Uber CTO on expanding India talent, building localised global tech, and Agentic AI gains

Ride-hailing platform Uber started operations in India in 2014 from Hyderabad. Cut to 2025, the company has expanded to Bengaluru and grown its headcount to 2,200, almost doubling in the last three years.

During his first visit to India after being elevated to the chief technology officer (CTO) post last year, Praveen Neppalli Naga said that the company plans to continue hiring more in this region. 

“We’re always evaluating expansion opportunities based on talent availability and business needs. Right now, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are our key hubs, and we’re growing aggressively in both by adding office space every few quarters,” he said. The company is now planning to grow its India tech workforce, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and platform engineering. It will also scale up the physical footprint with additional office space. 

Naga’s visit also marked the launch of in-app metro ticketing, starting with the Delhi Metro and powered by ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). The feature lets users plan journeys, buy QR tickets, get real-time updates, and book an Uber to the station, all in one flow. Following a 2024 MoU signed during CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s India visit, Uber aims to expand metro ticketing to three more cities by 2025. A B2B logistics service via ONDC is also in the pipeline, allowing businesses to use Uber’s delivery network without owning fleets.

ONDC is a government-backed initiative in India designed to democratise digital commerce by creating an open, interoperable network that allows buyers and sellers to transact across different platforms seamlessly. One of Uber’s biggest competitors in India, Ola, currently has three propositions on ONDC: food delivery, quick commerce, and hyperlocal logistics.

Uber in India

Uber’s India technology team has professionals working across engineering, data science, product development, design, and more. India is Uber’s largest tech hub outside the US. “Importantly, this is not just an extension office; we have end-to-end capabilities across all functions right here,” Naga said. 

Several core initiatives, such as personalisation models, safety analytics, chatbots, and driver onboarding automation, are led from India. “We develop essential core platforms such as payments, customer service, and marketplace infrastructure in India. Building on these, we power a wide range of experiences, from rider and driver platforms to intercity shuttle services, all within the Indian tech ecosystem.”

From a market perspective, India is uniquely multimodal, with cars, auto-rickshaws, and motorbikes requiring hyperlocal algorithmic tuning. “Building globally scalable yet locally adaptable systems is one of our biggest challenges,” said Naga. “Machine learning models must reflect local traffic patterns, infrastructure, and user behavior, solving these requires global thinking and local execution.”

How GenAI is enhancing efficiency

AI has been integral to Uber’s technology stack, from our complex matching and dynamic pricing algorithms to routing, safety, and risk assessment systems. The emergence of generative AI and Agentic AI has further enhanced how the team builds and integrates technology. 

“We're seeing major impact in three areas: customer support, where AI agents can understand context and respond more accurately and efficiently; engineering, where generative tools boost productivity; and product workflows, such as driver onboarding, where AI handles document checks and enables instant activation,” said Naga. 

Uber’s global scale, operating in over 70 countries, provides access to diverse, large-scale data that enhances its AI models. With investment in AI infrastructure and talent, particularly in India, Uber is positioning itself in a better position than its competitors, Naga concluded.