Rise of AI is a challenge and opportunity as it threatens existing roles but opens window for India

Raghav Gupta is a Gen Z entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Delhi-based Futurense, one of India’s fastest-growing AI skilling companies. He is building India’s future at the intersection of artificial intelligence, talent development, and financial empowerment.

Through Futurense, Raghav is on a mission to democratize access to frontier AI opportunities, ensuring that the country’s vast talent pool can participate meaningfully in the global AI revolution. Under his leadership, the company has partnered with leading IITs, IIMs, and Fortune 500 enterprises, creating career-defining pathways for professionals to move from routine IT roles to AI-driven innovation.

Raghav also co-founded The 1% Club, a financial education and wealth-tech platform backed by Nikhil Kamath. The platform is now developing India’s first AI-powered financial assistant, reinforcing his belief that technology should serve as an equaliser helping people learn, earn, and grow.

“AI represents both disruption and destiny,” Raghav told Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interview. Our goal is to ensure that this revolution creates equal access, for every aspiring professional, to build, innovate, and lead from India to the world,” he points out

How do you see the prospects of Amaravati Quantum Valley Park and the need to create the required ecosystem for quantum computing?

Quantum computing is nascent, yet planning now is wise. Three elements are essential: Research and academia to build deep scientific capability through universities, research labs, and global tie-ups.

Industry collaboration is essential so that BFSI, healthcare, and logistics can move pilots from labs to real use cases. The decision of Andhra Pradesh Government to take the lead is quite laudable with a futuristic approach to use the latest technologies for a better delivery system.

Policy and talent through long-term programs in physics, mathematics and computer science, along with incentives that attract global experts are crucial. If these pieces come together, Amaravati Quantum Valley Park can place Andhra Pradesh at the forefront of a technology that will define the next decade.

Visakhapatnam is being projected as a GCC hub in,-the-making with fast -track clearances and slew of incentives. How do you see the prospects?

The move to position Visakhapatnam as a GCC hub is promising. GCCs are expanding beyond the traditional metros, and the state’s focus on fast clearances and incentives signals intent.

The real differentiator will be a sustainable talent pipeline in AI, cybersecurity, and adjacent technologies. With strong partnerships across institutions and skilling organizations, Visakhapatnam can evolve from a delivery centre to a hub for innovation.

Please narrate the story behind Futurense and what inspired you to launch this venture? How has your personal journey shaped the company’s vision and focus on democratizing AI opportunities for Indian talent?

While studying in the US, I realised that although India has the world’s largest IT workforce, much of the work is still not frontier-level. Even before AI went mainstream, the Bay Area startup ecosystem was already discussing transformers and the coming shift in intelligence.

It was clear that as AI advances, the quality of work expected from professionals will rise sharply. I kept thinking about how to make this shift easier for the average Indian professional from a small town or modest college who ends up in a back-end IT job.

That thought shaped Futurense. The rise of AI is both a challenge and an opportunity. While it threatens existing roles, it also opens a historic window for India, given our scale and STEM talent. Futurense ensures this opportunity reaches every deserving professional, not just a small elite.

Key turning points or challenges in your entrepreneurial path and how they influenced Futurense’s approach to skilling and workforce empowerment?

Our first challenge was credibility. As a young company talking about the future of AI and work, we had to earn trust. We created the Futurense Leadership Council by bringing together senior leaders from Fortune 500 companies to guide our learners and shape our curriculum.

Their involvement gave us the credibility to be taken seriously. Another turning point was realising that jobs themselves had to be redefined.

We mapped how existing roles would evolve into next-generation work, which became the foundation of our model. Convincing institutions and companies of this shift took time, but consistent results changed the conversation.

Finally, we had to prove that Indian talent could deliver high-grade deep tech work. By curating and preparing professionals for specific roles and ensuring they succeeded, we built a strong proof cycle.

These milestones shaped our belief that skilling is not just content delivery but credibility, role redesign, and validation through real-world success.

India has a strong IT workforce but limited pool of AI-ready cybersecurity professionals. What is the real scale of this gap and what risks does it pose ?

India has one of the largest IT workforces globally, but AI-ready cybersecurity professionals remain few. Cybersecurity was already under-resourced, and AI-driven systems have widened the gap further.

Only a small portion of current professionals can handle AI-enabled threats, increasing the risk of data breaches, financial fraud, and operational disruption. This risk extends beyond individual companies and can affect trust and investor confidence in India’s digital growth story.

Yet, it is also a powerful opportunity. By upskilling our workforce in AI-driven defence, India can protect its digital infrastructure and emerge as a global hub for cybersecurity talent.

Many say AI is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity. How is this playing out in India?

AI has turned cybersecurity into a constant race between attackers and defenders. On the defensive side, AI helps detect anomalies, predict breaches, and automate monitoring, essential in India’s data-heavy environment.

However, attackers now use AI to generate malicious code, design realistic phishing attempts, and adapt dynamically, making defence more complex.

Large enterprises in India are integrating AI into security, but many mid-sized firms and public sector organizations remain vulnerable.

The goal should not be to fear AI but to use it responsibly. Building AI-native cybersecurity skills, embedding AI tools in enterprise defense, and introducing clear accountability frameworks will strengthen India’s digital resilience.

What are the practical steps for mid-career IT and security professionals to reskill for AI-driven defense systems and how Futurense supports them?

For mid-career professionals, the challenge is not irrelevance but inertia. Rule-based monitoring is being replaced by adaptive AI systems. Building data literacy, learning AI-enabled threat detection, and adopting continuous learning are key.

At Futurense, our programs focus on real enterprise tools and transition paths, helping professionals evolve rather than start over. Through collaborations with IITs, Fortune 500 GCCs, and technology providers, we prepare learners for AI-native security roles, bridging the gap between traditional and next-generation defense.

What are the new roles at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity in GCCs and how education providers should prepare talent?

Cybersecurity roles are becoming hybrid, with AI at their core. New positions include AI security engineers, AI-enabled threat intelligence analysts, and compliance managers overseeing ethical use of AI.

As GCCs expand decision-making from India, AI-trained security talent is in demand. Education providers must go beyond traditional cybersecurity and incorporate AI-native learning through simulations and real use cases. Our PG Certification in Generative AI and AI-powered Cybersecurity with IIT Roorkee trains professionals for precisely these emerging roles.

In BFSI, healthcare, and manufacturing, what should be prioritized when building cyber resilience in the AI age: tools, processes, or people?

The priority should always be people. Even the best tools fail without skilled professionals who can interpret and respond effectively. Next comes redesigning processes for AI-native operations with automation and predictive analytics.

Finally, tools must integrate within this framework to amplify outcomes. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act strengthens this ecosystem, driving accountability and aligning people, processes, and tools to global standards.

How future initiatives or partnerships will enable us to close the skills gap and strengthen India’s position as an AI talent powerhouse?

We focus on two types of roles: Builders of AI, who work on data and large models, and appliers of AI, who integrate it into domains like finance, healthcare, and cybersecurity. Through partnerships with IITs, IIMs, and Fortune 500 GCCs, we ensure enterprise-grade case studies, mentorship by industry leaders, and role alignment with current hiring needs.

Beyond technical training, we emphasize articulation, systems thinking, and holistic understanding. Professionals need to build not just tools but scalable architectures. This dual model of builders and appliers, rooted in academia and industry, is our roadmap to making India the world’s AI talent engine.