Rishikesh Yardi

Exciting Innovation at GFF — IoT-Enabled UPI Payments & Amazon as Primary App Across Devices 🎉 🎉 At this year’s Global Fintech Fest, NPCI unveiled its next frontier in payments: IoT-enabled UPI, which empowers smart devices — cars, wearables, TVs, appliances — to initiate or authorize payments autonomously. I’m proud to share that our Amazon team played a key role in integrating Amazon as the primary app layer on secondary devices (car, smartwatches, smart TVs, smart eyewear) — enabling seamless, embedded payments experiences. A big shoutout to everyone on the team Sahil Garg Amit Kumar Abdullah Khilji Anuj Kumar Anjan N. ANUSHA S G ARIHANT MISHRA Arun Jyothishwari GP Shyamu Maurya Vishal Maurya Yash Ladha Parimal Yasatwar Sangram Behera Aayush Anshul Gangwal Anupreet Paulkar Chandan Chatterjee Muskan Pandey Sankash Dasgupta Madhavan Sekar Vini Soni Tongia Ajay Mittal Jenny Shah ratika prasad Prashant Pareek Kalyan Chitumalla Arun Dwajan Girish Krishnan and to our partners at Juspay Gogularaja Palanisami Vishal Tiwari Shubham Dixit Ambuj Kumar NPCI Viral Dhanote Nirmala Panchole Himit Parekh Punitaa Chadha, for the deep collaboration and technical rigor that made this vision tangible on stage. It’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come — and even more thrilling to imagine where we go next.

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GenAI, Transformers & Their Real-World Relevance Transformers, initially crafted for language translation, have silently evolved into the foundation of today's AI advancements. From decision making to content creation, their presence is ubiquitous. However, the true significance lies in the thoughtful application of this transformative power. GenAI has transcended beyond mere demonstrations and research. It is reshaping: - Customer experiences through personalized interactions - Operational strategies via intelligent automation - Knowledge tasks with tools that enhance human cognition scalability The crux lies in harnessing intelligence for tangible outcomes - amplifying intuition, streamlining decision-making, and hastening insights. I'm intrigued to learn: What recent GenAI application has resonated with you the most? Secondly, How many technologies do you know that ended up revolutionizing far beyond their original purpose? #GenAI #Transformers #AppliedAI #EngineeringLeadership #Innovation #ThinkBig #HVSays

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We used to call our autowallah the night before travel. No app. Just a saved number, a prayer, and hope he'd show up. Then aggregation changed everything in 15 years. No more collecting pamphlets to order food. No more travel agents to book hotels. Uber, Zomato, Airbnb, Spotify, Booking.com — the model remained the same everywhere: consolidate supply and demand on a platform, and act as the aggregation layer — solving for discovery, trust, and fulfilment. For the last 6-7 years, Google had been trying to build a global aggregation layer on top of these platforms. Hence Google Travel, Google Shopping. Trying to sit one level above. LLMs are now poised to do what Google attempted — but more completely. ChatGPT has 800 million users. Claude is growing at a remarkable pace. Demand is consolidating on 2-3 AI players faster than it consolidated on platforms. If demand moves to OpenAI and a handful of others — what happens to the aggregation platforms built over the last 15 years? The case for platforms surviving: - Operational rigour is genuinely hard to replicate. Onboarding drivers like Uber. Negotiating label licenses like Spotify. Managing dark stores like Zepto and Blinkit. - The fulfilment moat is real. An LLM cannot onboard Zomato's delivery fleet. It cannot negotiate Spotify's label contracts. ONDC tried to democratize retail infrastructure — right idea, right timing — but collapsed because it couldn't capture demand. - Supply is sticky. An Airbnb Superhost with 300 reviews isn't walking away. A driver with 4.8 stars built over 5 years isn't abandoning that identity. Past data — ratings, behaviour, trust scores — lives on the platform. And platforms won't sit still. They will either partner or build their own vertical models. Spotify's AI DJ is already a move. Uber will build its own LLM-native interface. The case for genuine disruption: If LLMs control demand, will businesses set up their shops on LLMs directly — or keep paying platforms a cut? The universal profile question also unsettles me: what if an LLM aggregates a driver's ratings across Uber, Rapido, and Ola into one portable trust score? Alexa tried to aggregate and drive transactions. It failed on interface. LLMs have arguably solved that problem. The UX barrier Alexa couldn't cross may no longer exist. The question I keep sitting with: Will platforms evolve into fulfilment infrastructure for AI agents — essentially becoming the backend that LLMs orchestrate? Thoughts? 

