Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
I am the co-founder and president of itihaasa Research and Digital, where I study emerging technologies and innovations. Previously, I was a member of the Infosys Labs Management Council. I am an award-winning co-author of Against All Odds - The IT Story of India (2022); and my other books include Empowering India – Ideas for Action by Scientists and Engineers (2023) and The Co-Intelligence Revolution - How Humans and AI Co-Create New Value (2025). I have co-chronicled one of the world’s largest oral histories of Indian IT. I serve as founding Board member of AquaMAP Water Centre, advisor to the Global Learning Council, Switzerland, and teach & research at IIT Madras and its Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI). I am the Past President of the IIT Madras Alumni Association (2021-23). I have been a member of multiple important government of India committees - Committee for Inclusion of Parameters Related to SDGs and Sustainable Life under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Ministry of Education; Advisory Committee to the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India for Manthan (the national innovation platform for academia-industry collaboration) and Technical Committee for Rural Smart Village Centre initiative. I hold degrees from IIT Madras and XLRI Jamshedpur. And currently pursuing my doctoral studies in AI & public policy from IIT Madras. Follow me on - X at @krishnan8gk - Substack at https://thecointelligencerevolution.substack.com/
The Mission of AquaMAP is to “Identify and innovate win-win solutions for complex and challenging water problems in our nation by developing and evolving smart water management practices. While also balancing and building the nuanced relationship between the stakeholders, the community and government to formulate just and sustainable policies. These practices will be implemented in the field by leveraging innovative technologies and solutions.”
itihaasa Research & Digital is a not-for-profit entity with two focus areas 1. Research into history of Indian IT and matters relevant to the industry 2. We craft definitive and engaging histories of organizations and people. We help you tell a compelling story of your organization to the world. We also leverage digital technologies to preserve and showcase your organization's history, and help keep it refreshed. Between Mar 2015 and May 2016, I was part of the itihaasa project. I worked for Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, and chronicled the history of Indian IT over the last 60 years and developed a view of the future of IT. * Over 12 months, I interacted closely with nearly 50 captains of the IT industry (CEOs and Chairmans of leading IT companies in India), its ecosystem (current & past Presidents of Nasscom, iSpirt), academia, and Government officials. * The project helps bring to light the path that the IT industry has taken from 1955 and presents a view of Digital India in 2040. The output is a first-of-its-kind-in-the-world, video driven, interactive mobile app.
Working closely with the President IITMAA, I put together IITMAA’s Strategic Plan for 2019-21, where we identified nine key initiatives. Key results achieved in the two years: I. Alumni engagement – Despite the pandemic, we have achieved phenomenal growth in engagement with our alumni. a. Doubled the number of alumni reached / attended an IITMAA event to 20,000+ through innovative programs like Global Leaders Lecture series, Guru Talks (Doubling from 2019 figures) b. Doubled the number of alumni logging into our website to 13000+ per month (Doubling from 2019 figures) II. Thought-leadership – IITMAA came to public prominence through a series of high-impact thought-leadership initiatives like Sangam events (that I co-chaired), a book project, and op-eds and articles. a. Sangam “Reimagining India in 2030” – 2500+ people attended; 46 press reports and 1 feature story in The Hindu on IITMAA; conducted a ‘Mood of the Nation’ survey; cost-neutral event. b. Sangam “Driving the New Normal” – 6200+ people attended; 119 news articles including 2 stories in national print media; conducted the ‘Public Attitude to Science’ survey; generated funding for IITMAA through sponsorship. III. Social Impact – IITMAA is also working on initiatives to deliver impact not only to its alumni but also the society at large. a. Innovation4Bharat initiative – We launched the I4B platform where socially relevant projects and fellowships are available for alumni to participate. Signed MoU with Telangana government, eGov Foundation etc. and one Fellow and one Advisor appointed. b. India Innovation Platform – IITMAA is working with the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser GOI in developing an innovation platform for the country. c. Women initiatives – IITMAA is now anchoring the chapter for Society of Women Engineers in South India and conducting several sessions to promote women in STEM.
Responsible for Digital strategies at the IFB Group across the Home Appliances, Agriculture and Automotive sectors. Oversee the digital efforts of IFB under eCommerce, digital marketing, consumer engagement, and new technology enabled solutions in IoT, mobile and analytics.