Today, as I judged the finale of INT's AI Hackathon, I felt something deep — a mix of pride, joy, and confidence about where we're heading as a company.
Over the past few weeks, ~70 internal teams and ~250 INTians — competed fiercely to build AI-powered products and solutions. The energy, creativity, and hunger that unleashed was unbelievable.
The Top 20 teams showcased their work today. Some of these ideas are ready to hit the market - Some solve real internal challenges within INT - And a few are so unique, I haven't seen anything like them yet.
Why is this important for us?
We've been known as a digital transformation company for years. But today, I can confidently say we're becoming an AI transformation company — moving from Digital First to AI First.
More importantly, we're evolving from being a service company to a solutions company — where every engagement blends our unique products with service excellence and our reputation for being the most sustainable company around.
Because real impact happens when you solve real problems (for decades) that make an impact in our partners' business and the world at large.
What our teams built?
The diversity of innovation was wild:
🤖 AI-assisted interview tools that understand skills and fit. 🛡️ Cybersecurity solutions that predict and prevent risks. 📈 AI tools for digital marketing that gives real actionable insights 🚀 DevOps automation tools that save hours of manual work. 🤖 Customer experience tools ...and many more.
What changed for me?
Having been a bootstrapped entrepreneur for 28 years, and an angel investor for over 15 years, I've seen thousands of product demos.
And I can say this with conviction - the quality of AI products being built inside INT today is better than many hyper-funded startups.
And our team is doing it quietly. - Without unnecessary noise. - With deep focus on customer, and - With a deep commitment to being a sustainable, long-term player in this industry. We are in no hurry.
These AI initiatives aren't just experiments - many of them are real projects grounded in practical problems, that we see our clients and employees facing.
My learning: People transformation leads to company transformation:
What touched me most wasn't the technology itself — it was the mindset shift.
We're on track to have our entire workforce not only trained to use AI but also trained to build AI solutions by the end of this calendar year.
Trust me transforming ~1000 people is not easy! But its within sight.
The New INT (as we call it INT 3.0) is around the corner.
This Dhanteras, I feel more confident than ever about our journey ahead.
Happy Diwali. Let's keep building.