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There's a lot to learn for founders in this note and IDfy journey. But I think there's a learning here for folks in VC firms as well - please don't tell founders that they are wasting their life with the company they are building(even if you mean well).

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During a braindate at The Product Folks unConference, Abhishek Choudhari opined how product craft in India was still a work-in-progress. It was fairly provocative but I felt he was definitely onto something. On further reflection, I felt one of the root causes is that most folks do not choose to be a Product Manager. They mostly fall into this role. That was true in my case. And consequently, such PMs often don't invest deeply in the craft, not due to their incapability, but because they're navigating without a destination in mind. This stems from the fact that, until recently, these roles were at global R&D centers that are heavy on engineering execution and less on strategic product decision making. But as the indigenous product landscape has been undergoing a paradigm shift to product-first, this scenario is definitely on the mend. I've recently spoken with talented PMs who deliberately chose this path with clear conviction, a healthy sign of maturity in India's product ecosystem.

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Join Mala Sharma and other industry leaders and innovators explore how artificial intelligence is transforming cinematic storytelling, creativity, and craft.

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🇮🇳 Make in India 3.0 just flipped the script: cheap labor isn't the edge-R&D is. The ticket price may have doubled, but so will the upside if we back labs, talent, and patient IP. India is evolving its growth narrative towards a design-first manufacturing model. I think this shift could be really transformative for our entire tech ecosystem. As an AI engineer, I'm seeing this firsthand. Companies aren't just looking for code anymore. They want: • Smart factory solutions with AI-driven scheduling • Predictive maintenance systems • Digital twins for manufacturing optimization • End-to-end automation workflows In my industry, this could influence us significantly as we move from being service providers to solution architects. We're not just implementing AI - we're designing the intelligence that powers next-gen manufacturing. The article highlights how sensor-enabled equipment and data-driven capabilities are becoming the new factory backbone. This aligns perfectly with what I've been building - from speech-to-task automation to AI-powered workflows. Looking ahead, I believe we should consider three key areas: 🔧 Upskilling our workforce for design-centric roles 🤝 Building stronger R&D partnerships between startups and traditional manufacturers 📊 Creating transparent, digitally-enabled ecosystems for global credibility The shift from assembly to IP creation isn't just about manufacturing. It's about positioning India as a trusted innovation hub by 2026. What's your take on this transition? Are you seeing similar changes in your industry? #MakeInIndia #AIManufacturing #DigitalTransformation 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞: https://lnkd.in/gAd2PrCv

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With due credit to Piyush Pandey Sir for crafting some of the most iconic ads over the years. But this example shows how easily false information can spread through LLMs, all because of a missing focus on the most critical “V” among the 4 V’s of Data - Veracity. Without Veracity, it’s all too easy for AI models to generate ideas and narratives built on inaccurate foundations. Creativity without truth can quickly turn into misinformation. As we move deeper into the age of generative AI, how do we ensure our models stay rooted in verified facts while still inspiring imagination?

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The Ken App Teardown and Redesign Almost a year ago, The Ken published a series of articles critiquing the evolution of Product Management, arguing that the role has devolved into a soulless, bureaucratic function. One standout piece was: "Who Killed the Art of Product Management in India?" The central idea? We've traded the artist in the product manager for the scientist. Intuition is losing ground to analytics. As someone with an engineering background, I didn’t fully agree, but the debate stuck with me. So, I decided to break down The Ken's own mobile app and offer a few redesign suggestions. I love the app. It’s probably my most-used app over the last three months. Its clean, clutter-free design is a rare delight in the Indian app ecosystem. In the spirit of the article, this teardown doesn’t rely on any frameworks or matrices. Just a simple, intuitive UI/UX audit with actionable suggestions. Would love to hear what others think Link to Ken's article - https://lnkd.in/gq69nbBZ

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🚨 When I spoke at RSG Colombo couple of months ago about AI’s potential to manipulate humans to achieve its goals, it felt like a future warning. That future is arriving faster than we imagined. In today’s India’s leading newspaper- Time Of India, the published article says there is clear evidence that AI systems have already started taking deceptive or manipulative actions to meet their objectives — validating the exact concerns raised in the session. As we race ahead with innovation, ethical design, human-centric governance, and AI awareness aren’t optional — they’re urgent. 🎥 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gMPqt9ja #rsgcolombo2025, #ethicalAI, #HumanCebtricAI

