How integration with autonomous tech can make AI more responsible, explainable, and accessible

Dhana Kumarasamy, CEO, Fulcrum Digital speaks exclusively to Express Computer about a transformation of the company over nearly 25 years. He shares insights into Fulcrum’s focus on industry-aligned AI solutions, the role of FD Ryze Agents in reshaping automation, and his vision for future technological advancements in autonomous systems. As Fulcrum Digital expands globally, Kumarasamy highlights the strategic importance of India in their growth and innovation roadmap.

Could you share some background on Fulcrum Digital’s growth journey and its core focus areas?

Fulcrum Digital is approaching its 25th anniversary, and we’re excited to celebrate this milestone in India next year. We began as a deep tech consulting company aimed at the mid-market in the US, providing tech expertise to help these businesses advance. We began very heavily technology- focused for perhaps the first 10 years, but slowly, it dawned upon us that the knowledge of industry took precedence over this, and we began to integrate technology into all business verticals. Today, Fulcrum is a domain-driven company with strong tech capabilities, and our core verticals remain those of six major industries, which we have implemented technology in a straightjacketed manner directly aligned with industry-specific need.

What changes in your focus on specific business verticals over the years have you seen?

We realised that only technology, in and of itself, is not a success formula. Technology must be combined with industry knowledge to succeed. The best example is building a self-service portal for an insurance company-this later allows us to optimise similar solutions. So, about 15 years ago, we expanded to six business verticals, building deep domain expertise alongside our tech DNA. We also stay up-to-date with emerging tech, such as blockchain and quantum computing, adapting when these technologies prove beneficial for our clients.

What trends in technology do you currently find most significant?

We’re seeing four interconnected trends that are very exciting. First is quantum computing, which will revolutionize data processing, particularly in AI. Then, there’s generative AI, which keeps advancing and is even approaching levels that mimic human intelligence in specific applications. Another critical factor is connectivity—5G and other developments are the backhand on data movement, which will support real-time solutions. Hyper-personalisation is also transforming customer experience across sectors and pushing organisations toward leveraging tech to meet unique customer needs in real time.

Where are most of Fulcrum Digital’s tech teams located?

Around 75-80% of our talent is based in India, primarily in Pune and Mumbai, with Pune housing about 70% of our team. We also have near-shore centres located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, to support our clients based in the US with engineers in the same time zone. We run engineering centres in London and Dublin in Europe; the latter has grown exponentially since Brexit with customers expanding their tech hubs there.

The company recently launched an AI-driven suite, FD Ryze Agents, aimed at changing various industries. So, could you give more details about the agents and what they are making happen in finance, insurance, e-commerce, healthcare, etc.?

We developed FD Ryze Agents based on the premise of providing our clients in industry sector with a ready-to-use AI agent that could be either deployable as-is or customized to some need. In the e-commerce industry, for example, it acts as a product finder to help customers navigate their vast catalogs with ease. Something that, I think, is important not just for B2C settings but also B2B-juudging by the complexity of sourcing millions of parts across various suppliers. Our agents assist in the search for the right products, from heavy machinery and customised furniture to whatever of value, ensuring to facilitate a better purchase journey.

In sectors like insurance, these agents provide a 360-degree view of customer issues. We’ve implemented them for a major insurance client, significantly reducing wait times from 45 minutes to 10 minutes by gathering necessary data in one interface. This allows customer care representatives to provide quick, informed answers on eligibility, benefits, and other critical areas, especially for customers with complex coverage like long-term or supplemental insurance.

Fulcrum Digital promises an offering to help resolve actual business problems, including its prospective AI Agents Marketplace. Describe how you envision this platform unfolding and how it will play a role in the future of enterprise automation.

A more B2B-oriented AI Agents Marketplace will address the complexities of the enterprise scope through hundreds of specialised agents. Our view is that the agents become more integrated and less likely to necessitate human interventions in processes that cut across several functions. For instance, taking the example of underwriting in the insurance industry-an AI agent can process assessments and expedite approval with minimal human effort involved. This will lead to enterprise automation layers with minimal interruptions and quicker decision-making across different departments.

