We will double our India headcount by 2029: Brillio’s Raj Mamodia

Digital consulting company Brillio, which is backed by private equity firm Bain Capital and The Orogen Group, believes that India is central to its strategic growth as the country houses more than two-thirds of its global headcount of nearly 6,000 professionals. In an interview with TechCircle, Raj Mamodia, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Brillio informs that the decade-old company aims to nearly double its revenue to a billion dollars in the next five years and also plans to invest approximately ₹2,000 crore in India during that time. He also discusses the role of Brillio's Cloud and AI Studio, and the company’s plans to AI-enable its workforce by the end of the year, among others. Edited excerpts:
 
How are you working with enterprises to help them grow and scale up? Can you share a case where you have helped clients scale up with AI or other technologies, particularly in which verticals?

Our revenue comes mainly from the US and Europe. We are different from traditional IT service providers who are deeply invested in legacy systems and architectures, lacking the speed and agility needed to scale alongside customer needs in the complex and rapidly evolving digital landscape. This allows us to be more agile and responsive to digital changes, meeting our customers' evolving needs. From the beginning Brillio has specialised in end-to-end engineering and advisory services, aiming to help businesses leverage cloud, AI, IoT, and mobility for competitive advantages. We have been focused on AI since our inception in 2014, actively acquiring talent to enhance our capabilities. Within AI, for example, we have co-created generative AI solutions in clinical development with a leading pharma company, a top healthcare company, and an intelligent search solution for a global telecom and technology company. We have aided a large hyperscaler in-game sentiment analysis and utilidation. For a major telecom provider, we developed an LLM platform enabling low-code build of AI use cases. For a significant payments solution provider, we built an AI engine focused on financial analysis, including creditors, debtors, and cash flows. We are providing supply chain vendors of a large QSR customer with information and added visibility on inventory across personas using Gen AI. We recently launched a Cloud and AI Studio to help customers drive enterprise-wide AI impact. We plan to introduce 20 new industry solutions to meet diverse customer needs, such as business process automation, integrating AI into digital initiatives, creation of new business models, hyper-personalisation, and generation of new product ideas based on deeper analysis of market insights.

Are companies willing to spend on generative AI, or are they mostly in exploratory mode?

The focus has shifted from integrating AI tools and technologies into existing processes to humanising AI, transitioning from data and model-centric paradigms to a more application and human-centric ethos rooted in real user needs and experiences. Despite organisations adopting AI at a faster rate, the complexity of enterprise-level AI adoption remains a challenge. Many organisations still lack the foundational practices to create value from AI at scale. Organisations that implement AI before having the right data struggle to prove value and trust with use cases built over bad data. There is either too much apprehension or too little focus on AI governance. With every country exploring AI regulations, there is uncertainty about the required governance and what parts can be automated. Our Cloud and AI Studio aims to help companies drive enterprise-wide impact with the humanising AI approach. We have made significant progress in assisting some of our Fortune 1000 customers in rebuilding their AI strategies, implementing the AITriSM framework for their global business models, and supporting them with our comprehensive AI adoption framework. Customers are also evaluating pragmatic use cases that can add value to their businesses. We have an increasing number of customers moving their AI use cases to production systems. Currently, we observe wider production deployments in back-end automation and human-in-the-loop processes than in customer-facing applications.

How about the impact of generative AI on jobs? Which job roles are becoming more prominent or obsolete with gen AI in the next 1-2 years?

Technology is about understanding and solving complex business problems, designing innovative solutions, and crafting personalised customer experiences. Contrary to the notion that AI will replace humans, the future of technology development will be even more collaborative than it is today, requiring a blend of human creativity, strategic thinking, and technical skills. As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives and business operations, the ability to understand, manage, and innovate with technologies becomes crucial. The future of enterprise technology requires a harmonious blend of human ingenuity and machine intelligence. The role of human-led coding expertise and software development skills remains central to this future, not as relics of the past but as foundational elements that will continue to evolve and adapt alongside emerging technologies.

Can you please share the company’s growth plans, hiring strategy, and future trends for the Indian market?

We aim to nearly double our revenue to a billion dollars in approximately five years. India is central to our ability to address the strategic growth needs of our more than 150 customers. The country houses more than two-thirds (approximately 4000-4500) of our global headcount of nearly 6,000 professionals. We plan to invest approximately ₹2,000 crore in India over the next five years and more than double the headcount (between 8,000 and 9,000) in India during that time. We also plan to expand our India footprint with new centres in NCR, Jaipur, and other cities in a year or two. We continue to hire specialist talent in India in line with our business requirements. The pace of hiring will depend on the visibility we have into our customers' technology plans.

What technologies will you explore and invest in over the next 12-18 months, and why?

Our primary focus will be on AI and Cloud technologies as they are key drivers of technology-led innovation. Our investment in Cloud and AI Studio reflects this focus. These technologies are crucial for providing differentiation to customers in all industries. AI represents a turning point for our industry and society as a whole. We are dedicated to ensuring that every project and customer benefits from the capabilities of AI. AI has been and continues to be a significant force in improving our lives, and we are assisting our customers in integrating AI into their businesses in a sustainable manner.

How do you differentiate your offerings from your competitors, and what is your key distinguishing factor?

A decade ago, it became evident that rapidly advancing technology was essential for enterprises to stay competitive. Technology was no longer just a cost centre or a means to improve efficiencies in the 'back office.' Instead, it has become a catalyst for transforming business models across various industries. This presented a significant opportunity, leading to the creation of Brillio, with the belief that we could assist others in navigating what is most important to them. Our customer-centric approach, digital focus, and commitment to delivering impactful outcomes have made us a preferred partner for many Fortune 1000 companies. Even today, our core purpose remains unchanged — using technology innovation to empower our clients to succeed. What has evolved is the depth and breadth of our commitment to this purpose. While we start with technology, our focus is always on the impact we have on our customers' businesses. Currently, nearly 56% of Brillio's revenue comes from outcome-focused projects and engagements, with over 95% of our customers being repeat clients. We have maintained industry-leading growth rates while also achieving industry-leading Net Promoter Scores (NPS).