Regions · India

Fractional CTO and AI architect for Indian startups and global teams

Based in India as well as the US and UAE: technology leadership for Indian founders, global capability centres and investors: AI that ships, platforms built for very high volume, and data architecture ready for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

Book a 30-min call → Analyse your challenge

Who this is for

  • Product startups that need senior architecture and engineering leadership as they move from product-market fit to scale.
  • Global capability centres building AI, data and platform teams for parent companies in the US, Europe or the Gulf.
  • High-volume consumer and fintech platforms where reliability and cost per transaction decide margins.
  • Investors backing Indian technology companies.

What shapes technology decisions in India

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is now being brought into force: the DPDP Rules were notified on 13 November 2025, with obligations phasing in over 18 months123. Consent-manager registration follows after a year, and most core duties for data fiduciaries apply from mid-20273. The engineering implication is consent and purpose tracking at the data level, retention that actually deletes, and breach detection you can evidence.

Rule or standardWho it touchesWhat it means for architecture
DPDP Act and RulesData fiduciaries processing digital personal dataConsent and notice records per purpose, retention and erasure jobs, breach detection and reporting
Consent managersPlatforms integrating registered consent managersInteroperable consent APIs and audit trails
Customer and parent-company requirementsGCCs and exporters of software servicesSOC 2, ISO 27001 and client security reviews built into delivery

Related reading: idempotent payment pipelines, team topologies for AI teams and LLM model routing for cost.

Typical first projects

  1. A DPDP-ready data architecture: consent, purpose, retention and breach handling.
  2. Scaling a platform to very high volume with predictable latency and cost.
  3. Standing up an AI platform team in a global capability centre.
  4. Production RAG and agents with evaluation and cost control.

Time zones

I am based in India as well as the United States and the UAE, so Indian teams get my full working day. I also bridge Indian teams with US, European and Gulf stakeholders through clear written decisions and overlapping review slots.

How engagements work

  • Architecture and AI readiness review (2 to 4 weeks): a clear picture of the current platform, risks and a prioritised roadmap.
  • Fractional CTO (ongoing, part-time): technical strategy, architecture governance, hiring and board-level communication.
  • Build and hand-off: hands-on delivery of a platform or AI capability, documented so your team can run it.
  • Technical due diligence: an independent view of a target's technology for investors and acquirers.

Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute call. See how I work for the full process.

References
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
FAQ

Common questions

Do you work with Indian startups and GCCs?

Yes. India is one of my bases, alongside the United States and the UAE, so I work on Indian hours and meet teams in person when it helps. I also help global companies set up and lead engineering teams in India.

When do the DPDP Rules apply?

The Rules were notified on 13 November 2025 and phase in over 18 months, with most core obligations for data fiduciaries applying from May 2027. I design consent, notice, retention and breach handling into the platform ahead of that.

Can you help us scale a high-volume platform?

Yes. I have designed and scaled event-driven systems carrying more than a million transactions a day, with idempotent processing and clear SLOs.

Keep reading

Related

ServiceFractional CTOI work as a part-time CTO for founders, CEOs and boards who need experienced technical judgement now, and a team that can carry it on after I step back.→ServiceAI & LLM architectureI design and build AI systems that leadership can trust: grounded in your data, measured by evaluations, governed by your rules and priced so they make sense at scale.→ServiceTechnical due diligenceI give investors an independent, plain-language view of a company's technology, team and AI claims, so the risks are priced in before the deal closes, not discovered after.→InsightSame model, two ways to buy it: what Anthropic-managed Claude on Google Cloud changes for platform teamsSince 22 October, Google Cloud customers can use the full Claude Platform run by Anthropic, billed and authenticated through Google Cloud, alongside the existing Google-managed option. That is more than a procurement detail: who processes your data, where, and how quickly features arrive now differ by which door you use.→
Open to advisory, fractional CTO & select builds

Let's talk about what you're building.

The fastest route is a free 30-minute call. Prefer to write? Send a message and I'll reply personally within two business days.

Book a 30-min call → Send a message or analyse your challenge first →
Start a conversation

How would you like to reach me?

Book a 30-min callFastest. Pick any open slot on my calendar.→ Write in GmailOpens a pre-filled draft in your browser.→ Use my email appOutlook, Apple Mail or your default client.→

I reply personally within two business days. Time zones from the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.