Mukund Jha is the Co-founder and CTO of Dunzo, the hyperlocal delivery app. He is responsible for building the core tech that drives Dunzo. He is also instrumental in taking the platform from WhatsApp to an AI and ML-driven app.
Born in Chandigarh, Mukund’s father was an electrical engineer and his mother a homemaker. He says his love for engineering comes from his father. Prior to founding Dunzo, he worked with Google, Columbia Business School, and also started up in the US with Wisdom.ly.
View on technology
“Technology has played the role of a great equaliser. Access to information is now at your fingertips, and that information is transformative. With this ease and access to technology, people are now not willing to wait - convenience has a far greater price in this world and we’re seeing innovative solutions come from age-old problems that have existed. A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine drones or driverless cars; these are now very real possibilities being experimented across the world. So how does it shape work? ”
Key tech focus
Built automated systems and workflows at Dunzo
Brought in AI and ML into order management systems
Role of AI and ML
Subject matter expertise is no longer a deal-breaker for a role or for talent.
The ability to be resourceful is preferred over being an expert limited by his/her field of work .
Work is now automated, so talent needs to have exceptional skill sets that AI is yet to develop.
Machine Learning and Data Science will accelerate productivity and fuel economic growth. They will also improve efficiency, convenience, and safety.
Once the adoption is mainstreamed and prioritised across companies and sectors, everything will eventually go through an AI filter. Decision making will be highly impacted by the data companies gather about their users, making everything more personalised.
A lot of people will evolve into doing more complex job functions.
Top challenges
Skill: There’s isn’t a big enough talent pool to hire from currently. In the next decade, companies and talent may need to invest in upskilling to support the changing structure of traditional companies.
Speed: With emerging technology, adoption is always in phases. Most people are still in the experimentation and early adoption phase. Recognising the potential of new technologies will require companies to keep pace with the ever-evolving nature of technology. Companies futureproofing their value proposition will have to redefine their existence in the context of digital economies. For example, for a logistics company like Dunzo to retain its proposition of instant gratification and fast deliveries, it needs to start exploring some form of emerging logistics tech like drones, or a pneumatic tube system.
Regulation: Technology always precedes regulation and infrastructure. Industries that are shaping the future with technology need to work with government authorities to build for tomorrow.
