Saving Big: Paytm’s smart move with AI to spur profit surge

Fintech giant Paytm is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise payments and financial services like wealth management, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Paytm’s AI-driven strategy has helped it reduce workforce while continuing to innovate for India.

“As we lead the AI revolution in India, we are embracing AI-powered automation to eliminate repetitive tasks leading to substantial cost savings. With an aim to drive efficiency across growth and costs, we are reducing our workforce by 10 per cent and continue to drive innovation in India across payments and financial services,” said a Paytm spokesperson.

Paytm believes that its strong mobile-first foundation and early AI adoption will give it a competitive edge.

The company also feels that there is a need for upskilling and reskilling to equip employees for AI-enabled roles.

“We will be able to save the targeted 10-15 per cent that we had planned on employee costs, all because AI has actually delivered more than what we expected it to,” Sharma said in his interview with Bloomberg.

Sharma also said that the company aims to hit EBITDA-level profitability sooner. It has generated free cash for the past two quarters and Sharma expects that trajectory to continue.