From IPOs to MIT: AI100 unveils its fourth cohort of visionaries

In a week that witnessed big developments such as cloud computing giants investing in their data management and AI capabilities, the development of an AI facility in Texas, and new AI models from big tech companies, the fourth cohort of AI100 is also packing a punch. The lineup features a world renowned entrepreneur, a storied professor, a coder and advocate, a visionary researcher, and a tech prodigy. Together, these leaders are set to inspire and inform a new wave of AI innovators.

Learn about the intersection of AI academia and entrepreneurship – from MIT to genomics and onwards. Discover how fintech leaders are making an impact in rural farmers' lives by leveraging AI chatbots. Understand how intelligent solutions can reshape the future of global financial institutions. Explore an innovative help desk and software solution that brings order to the chaos of customer support. Follow the journey of an entrepreneur and philanthropist – from launching an IPO to founding a conversational AI platform. Each of these stories unveils a facet of the Indian AI landscape and a new avenue for the future of technology.

AI100, an initiative by YourStory and AWS, brings together the architects of the AI-driven future on one platform. Each cohort features a diverse mix of industry leaders, academicians from the finest institutions, influencers, scientists and technologists – offering a compelling window into the fascinating world of artificial intelligence.

Dheeraj Pandey

Dheeraj Pandey grew up with the nickname ‘Atal’ for his unshakeable beliefs. However, if ever a force existed to disrupt his life, it was AI. This Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Kanpur alumnus left the country with $900 dollars in his pocket and his exceptional mathematical skills, ready to make his fortune in the US. Within a few years, he made a life-changing decision to quit his PhD at the University of Texas, and moved to the Bay Area in San Francisco, where he eventually founded Nutanix with Ajeet Singh and Mohit Aron in 2009.

During this period, Pandey viewed AI with detachment, preferring to observe rather than engage. In 2016, Nutanix went public, $230 million, making it the largest VC-backed IPO in the United States that year. In 2021, following the courage of his convictions in AI, he started fourth cohort - an AI-native platform. Today, Pandey sees AI as the fuel for innovation, poised to revolutionize enterprise search, reasoning, and customer experience. Get to know this visionary leader through his views on an integrated systems approach, his ability to ask fundamental questions with confidence, and his family’s love for Japan.

Shalin Jain

Shalin Jain always had his finger on the pulse of technology. By the time he graduated from college, he already had five years of coding experience and three years of entrepreneurship under his belt. Sci-fi movies and gaming stoked his love for all things tech - especially AI.

In 2005, when he built an on-premise service desk tool, he recognised the power and potential of cloud computing. That insight led him to make HappyFox a 100% cloud-based platform. Today, AI is embedded in every layer of HappyFox’s operations, including customer interactions, internal quality assurance, marketing and development. HappyFox is a testament to his love for technology, delivering exceptional AI-driven support solutions for both customers and employees. Learn what he has to say about how humanoid robots will handle real-world tasks, how every employee needs to be an AI player, and how human judgement will still play a critical role amid tech advancements, here.

Professor Vijay Chandru

As a young man, Professor Chandru viewed his move from his hometown in Chennai to BITS Pilani as an “extraordinary pivot.” Little did he know that his life would be defined by a series of such extraordinary moments. Be it studying cybernetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), teaching at Purdue University and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) or setting up India’s first AI company – Strand Life Sciences – Professor Chandru’s career is nothing short of a tech odyssey across the AI and bioinformatics landscape.

Today, Professor Chandru dons many hats: academician, entrepreneur, research scientist, philanthropist, author, visiting scientist, and cricket enthusiast. He is deeply involved in projects, such as creating AI-driven weather models, gene editing and diagnostics and beyond. Learn about his incredible journey through the realms of decision science, robotics, machine learning, and AI-powered bioinformatics and genomics.

Mathangi

Mathangi understands a vital truth, that while technology moves at the speed of light, social progress often lags behind. Her mission, then, is to bring the two together. As Chief Data Officer at Yubi – a fintech company reshaping credit infrastructure – she is building groundbreaking AI systems.

A seasoned fintech professional, she understands the gap in financial education and access in the country. As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, she is keen on driving deeper inclusivity in tech. These twin goals have neatly dovetailed to her current work, where she builds inclusive products in different Indian languages, creates personalized educational videos for borrowers in rural India, and is openly fighting the unconscious gender bias in technology. Get to know Mathangi’s mission and her life at a deeper level, learn about her belief in building co-thinking systems in the future, and how she spends her free time coding.

Deepak Dastrala

Two and a half decades ago, Deepak Dastrala was an ambitious young engineering student striding down the halls of Vellore Institute of Technology. At the precipice of his career, he already recognised that AI would be a transformative force in the world. Today, as Partner and Chief Technology Office at Intellect Design Arena, he is wielding that force to reshape the banking and financial services industry.

Over a decade of research and development, his team has created Purple Fabric, Intellect Design Arena’s flagship platform designed to propel enterprise AI adoption for financial institutions to the next level. Dastrala has no plans to cool his heels. He has his eye on AI agents, autonomous software that can perform complex tasks and partner with humans in real-time. He truly believes that AI will amplify human potential and is on a mission to build systems that integrate empathy, intelligence and creativity.

What shifts does he see in the AI landscape? Where does ambient intelligence fit into his vision? How has travel changed his outlook? Discover more about his thoughts, career highlights and vision for the future by visiting his profile.