Brands
Vasuta Agarwal joins gnani.ai as chief revenue officer
Bengaluru: India’s voice AI race is drawing seasoned operators. Gnani.ai has appointed Vasuta Agarwal as chief revenue officer, betting on a growth veteran to help scale its voice-first, agentic AI platform from India to the world.
Agarwal joins after a brief break, stepping into what she calls a “high-paced” and “exponential” growth environment at the Bengaluru-based firm. The company is pushing deeper into voice-led AI systems as enterprises look to automate customer interactions and build conversational interfaces.
She brings nearly two decades of experience across digital businesses and strategy consulting. Her career began as a chip designer at Intel in Bengaluru before a stint at McKinsey, where she worked across banking, government services, IT and manufacturing.
Her longest chapter was at ad-tech unicorn InMobi, where she spent over 13 years building and scaling businesses across regions. Starting in the founders’ office in 2012, she moved through product, partnerships and inside sales before taking on leadership roles across Asia-Pacific.
As vice president and general manager for India and South Asia, she led performance, brand and commerce sales and grew the business from single-digit $mn to double-digit $mn revenues, while setting up a customer and partner council with chief marketing officers. As managing director for Asia-Pacific, she doubled the business to over $100mn in three years and closed partnerships with Grab, GroupM and Trade Desk.
Her most recent role was chief business officer for InMobi’s consumer platform advertising business, covering Glance and the company’s global demand-side platforms. She oversaw ad monetisation across regions with a 200-plus member team and more than $150mn in annual revenue. Earlier, she led a 100-member team to build InMobi’s global monetisation engine and lifted topline 2.5 times in two years.
Beyond executive roles, Agarwal sits on the boards of IndiaMART InterMESH and Kaya, and previously served on the board of Nephroplus. She has also been part of the IAMAI governing council, the MMA APAC board and IAB Southeast Asia and India’s regional identity council. Industry accolades include Economic Times Women Ahead, Campaign Asia Women to Watch, Campaign Asia 40 under 40, Economic Times 40 under 40 and repeated listings among Impact’s most influential women in media and marketing.
Agarwal is also active in mentorship networks, with a focus on women in leadership.
For Gnani.ai, the hire signals ambition. Voice AI is shifting from novelty to infrastructure, and competition is intensifying. With Agarwal steering revenue, the company is aiming to turn conversation into commerce and code into cash.
In the battle for the AI interface, the winners may be those who can make machines talk—and make customers listen.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