Looking ahead, there’s growing interest in autonomous systems like MetaHumans. What is Fulcrum Digital’s perspective on the future of autonomous technologies, and how is your company contributing to this field?

Autonomous technologies like MetaHumans and generative AI should advance significant, positive societal benefits if handled responsibly. In this context, as part of the broader responsibility toward societal benefit, Fulcrum Digital aims to ensure that our technological developments have a constructive impact on end-users, even if indirect. Many of the projects we work on involve furthering solutions that create better access to finance-useful payment systems across a large number of global economies.

We’re also committed to making our AI responsible, explainable, and accessible. By collaborating with industry peers and regulatory bodies, we actively contribute to regulatory compliance—whether that’s GDPR or other regional standards—while ensuring our technology is both innovative and ethical. Our approach allows us to work on generative AI and autonomous agents that can positively impact end-users, helping clients deliver faster, safer, and more transparent solutions.

Beyond the current developments, what future milestones or innovations are coming up from the side of Fulcrum Digital in AI and automation?

With our future at the forefront, we move ahead to advance AI both in terms of achieving operational efficiency and driving business growth for our clients. We’re developing more “super agents” within our FD Ryze ecosystem—these are advanced AI agents designed for specific, high-impact workflows in industries such as finance, healthcare, and food services. These agents will leverage explainable AI to give clients better insights into decision-making processes, enhancing transparency and trust. We also want to inject more domain-specific expertise into our products. Our whiteboarding team works with clients on industry subtleties. That can make our AI tools better suited to special, unique challenges. Not only is the implementation process smoother, but also the solutions delivered will be closer to the strategic goals of the client-for lasting impact.

Now coming back to the MetaHumans part, I think that’s another interesting area you spoke about. What is your perspective on the future of autonomous technologies and how is your organisation contributing to this?

We believe in the potential that autonomous technology holds, and where this capability brings positive impact to society, if carried out responsibly. As an organisation, we consider it part of our mission to contribute to the technological ecosystem we operate within: to push for change that goes beyond KPIs of the business, towards the broader effect we have on society as well as the end-users who consume our technologies.

We are also part of the effort to have a positive impact, be it through technology contributions that can help improve lives, such as giving people access to mobile devices to unbanked accounts, thereby helping to lift many people out of poverty worldwide.

For instance, we’ve worked on solutions to facilitate digital payments in areas like Thailand, allowing new levels of financial inclusion. It’s not just the tech; it’s about ensuring that both our customers and employees benefit. We’re also committed to regulatory compliance, actively participating in discussions on frameworks like GDPR, to ensure that new technologies are accessible, responsible, and explainable.

In the near term, we’re focused on deploying a significant number of AI-powered agents across industries. We’re already working with hundreds of such agents, and we aim to expand by over 200 in the near future. Our goal is to make these agents fully automated and accessible to business users, so they can be easily customised and operationalised.

Another major initiative is integrating MetaHuman technology with AI in areas like training and development, factory safety, and employee engagement. We’ve already seen success in using VR and augmented reality to train factory workers before a facility is even built. This type of pre-emptive, immersive training is especially beneficial in industries that require worker certification.

We’re also cautious about where we apply these technologies. For instance, in customer service, we know that users may prefer human interaction. However, we see MetaHuman and AI as complementary, enabling seamless data connectivity and customer interaction.

Our long-term goal is integrating all the new AI, automation, and MetaHuman technologies into our existing systems. Instead of replacing current investments, we look at integrating them gradually so that companies can still benefit from their significant infrastructure investments.

Do you have any specific investment plans, especially for the India market?

India remains one of our largest tech hubs and a vital market, especially in sectors like BFSI and manufacturing. We continue to create solutions tailored to the Indian market, which are often then expanded globally. Building robust, adaptable systems for India’s diverse geography and varied user needs gives us a strong foundation for entering other markets like the UK, the Middle East, and the US.

Our AI Innovation Hub has doubled in size from last year, and we’re looking to expand it further in 2025. We’re also setting up an AI Ops Center as part of this hub to help our clients manage and operationalise their AI applications at scale, which is a big investment for us moving forward.