a company specializing in real-time accent translation technology. He brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise software sales and AI, and is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor.

Before Sanas, Sharath co-founded Observe.AI, a company focused on enhancing contact center operations through AI. He served as the Chief Revenue Officer and played a crucial role in its growth to unicorn status in under five years. He is also involved with Carya Venture Partners, which invests in innovative tech startups.

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Swapnil Jain

Swapnil Jain, , is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ather Energy, an Indian company specializing in electric vehicles (EVs), particularly smart electric scooters. He co-founded Ather Energy in 2013 along with Tarun Mehta, motivated by the vision to create an intelligent electric vehicle ecosystem in India.

Swapnil holds a degree in Engineering Design from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. His background includes significant work in automotive and electronic system design. Before starting Ather Energy, he gained valuable experience working with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and General Motors, where he developed an understanding of automotive production and systems.

Ather Energy is known for its innovative approach to electric vehicles. Their flagship products, such as the Ather 450 and 450X, are equipped with advanced features, including cloud connectivity, real-time diagnostics, and a robust public charging network called Ather Grid. These scooters are designed to focus on user experience, integrating data to enhance performance and battery life. The company has also emphasized building an EV ecosystem, including developing proprietary technologies for battery management and charging infrastructure.

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Bhavish Aggarwal

Indian GenAI leaders

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Aakanksha Chowdhery

Her contribution to the subject is increasing the intelligence and capacity of AI systems to tackle challenging challenges, which advances AI research and application breakthroughs.

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Vishal Virani

Indian GenAI leaders

Vishal Virani is the co-founder and CEO of DhiWise, a platform designed to automate the programming lifecycle by generating production-ready source code. With a background in engineering and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Vishal and his college friend Rahul Shingala started an IT consulting firm that grew to a team of 150 developers. This experience highlighted the inefficiencies in repetitive front-end development tasks, leading them to create DhiWise.

DhiWise aims to streamline the development process, making it faster and more efficient for developers. Under Vishal’s leadership, the platform has garnered significant attention and accolades, including the prestigious Golden Kitty Award from Product Hunt. The company, headquartered in Surat, India, has successfully raised funding and quickly attracted thousands of beta users.

Vishal’s journey with DhiWise reflects his commitment to solving real-world problems for developers. Furthermore, it showcases his ability to transition from managing a service consultancy to leading a product-focused company. His vision is to revolutionize programming, saving developers time and increasing productivity.

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Anima Anandkumar

Indian GenAI leaders

Amina Anandkumar is a Bren professor at Caltech and serves as a Senior Director of AI Research at NVIDIA. She was previously a Principal Scientist at Amazon Web Services as well. Anandkumar holds degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Cornell University and is a fellow of ACM, IEEE, and the Alfred P. Solan Foundation.

She is an influencer with over 150k followers and shares updates on large-scale machine learning, non-convex optimization, and high-dimensional statistics. Her work in developing novel artificial intelligence has accelerated AI’s scientific applications, including scientific simulations, weather forecasting, and drug design. Her HPC-based COVID-19 Research was recognized at NeurIPS and was awarded the ACM Gordon Bell Special Prize.

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Conclusion

The impressive skills and creativity of the top 15 Indian GenAI leaders highlight India’s strong presence in AI. Their efforts push the limits of AI technology and showcase its ability to address actual issues and enhance quality of life. Continuing to innovate in AI research and application, these leaders are establishing a worldwide standard for excellence and influence. The hard work of Indian GenAI leaders has laid the foundation for a future in which AI is smoothly incorporated into all our lives. Thus advancing and promoting a more intelligent, interconnected world.

Yana Khare 30 Jul, 2024

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