SUMMARY
- Paytm has appointed its Chief Technology Officer Manmeet Dhody as an “AI Fellow”.
- It has also promoted its SVP of Technology Deependra Singh Rathore to the role of CTO for Payments.
- The company has effectively integrated AI into its operations, which has led to the reduction of its workforce.
Fintech major Paytm has appointed its Chief Technology Officer Manmeet Dhody as an “AI Fellow” to lead its initiatives in AI-related business projects.
Dhody has been a part of the team since 2020, initially joining as the Chief Technology Officer for Payments. His extensive background, spanning over two decades, of includes leading software development for more than seven years at Amazon’s ecommerce division from 2012 to 2020, serving as the main development lead at Microsoft, and holding the director position at a US-based software development firm, Quark.
Additionally, Paytm has promoted its Senior Vice President of Technology Deependra Singh Rathore to the role of Chief Technology Officer for Payments. Rathore is known for his leadership in AI-driven strategic projects and his role in the design and implementation of payment products and services during his eight-year tenure with the company.
He began his career at Paytm’s subsidiary, Paytm Payments Bank, in 2016. Before that, he spent over a year at Snapdeal as an engineering manager from 2014 to 2015. His previous roles include working at AGNITY and GENBAND.
Paytm credits Rathore for his contribution in developing its payment technology, which offers comprehensive payment solutions to both merchants and customers, including online payment gateways, QR payments, and card payments.
A spokesperson for Paytm said, “As India’s leading tech innovator, we have always championed innovations that drive mobile payments and inclusive financial service distribution to masses. We are excited to see Deependra Singh Rathore step into the role of CTO, and build for financial services in the AI age. We also welcome Manmeet as an AI Fellow, helping accelerate our vision of integrating AI-driven processes across our business operations.”
This announcement comes shortly after Paytm’s CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma expressed the company’s full commitment to integrating AI into its core payment operations. Sharma highlighted that some of the technologies being developed are so advanced that they could potentially become standalone businesses. He also mentioned that AI will play a significant role in areas such as risk management, credit risk, fraud risk, and future insurance underwriting.
Sharma said during the company’s 24th annual general meeting on September 12, “Some technologies being built are so good, if you fork it out, it could become a standalone business vertical. Risk management options, credit risk, fraud risk, future underwriting of insurance will all be led by AI. The generative AI interaction with financial services will be underwriting.”
“For the coming year, while we continue to invest in the merchant sales team, as well as risk and compliance functions, we expect reductions in other employee costs. We expect annualised people cost savings of Rs 400–500 crore,” Paytm added in its annual report for FY24.
Since last year, the company has effectively integrated AI into its operations, which has led to the reduction of its workforce. Paytm has laid off hundreds of employees since the start of 2023.
