Mr. Nikhil Malhotra
Achiever's Success Story
A story of a man with numerous achievements- Mr. Nikhil Malhotra shares his story of success
Mr. Nikhil Malhotra is the Chief Innovation Officer and Global Head of Emerging Tech and Maker’s Lab, a unique Thin-Q-Bator space, and the Research and Innovation Center of Tech Mahindra. With 23+ years of experience, he is also a World Economic Forum AI Fellow working on responsible AI and Quantum ethics. He has been a researcher all his life and is now leading the growth of AI, quantum, and robotics research among other deep tech arms within Tech Mahindra. His area of personal research has been how quantum computing and neuroscience have inspired the growth of AI and how the two fields can merge in the future. He consults various businesses and academic organizations on the future fields of AI and Quantum. One of his visions is to enable machines to talk in the local Indian dialect.
He holds a Master’s degree in Computing with a specialization in Distributed Computing from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne. Starting at IBM back in 2006, with a focus on computational analysis, he has led and transformed research and development across various organizations, especially after moving to Tech Mahindra in 2007. Known for building the Makers Lab in Tech Mahindra, the initial phase of AI research at the Lab began with a focus on supervised and unsupervised reinforcement learning exploring new techniques and algorithms.
In 2023, he shepherded India’s first foray in the space of Large Language Models with Indus, Tech Mahindra’s homegrown LLM – Project Indus – built for India and Indians. Project Indus celebrates the diversity of Indian languages and is also an effort to democratize AI. There are 1645 dialects in India and 26 mother tongues, and 80% of the Indian population does not speak English. Currently, he is also researching facets of neuroscience to see if thinking patterns in the brain can be turned into algorithms. His other technical field of interest and expertise is Quantum Computing where he is immersed in studying and furthering the study and application of Quantum and its principles of superposition, entanglement, and tunneling.
He has won numerous awards, including the 2020 and 2021 Innovation Congress awards for the most innovative leader in India category recipient.