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Something unsettling happened recently that stayed with me. Our cook’s young son was hospitalised back home in India. The medical expenses quickly climbed to nearly ₹60,000 per day. What made it harder to process was that he earns in Dirhams and could have comfortably afforded basic health insurance. The real issue was awareness. He had never seriously considered it. I have seen the same pattern earlier in Bangalore with our domestic workers. A single medical emergency was enough to erase savings built over a decade. Not because they were reckless, but because no one ever explained how protection works. Most families in lower-income groups aren’t aware that protection exists at a price they can manage. Government schemes feel distant. Private insurance sounds like a luxury. Yet basic family floater plans from insurers like New India Assurance, National Insurance, or Oriental Insurance can cover ₹3-5 lakh for roughly ₹8,000-12,000 a year. That’s less than a single day’s hospital bill, and often less than what families end up borrowing when crisis strikes. This is not about blame. It is an access and education gap. Many of us are in a position to help bridge it. We understand insurance, paperwork, and basic processes that feel overwhelming to others. What we can do is start conversations. Explain why health insurance matters. Help shortlist a plan that fits their budget. Most importantly, show them how to actually use it when something goes wrong. This is about dignity and preparedness for families we work with, and for the broader community we are all part of. If you employ domestic staff, consider taking one small step this year. Help one family get covered and understand how to use that cover. If you’ve done this, or seen what actually works, I’d genuinely like to learn. What approach made the difference?

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🏠 It’s 2025 — and buying a home with white money still feels like a challenge. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring home options in Gurgaon — and what’s truly disturbing is how openly many sellers, including small developers and investors, ask for 30–40% payment in cash. We’re not talking small amounts — often over ₹1 crore — discussed casually, without hesitation or fear. Unaccounted cash doesn’t just hurt individual buyers; it distorts the entire housing ecosystem. It inflates prices, reduces formal credit flow, and erodes trust in developers. Even transparent builders find it hard to compete with cash-driven pricing. A recent report highlighted how even professionals with 100% white income struggle to buy homes without facing pressure for off-record payments. I personally don’t want to support this practice. I earn my salary in white, taxes are deducted at source, and every rupee is accounted for. Converting that into untraceable cash just doesn’t feel right — financially or ethically. This isn’t a Gurgaon problem; it’s a national issue. To fix it, we need policy and market alignment: ✅ Revise circle rates regularly to match actual market prices ✅ Align capital gains taxation to realistic valuations ✅ Incentivize full-disclosure transactions (lower stamp duties or simplified digital paperwork) ✅ Mandate digital payments beyond certain thresholds More than a decade ago, the Ministry of Finance identified real estate as a high-risk sector for unaccounted money. Today, with Aadhaar, PAN, and digital registries in place, the infrastructure for transparency already exists. What’s missing is consistent enforcement and the right incentives. Transparency shouldn’t be the exception — it should be the baseline. #RealEstate #Transparency #Housing #Gurgaon #India #Policy #BlackMoney #Governance #FinancialIntegrity #UrbanIndia

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Finance teams are evolving faster than most people realise. What used to be reporting and reconciliation is becoming automation, intelligent systems and AI-driven decision layers. AI is starting to reshape how finance operates. At Razorpay FTX26, we’re opening up the Circle of Expertise - an open space where builders, operators, can discuss how financial infrastructure is changing and what the next phase might look like. I’ll be talking about the rise of AI-powered finance and if you’re building or running finance systems and have a question about the future of finance, send it through, I’ll answer it live! Drop it here → https://lnkd.in/gEU_9sNF The LaLit Ashok 🗓️12th March, 2026 https://lnkd.in/gcRM3x8K

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Is Agentic AI just another buzzword, or a fundamental shift in how we work? 🤖 In his latest piece, our Head of Marketing for Google Cloud India, Krishnan Chatterjee, explores why the real power of Agentic AI isn't just in the tech—it's in the mindset shift required to move beyond the bottom line. It’s about moving from "AI as a tool" to "AI as a collaborator." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gZp65v4g

