AI practice at the core of our growth in last 5 yrs: Indium’s CEO

Chennai-based digital engineering firm Indium is doubling down on its focus on leveraging generative artificial intelligence (AI) in multiple areas. Its 5,000-odd workforce is utilising the technology in areas such as code generation, performance optimisation, bug fixes, and quality engineering.

In an interaction with TechCircle, Ram Sukumar, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) said that the company’s core hiring strategy remains unchanged even with the advent of newer technologies. While the company will be prudent in talent acquisition, but any major hiring cutback due to industry changes is not anticipated, he added.

“Our company has now grown to nearly 5,000 people, including recent acquisitions. However, rather than making headcount-based projections, we are shifting towards a need-based hiring approach, focusing on productivity and efficiency.”

AI practice has become a core theme for the company, Sukumar said. The company has grown in revenue and market presence in the last five years, with data and AI practice emerging as a core to this growth. On the back of this growth, the company is rebranding itself from ‘Indium Software’ to just ‘Indium’.

“The term "software" has increasingly been associated with product companies rather than services firms like ours. Typically, private equity investors and the broader industry perceive “software” as synonymous with enterprise application solutions or licensed product offerings. However, our strength lies in digital engineering, data, and AI—areas that extend far beyond traditional enterprise software,” said Sukumar.

“With this in mind, we decided to drop "Software" from our name while retaining "Indium," given its strong brand recall among customers and talent.” The announcement comes at the time when the company is completing 25 years of existence this year.

Indium has also partnered with technology companies like Databricks, WSO2, Striim and Mendix, as well as hyperscalers such as AWS, GCP and Azure to deliver its AI solutions at scale. Notably, last year, the company acquired a majority stake in Kochi-based Experion to expand capabilities in advanced analytics and AI.

Moving ahead, Indium hopes to cross ₹1,300 crore ($150 million) in FY26, up from ₹130 crore in FY21. To be sure, in 2023 Hong Kong-headquartered BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Fund acquired a majority stake in Indium. Sukumar further added that the company has no plans of a fund raise or IPO at the moment.