AI For India: Ankit Agarwal Explains What Global Tech Innovations Mean For Indian Businesses And Talent

India is seeing significant speed-up in the take-up of Artificial Intelligence, with latest findings from Deloitte’s State of GenAI reportcoming in. By April 2025, some 80% of all Indian organizations are reviewing ways AI might improve their work, and some 70% are already in favor of adopting Generative AI (GenAI) to improve and simplify workflow and automate routine functions. This technical thrust is creating significant potential for growth in many areas, but more significantly helping small to mid-scale businesses tap capabilities hitherto accessible to large-scale industries only.

One of the successful ways to observe this revolution in practice comes from DoorDash's staff software engineer Ankit Agarwal, who implemented several innovative solutions while working at the leading food delivery company. For instance, the white-labeled digital ordering platform his team developed for DoorDash allowed the company to increase reorder rates, save on commissions, while opening opportunities for further integrations.

His Voice AI automation system pioneered implementing AI-based solutions into restaurant-order processing, addressing the issue of labor shortages and improving service speed and quality for customers at drive-throughs. It pushed the limits of what voice recognition systems were capable of, creating the system tailored to the specific needs of the industry and able to function reliably in high-noise, fast-paced settings such as drive-throughs. It demonstrated how AI can be used simultaneously to cut costs, unlock new revenue opportunities and improve customer experience, setting a new industry standard for AI voice recognition.

With his first hand experience of AI-driven solutions—whether anti-fraud systems to intelligent restaurant order handling systems—he understands how to translate these technical advances into tangible improvement in efficiency and quality of service in practice. 

“No industry will be left unaffected by this transformation,” says Ankit Agarwal. “Though it started in digital sectors, even traditionally physical industries like restaurants and logistics are evolving. AI-powered innovations help businesses cut waste, optimize resource use, and enhance overall performance.”

One of the key areas where AI implementation is fast expanding is in the automation of mundane processes. Recent examples from firms that work in any sector indicate that this type of innovation becomes profitable for firms and their clients simultaneously, making it possible for the firms to reduce expenses and maintain the experience of the clients to a great level. An example includes the warehouse automation system that Ankit Agarwal developed in 2017-2021 for Amazon, a global retailer that belongs to the most innovative companies according to Fortune’s list. Relying on his solution, the company was able to simplify inbound logistics and to enhance the processing of customer orders. Contrary to warehouse automation systems of the first generation, which relied on RFID chips or barcodes and did not adapt to various requests and situations easily, Ankit Agarwal designed a first-ever approach to warehouse automation through vision-based instrument learning and, therefore, made the system flexible and attainable in supply retail and production chains at a higher level than others before him did. 

Whereas AI-driven products have been known to the business arena for a few years, newer tech inventions predict a significant paradigm shift. What once remained in the realm of big companies with the ability to make significant investment in bespoke software is more and more within the grasp of small companies and developing startups. Consider the transformative commission-free ordering platform that Ankit Agarwal is currently advancing. This innovation has, in essence, allowed small restaurants and mom-and-pop restaurants to rival large chains, with the net benefit of making the market deeper and increasing consumer options. This platform, with simple and user-friendly features and affordable fees, has been instrumental to providing these competitors with web presence and tapping into new customers. 

This trend is not isolated to the food industry. Similar democratising solutions, providing easy-to-use automation tools without the need for significant capital outlay or specialised technical expertise, are emerging across various sectors. From AI-assisted customer support benefiting small e-commerce sellers to precision farming applications enabling smallholder farmers to enhance yields sans expensive equipment, the potential for widespread impact is considerable.

“Whereas small and medium-sized enterprises are typically operating thin margins, large-scale AI deployments such as automated warehouses are likely to be out of their league,” contends Ankit Agarwal. “SMBs need modular, scalable systems that are deployable in stages that can be fine-tuned when necessary.” 

Moreover, in order to develop successful AI-based solutions, they must be designed with the concerns of the infrastructure in mind, with likely scenarios of unreliable power supply or bandwidth limitations planned for ahead of time. What successful adopters are doing is developing innovation with thoughtful and diligent consideration of the pre-existing legacy systems within the company, the delicacy of the given industry, and the process condition of today's business. While it will always be difficult to envision a “one-size-fits-all” solution, modular design permits creation of AI and automation in a judicious manner with newfound potential for small businesses but not in a manner that becomes too automated and too tech-centric. 

Along with AI-based and modular products, one more important factor in making innovation incredibly successful are the employees in the workforce with the ability to make effective use of these technologies in a productive way. Ankit Agarwal in his practice not just promoted distinctive projects but led cross-functional teams and counseled experts and instilled the habit of continuous learning and spread his approach, which was emulated in multinational firms. Application of AI in empowering people is one of the philosophies guiding his practice. 

“Where it was considered that human workers would be replaced, in reality, AI deployment assumes a drastically different form,” contends Ankit Agrawal. “In the long term, innovation must aim to neither displace but complement the human workforce and elevate their productivity through automating routine work or providing superior data to facilitate superior decision-making.”

Ankit says that the coming decade will be pivotal for India’s digital landscape. With a growing startup ecosystem and a pool of skilled engineers, as well as proactive government initiatives such as Digital India, the country already possesses a robust foundation for future transformative changes, which will unlock novel opportunities for business of all scales. Companies able to integrate the aforementioned principles not as superficial additions but as integral components of their daily operations have a high chance to become integral players in the future economy.