MAM
Yogesh Nehra named upGrad president, technology
Mumbai: Higher ed-tech company upGrad has appointed Yogesh Nehra as president – technology to spearhead development for the tech infrastructure and make the online learning experience more immersive for its learners globally.
In his new role at upGrad, Nehra will oversee high-performing engineering teams and driving digital transformation initiatives like product conceptualisation, and application architecture, which can further continue to add-on to the platform’s capabilities for a smoother consumer experience.
He brings with him over 15 years of experience in scaling and building high-performance teams, building ground-up software products, and aligning them with business growth to meet scale across the start-up ecosystem. He has co-founded and built ShopG as a social commerce product for Indian users. Before ShopG, Nehra was part of many unicorn’s journeys that include start-ups like Rivigo, Ola, Inmobi, and Wittyparrot among others.
“We are thrilled to have Yogesh join the upGrad family at such an important juncture. As we are witnessing exponential growth in our user base, the existing infrastructure needs incremental re-engineering to embrace newer technologies that can be integrated into our existing processes to deliver a superior learning experience,” said upGrad, co-founder & MD, Mayank Kumar. “I am confident that his proven expertise in the domain will lead the company to the next level and support the ever-accelerating growth trajectory of the business.”
“I am excited to join upGrad and contribute towards the vision of powering career success for every member of the global workforce as their trusted lifelong learning partner & driving meaningful career outcomes,” said Nehra. “I look forward to working with this dynamic team and using my expertise in building a product roadmap and infrastructure that will play a significant role in the company’s expansion journey in the coming years.”
Digital
Mukesh Ambani pledges Rs 10 lakh crore to power India’s AI rise
From data to intelligence, Reliance bets big on an AI revolution
NEW DELHI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday unveiled a jaw-dropping Rs 10 lakh crore investment plan to catapult India into the artificial intelligence era, promising to transform the country’s digital landscape much like he did with mobile data.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit, Ambani painted a vision of “super abundance” powered by AI. “Artificial Intelligence is not just another technology. For the first time, humans are creating systems that can learn, speak, analyse, move, and produce autonomously,” he said. Drawing a vivid analogy, he added, “I see AI as a modern-day Akshay Patra, the legendary vessel in the Mahabharat that provided endless nourishment. Likewise, AI offers limitless augmentation in knowledge, efficiency, and productivity.”
Ambani outlined a stark fork in the global AI road. “One path leads to scarce, expensive AI and controlled data, the other ensures AI is affordable and accessible,” he said. “India cannot afford to rent intelligence. We will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data.”
The Reliance chairman highlighted Jio’s role in building the country’s digital backbone, pointing out that India is the world’s largest mobile data consumer, with nearly 1 billion internet users enjoying some of the lowest costs globally. “In terms of quality, there is no difference between Delhi and the remotest Indian village,” he said.
Jio Intelligence will spearhead the plan with a three-pronged approach. Gigawatt-scale data centres are already under construction in Jamnagar, with 120 megawatts expected online in the second half of 2026, paving the way for large-scale AI training. A green energy advantage of up to 10 gigawatts of surplus power, anchored in solar plants in Kutch and Andhra Pradesh, will fuel the AI push sustainably. Finally, a nationwide edge compute layer integrated with Jio’s network will make AI responsive, low-latency, and affordable for citizens across India.
Ambani concluded with a bullish note on India’s strengths. “No country can match India’s strength in demography, democracy, development, digital infrastructure, data generation, and AI harvest,” he said. With 1.4 billion Aadhaar IDs, over 12 billion monthly UPI transactions, and a booming startup ecosystem of over 100,000 ventures including more than 100 unicorns, India is poised to emerge as a global AI powerhouse.
The Rs 10 lakh crore investment will roll out over seven years, starting this year. Ambani stressed that this is “not speculative investment. It is patient, disciplined nation-building capital,” signalling a long-term vision that promises to place India firmly on the global AI map.