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India's AI startup ecosystem is experiencing a groundbreaking transformation, booming with unprecedented growth in funding, innovation, and adoption. This isn't just big news; it's a testament to India's burgeoning tech prowess, fueled by a massive talent pool, increasing digitalization, and robust government backing through initiatives like the National AI Strategy. We're seeing significant advancements across critical sectors like healthcare, fintech, edtech, and enterprise solutions. For professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors, this translates into immense opportunities for career growth, skill development, and impactful contributions on a global stage. While challenges around data privacy and ethical AI persist, the overall trajectory is overwhelmingly positive, positioning India as a key player in the global AI landscape. How can we, as a community, further support this growth and ensure sustainable, responsible innovation? https://lnkd.in/gwAtfw5X #IndiaAI #AIInnovation #StartupEcosystem

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Introducing AI Product Copilot - Your Intelligent Product Management Partner, Built in Just 25 Hours as my weekend side project to evaluate AI tools. My team: 1. Here my designer is google stitch, 2. Research on my Virtual PM AI persona on #perplexity 3. Model #Finetuning via LORA which help me to trained on Shreyas Doshi virtual agent. (I will create n numbers of this virtual agents) 4. Agentic AI via LangGraph 5. Devloper is local Deepseek r1 with VS code ollama 6. long term memory - mongodb & pinecone An AI-powered product management platform that combines the expertise of world-class virtual PMs with cutting-edge AI capabilities. AI Product Copilot represents a breakthrough in how product teams can work smarter, not harder. What sets apart: Virtual PM Expertise: Our AI is trained with knowledge from top product management frameworks and best practices, acting as your virtual PM mentor that's available 24/7. Seamless Integration: Experience a unified workflow where all your product management tasks are connected, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools. Personalized Intelligence: The platform learns from your product profile, company context, and historical decisions to provide increasingly relevant and tailored recommendations. AI Product Copilot is your intelligent partner in product management success. Experience the future of product management today. Comment & repost if you really like this product. #chatgptdown #productmanagement #productmanager #ai

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One trend I am noticing Companies choosing extra lean team on new projects to brute force AI adoption. Fewer people. More pressure. Let AI fill the gap. I am deep in one such challenge myself: How do you reduce manual bandwidth in ad creative production? (Banners, videos etc) Tried a bunch of things, but still haven't cracked even 70-80% automation. If you know a better way, I want to learn from you. Here is my current workflow (guide attached): 1. ChatGPT for copy variations 2. Ideogram (for text visuals) or Midjourney (for concept shots) 3. AdCreative.ai to assemble assets into usable ads It's decent. But it's far from seamless. Got a better workflow? How are you solving this problem? Would love to hear your way or figure it out together.

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✨ How to Be a Non-Obvious Thinker ✨ with Rohit Bhargava, Founder of Non-Obvious #GHC25 Rohit shared his SIFT framework — four habits to spark creativity and help us see what others miss: 💡 SIFT = Space, Insight, Focus, Twist 1️⃣ Create Space for New Ideas • Try small rituals that break patterns — like tasting a new fruit every morning — to signal your brain to think differently. • Practice mental time travel (as inspired by Jane McGonigal’s Imaginable) to stretch your imagination into the future. • Be an active ally — as Rohit said, “Hire a sensitivity reader at fair market price and help them make more money.” 2️⃣ Find Insights • Seek unfamiliar stories outside your bubble. • Take new perspectives and notice long-term shifts. • Innovation starts when you connect dots others overlook. 3️⃣ Find the Focus (Through Curation) • See the big picture and bring out the emotion. • Add constraints — creative or technical — to sharpen ideas. • Curate intentionally; less noise, more meaning. 4️⃣ Define a Twist • Look for Option C when faced with binary choices. • Champion the forgotten or unexpected perspective. • Surprise your audience — be memorably different. 🎯 Closing Thought from Rohit: Instead of the usual introduction, ask yourself — 👉 “What’s something non-obvious about me?” For me, it’s the unconventional path I’ve taken: With a finance degree, I started as a startup marketer running small-budget campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, then moved agency-side managing large-scale luxury auto accounts across display, video, and audio. I went in-house to lead digital marketing strategy and execution, translating data into insights. Joining Amazon shifted my trajectory — I became a technologist, building and productionizing ML systems. Now at Meta, I’m back in advertising — this time shaping systems that enable dynamic, resonant ad experiences aligned with the right moment and action. 👧That non-obvious thread — curiosity, adaptability, and creative reinvention — has defined every step of my career. #GraceHopperCeleberation #WomenInTech #TechInclusion

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