‘We Can Solve Big Problems': Bhanu Chopra on the New Era of Indian Tech
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Bhanu Chopra, founder of India-based travel tech firm RateGain, has seen Indian entrepreneurs make waves in the business world, and he believes the perception of Indian executives is changing worldwide.
Chopra, who founded RateGain in 2004, has guided the company to become India's first publicly listed SaaS firm, and hopes to hit $1 billion in revenue. RateGain provides data and technology to hotels, airlines, and online travel agencies, making it an important behind-the-scenes player in digital travel bookings.
During a recent episode of the Skift Travel Podcast, Chopra discussed with Skift CEO Rafat Ali how Indian professionals are now leading major global companies, which has fostered a renewed sense of ambition and pride.
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A New Generation of Indian Business Leaders
Chopra discussed changing perception of companies coming out of India.
• 'I think what has happened is that we as a society, as a community, have gained a lot of confidence. We see some Indians now leading the biggest tech companies in the world.'
• 'And I think what has happened is we want to dream bigger. We want to say to the world that we have arrived. We can solve problems — the world's problems — and we can solve big problems.'
Chopra was asked if the perception of Indian companies as outsourcing companies has changed dramatically.
• 'It's changed. The way people look at us now — even RateGain — has changed dramatically … There used to be this baggage of being a labor arbitrage company — now people see you as problem solvers, leaders in innovation. I see a huge perception change.'
AI in India
Chopra believes most Indian companies, including RateGain, don't need to build foundational AI models — large language models — themselves. He said the focus should be on developing AI wrappers, which are applications built on top of existing AI models.
• 'I think we will see some of the best AI wrapper companies coming out of India.'
• 'We don't need to reinvent the wheel. I think we're good at applying. I think, innately, we have that scale, and we can build great wrapper companies.'
• 'If you talk to VCs and private equity guys, they're actually putting more value on the wrapper companies.'
RateGain's Growth Strategy
Chopra said RateGain is 'extremely judicious and also very patient' regarding mergers and acquisitions, adding its focus is on revenue-generating tools for the travel industry. The company hasn't made an acquisition since buying Adara in 2023.
• 'We want to get deeper in certain markets. We are still very, very dominant in the U.S. — (the) majority of our revenue comes from North America.'
• 'So we look at opportunities that allow us to continue to get deeper in the U.S. and Europe.
• 'If you look at everything that we do, there aren't a lot of players. There is some amount of fragmentation, but we want to be the player that rolls up and consolidates the industry as well.'
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