PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Sharad Sharma

Sharad Sharma is an iSPIRT co-founder whose work on digital public infrastructure connects to AI policy. He joined the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI in 2023, argued for an N+1 research strategy in 2025, and served on the committee that drafted India's AI Governance Guidelines. Earlier, he held R&D leadership roles at Yahoo and other technology companies, co-founded Teltier Technologies, and chaired NASSCOM Product Forum from 2009 to 2013. As of October 2026, he serves on IdeaSpring Capital's investment committee pro bono.

Now at
Indian Software Products Industry Round Table and IdeaSpring Capital
Badges

Timeline

  1. 2009–2013

    NASSCOM Product Forum chair

    An alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering, he holds R&D leadership roles at Yahoo, VERITAS, Symantec, Lucent and AT&T, including senior vice president at Yahoo and CEO of its India R&D unit. He co-founds Teltier Technologies, a wireless infrastructure startup now part of Cisco. From 2009 to 2013, he chairs NASSCOM Product Forum and serves on the NASSCOM Executive Council.

  2. 2013

    Co-founding iSPIRT

    In February 2013, he joins up to 25 NASSCOM members in Bengaluru as BrandSigma CEO at the first meeting where the idea of iSPIRT takes shape. He becomes an iSPIRT co-founder and Governing Council member. The non-profit technology think tank conceptualizes India Stack, Health Stack and other digital public goods.

  3. February 2023

    ORF commentary on DPI

    In February 2023, he co-authors the Observer Research Foundation commentary “Digital Public Infrastructure – lessons from India” with Samir Saran. It describes digital public infrastructure as facilitating flows of people, money and information, and identifies India Stack's digital identity, fast payments and privacy-preserving data sharing as foundational layers.

  4. October 2023

    UN AI advisory body

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres launches the High-Level Advisory Body on AI in October 2023 and lists Sharma, an iSPIRT co-founder, among its members. The body aims to build a global scientific consensus on AI risks and strengthen international cooperation on AI governance. Sharma says it will examine regulation and global best practices, including India's approach.

  5. July 2025

    Citizen Stack and DPI Sutras

    In July 2025, he describes iSPIRT's five DPI Sutras, including non-weaponization of technology, democratization to prevent state monopoly, and data ownership for citizens. He says the principles guide Citizen Stack, a DPI platform modelled on the Indian example.

  6. August 2025

    An N+1 AI strategy

    In an August 2025 interview, he urges India to go beyond large language models toward neuro-symbolic computing under an N+1 strategy that builds what comes next. He names MOSIP, an identity platform being adopted in 26 countries, and DEPA as foundations for taking Indian digital systems global.

  7. November 2025

    India's AI governance guidelines

    In November 2025, MeitY releases India's AI Governance Guidelines, drafted by a committee chaired by Prof. Balaraman Ravindran of IIT Madras that includes Sharma as an iSPIRT co-founder. The framework sets out seven guiding principles called Sutras and six governance pillars, with “Do No Harm” at its core.

  8. As of October 2026

    IdeaSpring investment committee

    As of October 2026, he serves on IdeaSpring Capital's investment committee pro bono.

Career

  1. Since 2013Indian Software Products Industry Round TableGoverning Council Member, Co-founder
  2. NowIdeaSpring CapitalInvestment committee member
  3. From 2023United NationsMember
  4. From 2013BrandSigmaCEO
  5. 2009–2013National Association of Software and Service CompaniesChair and Executive Council Member
  6. YahooSenior Vice President and CEO of India R&D
  7. VeritasR&D Leader
  8. SymantecR&D Leader
  9. Lucent TechnologiesR&D Leader
  10. AT&TR&D Leader
  11. Teltier TechnologiesCo-founder
  12. Committee that drafted India's AI Governance GuidelinesMember

Education

  1. Delhi College of Engineering

From the biography.

  1. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Sharad Sharma. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  2. Through 2025, first appointments to public AI advisory and safety bodies peaked in 2023Includes Sharad Sharma. We estimate when the people shaping AI entered public advisory and safety bodies, which institutions connect them, and where they worked beforehand. Through 2025, first recorded appointments peaked in 2023 at 42 people.
  3. 23% of people shaping AI who left a university for a company later returned to a universityIncludes AT&T. We estimate that 468 of the 2,011 people shaping AI who left a university for a company (23%) later returned to a university after a median of 5 years, and 163 of 829 (20%) made the reverse round trip.
  4. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes AT&T. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Sharad Sharma yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Sharad Sharma - The/Nudge thenudge.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. iSPIRT, A Think Tank With A Difference - Sharad Sharma inc42.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. 10 Years Of iSPIRT: Inside The Making Of A Product Nation inc42.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Sharad Sharma, Author at ProductNation pn.ispirt.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Digital Public Infrastructure – lessons from India orfonline.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. UN Secretary-General launches AI Advisory Body on risks, opportunities, and international governance of artificial intelligence india.un.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. UN’s AI Advisory Panel Ropes In The Brain Behind UPI, ONDC inc42.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  8. A conversation with Sharad Sharma, Co-Founder of iSPIRT interweavegov.substack.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  9. India Has Missed The Bus to Scale UPI Globally: iSPIRT's Sharad Sharma outlookbusiness.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  10. MeitY Unveils India AI Governance Guidelines under IndiaAI Mission to Ensure Safe, Inclusive, and Responsible Adoption of Artificial Intelligence across Sectors pib.gov.in. Checked 22 October 2026.
  11. Sharad Sharma ideaspringcap.com. Checked 22 October 2026.