We’ve built a top-class AI team in India, producing the most data scientists: Intuit CTO

As businesses globally strive to harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI), American IT software company Intuit is at the forefront, delivering AI capabilities, platforms, and data solutions to enterprise customers. Notably, India plays a crucial role in Intuit's global strategy and is poised for continued growth. During his recent visit to India, Intuit's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Alex Balazs, discussed the company’s intensified focus on AI and its transformative impact on enterprises, highlighting India's central role in this evolution. Edited excerpts:

How important is the Indian market to your overall growth strategy? 

Intuit's India Development Center (IDC) in Bengaluru is vital to our operations, employing over 1,900 people (close to 2000). The IDC, established nearly two decades ago, has consistently contributed to our engineering capabilities, focusing on building core competencies in India rather than outsourcing. We have developed a top-tier AI team here, producing many data scientists for the company. India is integral to our long-term growth strategy, and we are committed to expanding our presence.

What kind of innovation are you bringing from your India office? 

In India, we are enhancing customer experiences and developing products like the Intuit Enterprise Suite (IES) for mid-market customers. This solution, designed in India, enables quick scaling and adaptation of our financial management tools, significantly reducing costly and time-consuming software migrations. IES allows transitions to be completed with a click or within weeks, greatly improving mid-market customers' financial management and project profitability. We are also integrating large language models (LLMs) with data to enhance customer experiences through low latency and high accuracy, focusing on innovative prompt creation and generation techniques.

What technologies are you most excited about currently? 

AI is currently the one technology I’m most excited about right now. It is revolutionising all facets of our operations at Intuit, significantly improving customer interactions and internal processes. We are implementing various initiatives aimed at enhancing our workforce in areas such as engineering, product management, marketing, human resources, and talent acquisition, thereby empowering all employees to execute their responsibilities more efficiently.

What kind of investments are you making in AI, and how does it benefit your CX or improve your bottom line? 

About six years ago, we made significant investments in AI and data, coinciding with my entry into the company. Since then, we have consistently directed resources toward advancing our AI and data platforms. This investment attracts talent from India, the US, Canada, Israel, and beyond, fostering collaboration that drives innovation. Our strategy focuses on establishing foundational capabilities and attracting top talent, which in turn enhances these capabilities and fuels growth.

Recently, we have intensified our efforts in generative AI to reimagine our experiences and processes. Our India workforce, one of our largest and fastest-growing teams, is essential for this transformation, bringing expertise in AI, software engineering, and data. Over the past year, we have integrated AI skills into our engineering teams and restructured our hiring process to prioritise candidates with AI expertise and a customer-centric approach.

Can you tell us about some of your recent partnerships with global companies to drive innovation? What’s the plan going forward? 

Digital transformation requires leveraging advanced technologies, and collaboration with global organisations is key. Intuit was an early adopter of the public cloud, primarily using AWS, which has allowed us to deliver efficient benefits. We partner with leading AI companies like Google, AWS, OpenAI, and Nvidia to enhance our offerings. Additionally, we allocate a budget for technology maintenance to keep our systems modern and efficient. We also value our partnerships with governments, including strong ties with the US and Indian governments. We are committed to collaborating on regulations to safely deliver innovative AI solutions.

When looking at competitor benchmarking, which key technology areas do you need to improve? 

Our growth is driven by our core strength in customer obsession, prioritising the resolution of individual customer needs before scaling solutions. We strive to balance innovation for new products with the scaling of existing ones to create a competitive advantage. To improve, we aim to enhance our operational velocity, focusing on how we solve problems and learn from customers. By increasing the speed of our engineers and customer interactions, we would look into scaling our solutions better.

How can technology create a more diverse and inclusive workplace? 

While technologies like AI, and Generative AI can alleviate mundane tasks, allowing employees to focus on innovation, I believe, creating an inclusive workplace starts with attracting talented individuals. At Intuit, for example, we emphasise strong leadership and diversity, fostering an environment where employees can be their authentic selves. This approach enables us to develop products for a diverse customer base.