Our Co-founder and CEO, Mohit Bhende, recently returned from a trip to India with a whole lot of observations and insights. It’s safe to say India’s role in the global engineering landscape is evolving fast. From #AI adoption to leadership development, these shifts are already reshaping how organizations build and scale engineering teams. 👇
I just spent the last week traveling across Hyderabad and Bangalore. I met an amazing group of leaders: country heads from leading banks and tech firms and COOs at the world's largest IT service providers– people who collectively manage over one million software engineers. A few observations: 1. India is further along the AI curve than most realize. Though China often gets the attention, our data shows that 91% of organizations in India are already using AI in engineering workflows, compared to 81% in the U.S. and 79% in China. More from our latest India Engineering Workforce Transformation report in comments. 2. It’s time to reinvent the ITSP business model. India invented the BPO model. Now, IT services firms are undergoing a transformation towards higher-order skills and outcomes delivered. To do so, they need a way to differentiate themselves based on the quality of people and products offered. And that is exactly where Karat comes in. I'm excited to partner with the key players in this ecosystem to help make this structural shift happen. 3. A new wave of Indian leaders needs to emerge. India has built one of the world’s greatest execution engines. Vision is a different strength. There is a lot of potential to cultivate leaders who can lead global functions and build entire companies. That requires two things: moving the education system towards critical thinking and interdisciplinary skills, and a mindset shift towards creating and positive risk-taking. 4. All that said, India’s global influence is clearly on the rise. A year ago, most senior leaders I'd met with were running local operations (Country Heads). Now nearly every leader also runs a global function. Further, GCCs are becoming a real force for change. 83% are already investing in GenAI and more than half have already moved into agentic AI systems, embedding AI into core products and business processes for some of the world's largest companies. These are real signals of growing appreciation for what can be built there. I came away more enthused than ever about India’s prospects on the global stage. On a more personal note: I also managed to squeeze in some amazing family time in Bombay and indulge in plenty of Malvani Konkani food and cricket with my nephews and nieces. Special thanks to Ron Jethani and Tanuj Vohra for organizing the trip. And I will be back very soon. Jai Hind. 🇮🇳 #India #AI #engineering #Karat