At a time when India's technology and mobility sectors are under pressure to deliver faster, leaner and more intelligent products, Juspay's Ishan Sharma is making a case for AI agents as more than a buzzword. In his view, the next phase of innovation will not be defined simply by automation, but by software systems that can reason, act and adapt across workflows at scale. For companies building from India for a global market, that shift could prove decisive.
AI Agents Gain Ground
Sharma's argument reflects a growing consensus among product leaders that AI agents are moving from experimental demos into operational tools. In practical terms, these systems can help businesses handle repetitive tasks, support decision-making and reduce friction in customer journeys. For sectors such as automotive, electric vehicles and mobility, where digital payments, onboarding, service coordination and post-sale engagement are increasingly software-driven, the implications are significant.
India's mobility economy is especially well placed to benefit. The country combines a large consumer base, a fast-growing digital payments stack and a dense ecosystem of startups and enterprise technology vendors. That creates a fertile environment for agentic AI applications, particularly in areas where speed, reliability and scale matter. If deployed well, AI agents could help mobility companies streamline payment failures, improve customer support, optimize fleet operations and personalize user experiences without proportionally increasing headcount.
Sharma's broader point is that India should not view AI only as a tool for cost reduction. Instead, he is positioning it as a capability layer that can help Indian companies build globally competitive products. That matters because the country's software sector has historically excelled at services and implementation, while the next frontier is product ownership. AI agents, by compressing the time needed to execute complex workflows, may help Indian firms move faster from engineering support to platform leadership.
Building For Global Scale
The phrase "building from India for the world" has become a familiar refrain across the startup ecosystem, but the challenge has always been execution. Global markets demand not just competitive pricing, but robust infrastructure, compliance readiness and user experiences that work across geographies. AI agents may help bridge that gap by making products more adaptive and easier to localize.
For a company like Juspay, which operates at the intersection of payments and digital infrastructure, the relevance is clear. Payments are a foundational layer for mobility and EV adoption, especially as subscription models, app-based services and recurring transactions become more common. Any improvement in transaction success rates, support automation or merchant tooling can have outsized effects on conversion and retention.
Sharma's comments also arrive at a moment when Indian tech firms are being judged less on narrative and more on measurable utility. Investors and enterprise buyers increasingly want to know whether AI can improve margins, reduce operational drag and create defensible products. That is where agentic systems may stand apart from earlier waves of AI adoption. Rather than acting only as copilots, they can be embedded into workflows that directly affect revenue and customer satisfaction.
Mobility's Digital Shift
The automotive and mobility sectors are undergoing a structural transition in India. Electric vehicles, connected cars, fleet platforms and digital-first ownership models are all increasing the importance of software infrastructure. In that environment, companies that can combine payments, automation and AI-driven orchestration are likely to gain an advantage.
Sharma's framing suggests that the winners will be those who treat AI as core architecture rather than an add-on feature. For Indian companies, that means investing in data quality, system reliability and product design that can operate across markets. It also means building with an export mindset from the outset, so that tools developed in India can be deployed in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe or North America with minimal rework.
The larger strategic message is clear: India's next wave of technology leadership may come from firms that can pair deep local execution with globally relevant software. AI agents, if they mature as expected, could become one of the most important enablers of that transition. For the mobility and EV ecosystem, where customer journeys are fragmented and operational complexity is high, the opportunity is especially compelling.
