A new upskilling and placement company claims to have pioneered the ‘zero-cost upskilling’ model in India. Called the Futurense, it trains individuals in new technologies and then places them in roles with its partner companies. FE’s Vikram Chaudhary talked to the founder, Raghav Gupta.
What sets Futurense apart?
While our primary goal is bridging the talent gap between fresh and mid-level professionals in the tech industry, particularly in emerging fields like AI, data engineering, and data science, what sets us apart is our ‘zero-cost upskilling’ model.
And what is that?
Candidates with 1-5 years of experience in relevant fields apply and are screened based on their aptitude and skills. The selected candidates are provided with intensive, in-person training at our centres for two months, during which they are paid their previous salary, as well as food and accommodation.
After successfully completing the training, Futurense deploys these candidates to one of its corporate clients.
Is that a full-time job?
Upon deployment, the candidate is guaranteed a significant salary hike (far higher compared to the salary she was earning before starting training with us). After a period of working with the client (typically 12 months), the candidate is usually offered a full-time position with that company.
But how do you make money out of it?
We don’t earn from the candidate we choose; we invest in them – it’s like the gurukul of tech. Our business model is not based on charging the trainees, but helping our corporate clients get access to a trained manpower. In a way, we function as a talent provider for other businesses.
What skilling opportunities are offered by Futurense?
What types of skilling do you offer?
We cover a lot of areas, such as data specialists, AI and machine learning, embedded systems, Java development, and generative AI and cybersecurity. We have partnerships with both academic institutions such as IIT Roorkee, IIT Jodhpur, and IIMs, as well as corporates, where we place the trained talent across a vast network of over 220 top recruiters, including Fortune 500 companies, MNCs, and high-growth start-ups.
How do you see AI changing the nature of tech jobs in the next decade, beyond the typical automation narrative?
Every time humans get access to better tools, they naturally start solving harder problems. AI is just the next tool in that journey. In the beginning, it’ll make tech teams faster and more efficient, writing code, testing ideas, deploying faster. But in the long term, it will shift the role itself.
Tech professionals will need to stop thinking in tasks and start thinking in systems. Instead of just building features, they’ll need to understand how tools interact, how data flows, how models behave in the real world. The job becomes about architecture, orchestration, and clarity of thought.
We are also seeing how enterprises are evolving. They’re solving for reasoning, decision-making, automation at scale, and that requires a new kind of talent. So, tech roles will naturally start aligning to those deeper complexities.
Over time, this mindset won’t stay limited to engineering teams. Anyone solving meaningful problems will need to think like a systems designer, someone who understands tools, logic, flow, and can explain their thinking clearly. That’s where the real shift is happening.
What critical skillsets will India’s tech talent need to stay globally competitive in an AI-first world?
Two things will really matter, understanding systems architecture and having strong context. By architecture, I don’t just mean knowing how to code. It’s about seeing the full picture, how data flows across layers, how APIs and models plug into workflows, how the system behaves under real-world pressure. With AI, the tools keep changing, so if you don’t understand how things work underneath, it’s hard to stay relevant.
The second is context. Most people know the tools, very few know how and when to use them. Being able to understand the user journey, the business problem, the data quality is what separates a good engineer from a great one.
Then there’s articulation. The ability to ask the right questions, explain what you’re building, and collaborate with cross-functional teams, that’s a superpower. In an AI-first world, people who can build and explain at the same time will always have an edge.
Futurense founder’s take on India’s technical education landscape
IITs are traditionally known for academic rigour. Why are they now launching online, industry-focused AI degrees, and what does this signal for the future of technical education in India?
India is at a critical point in its tech journey. If we want to stay ahead in AI, we need to build the workforce of the future, and we need to do it fast. Otherwise, we risk losing both the IT advantage we’ve had for decades, and the AI opportunity that’s in front of us. That’s where IITs come in. For years, their impact was limited to a small number of students; fewer than 20,000 a year. But the talent potential in India is much larger. With strong digital infrastructure, a progressive education policy, and growing urgency from industry, IITs are now expanding their reach, and partnerships are making that possible.
At Futurense, we support IITs with hands-on infrastructure, real-world use cases, and deep industry alignment. Our teams work alongside faculty to ensure the curriculum stays current and execution is smooth. This collaboration helps scale quality education without losing its depth. The message is clear, technical education in India is shifting from exclusive to inclusive. It’s no longer just about who cracks an entrance exam, but about how many can be equipped with the right skills at the right time.
How is Futurense building the next generation of enterprise-ready AI talent, and what kind of impact have you seen across Indian and global companies?
Our focus has been on helping enterprises transition their teams into the AI-native world. We work closely with over 20 Fortune 500 companies, not just to supply talent, but to understand how their existing roles are evolving. Most of these companies already work with large staffing firms. But when it comes to specialised AI-native talent, they turn to us. In fact, many of the roles they hire from us in India are the ones they’re not able to fill even in the US.
We’ve built an internal team of solution architects who study our clients’ tech stacks and workflows. They map how roles like DevOps, data engineering, or ML engineering are changing, and help us design learning paths that align with what those roles are becoming.
We also get real-time insights through the Futurense Leadership Council, a group of 70-odd AI, data, and engineering leaders from companies like Microsoft, Google, and top consulting firms. They help us shape our curriculum, use cases, and training delivery, so that what we’re teaching isn’t merely theoretical. It’s what companies need on the ground. This combination of depth, agility, and real-world relevance is what makes our talent truly enterprise-ready.
India has the volume of talent, but does it have the depth to compete with China and the US in AI?
When it comes to enterprise AI, India is in a strong position. We’ve got the talent, the adaptability, and the global presence. A lot of companies run their core AI operations out of India. And many Fortune 500 companies are working with Indian teams to solve problems that are complex, fast-moving, and critical to their future.
But research depth is where we need to push harder. India’s share in global AI patents is still under 3%, and our investment in R&D is under 1% of GDP. That’s way below countries like the US and China, where both research output and original innovation are deeply embedded into the system. That gap needs attention, and thankfully, there’s momentum. The Ministry of Education and the government at large have been showing intent. The National Research Foundation, for example, is a big move with a proposed Rs 50,000 crore budget focused on science and innovation. The push is real. So yes, we’ve got work to do, but the direction looks strong. If we keep strengthening the research ecosystem while continuing to build AI talent at scale, India’s position in the global AI landscape is only going to grow stronger.