Saurabh Swami : Being At The Heart Of Design, AI
Saurabh Swami , Chief AI Officer, A Stealth-Mode Medical Imaging Startup In California, 0
Saurabh’s journey began at BITS Pilani, where he founded the Participative Community Development (PCD) vertical within Nirmaan, an alumni-led NGO. Since then, he has led design for companies that reshaped everyday experiences in India. At Small case, he helped architect healthier investing habits.
At Vedantu, he pioneered interactive live-class interfaces used by millions of K-12 learners. He later served as Chief Design Officer at India Index, before stepping into his current role as Chief AI Officer at a California-based, stealth-mode medical imaging startup. His products today reach 30+ million people worldwide.
A unique way of seeing patterns, from physics to design, runs through his career. We sat down with Saurabh for an exclusive conversation on design, leadership, and the role of AI in building products that truly serve people.
What strategies should a leader adopt to ensure that design choices align with the organization's mission and principles?
On one hand, a company must operate like a profit engine that values speed, efficiency, and performance. On the other hand, users expect experiences that feel intuitive and dependable. The trick is to balance momentum with clarity and care.
While other teams focus on growth, engineering constraints, or monetization, I see it as the designer’s responsibility to represent the user’s voice.
A user-first approach is not a slogan. When we protect user needs, concerns, and expectations, the product improves, and so do business outcomes. User advocacy is always a pathway to excellence.
A practical example came early at Vedantu. I was asked to lead a small experiment in gamification. That experiment became V-Brainer, which turned into a major engagement win and moved design from the margins to the center of decision-making.
Could you describe your leadership style and the work environment you have established to foster the growth of your team?
My goal is to build an environment where people can grow, not only inside the company but across their careers. With design gaining momentum in India, we need cultures that welcome fresh talent, encourage learning, and show clear career paths forward.
I promote upskilling, support higher education, and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard. Design often invites opinions from all directions. The craft is to turn critique into growth rather than endless loops.
I was lucky to be mentored by remarkable professionals, and I want to pay that forward. I have mentored 50+ students. Several now lead world-class teams. One of them, Rohan Arora, leads design at Zepto. Watching my mentees succeed is even more rewarding than shipping a great product.
What are your thoughts on incorporating AI into the design field?
I believe AI is remarkable for modern teams. It accelerates the parts of the process that used to be slow. Wireframes, mood boards, style exploration, even some frontend code can move quickly now.
The final direction still has to be human-led because design rests on empathy, context, and judgment. AI can simulate empathy. It cannot feel it.
At India Index, we used AI to simplify a long, form heavy flow. Instead of forcing users through tedious fields, we let them describe their requirements in plain language. AI generated the structured titles and descriptions. The experience felt natural and saved time without losing human judgment.
It’s also important to realize in this field, ethics really matter. When I advised an IIT Bombay startup exploring AI-driven recruitment, many candidates described the experience as dehumanizing and disrespectful. Screening may save time, but in design hiring, portfolios and conversations show what resumes cannot. AI should reduce drudgery and improve access. It should not erase the human moment that lets potential be seen.
What is the future road map you have envisioned for yourself for the next five years?
I see myself as a steward of good product development. AI is quickly shaping product design decisions. I began specializing in AI in 2015, back when most of us still called them neural networks. The field has evolved remarkably since then.
What interests me most is how AI challenges old beliefs about human uniqueness. If a piece of silicon can compose a symphony or paint a masterpiece, we are forced to ask what it means to be human and how we want to use these “tools”. Our role is shifting faster than many realize. We need to evolve with the technology and direct it toward better outcomes for us.
We need to guide AI with the same empathy that helps us create great products for humans. It has to be taught to love humanity and grow with it, just like humans are learning to grow with AI.
Alongside my current role, I want to build a gaming startup that combines fractal design systems with AI-driven storytelling. I also plan to launch a YouTube channel that explains AI clearly for millions of learners in India (if I finally find the time for it). Education at scale fits my long-running commitment to mentoring. Tools change fast, but people deserve clear guidance.
What would be your advice to the budding design leaders?
Design is not just decoration. It shapes the core user journey and the business outcomes that follow. With startups booming and expectations rising, workflows must stay fluid and adaptable. Tools will change. Curiosity should not.
A simple lesson from my work at Smallcase is that the biggest wins often come from clarity, not more features. We reduced the number of steps in the rebalance flow, clarified its placement, and added short tutorials so people knew what to do and why. Usage rose by more than 60 percent because the path made sense.
Could you tell us about your favorite book and explain what makes it particularly impactful to you?
I have a strong appreciation for non-fiction, and one of the most influential books for me has been A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It presents profound ideas in a conversational tone and opens the door to questions about existence, time, and our place in the universe.
Physics also shapes how I see structure and balance. I often use the golden ratio in logo work and layouts when it serves the composition. Deep patterns guide good design just the way they organize the physical world, and they also help bring harmony and familiarity for the user experiencing them.
Saurabh Swami, Chief AI Officer, A Stealth-Mode Medical Imaging Startup In California
Saurabh is an accomplished design leader with experience as Chief Design Officer at India Index and design leadership roles at Smallcase and Vedantu. He spearheaded impactful products like Vedantu’s V-Brainer and Smallcase’s rebalance simplification, driving wide adoption across 30+ million users. A BITS Pilani alumnus and IAPT Gold Medalist, he actively mentors startups and design students. For Saurabh, design and AI are not just about products; they are ways to make technology more human.
•Hobbies: Sculpting, table tennis, and painting in oil and gouache. Occasionally spotted chasing the Grandmaster rank in Marvel Rivals.
•Favorite Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
•Favorite Cuisine: Vegan Rajasthani dishes such as Dal Baati Choorma and Bharwa Bhindi and the occasional pizza
•Favorite Travel: Havelock Island
What is the future road map you have envisioned for yourself for the next five years?
I see myself as a steward of good product development. AI is quickly shaping product design decisions. I began specializing in AI in 2015, back when most of us still called them neural networks. The field has evolved remarkably since then.
What interests me most is how AI challenges old beliefs about human uniqueness. If a piece of silicon can compose a symphony or paint a masterpiece, we are forced to ask what it means to be human and how we want to use these “tools”. Our role is shifting faster than many realize. We need to evolve with the technology and direct it toward better outcomes for us.
AI can speed up some of the repetitive design work, but empathy is the part only a human can bring
We need to guide AI with the same empathy that helps us create great products for humans. It has to be taught to love humanity and grow with it, just like humans are learning to grow with AI.
Alongside my current role, I want to build a gaming startup that combines fractal design systems with AI-driven storytelling. I also plan to launch a YouTube channel that explains AI clearly for millions of learners in India (if I finally find the time for it). Education at scale fits my long-running commitment to mentoring. Tools change fast, but people deserve clear guidance.
What would be your advice to the budding design leaders?
Design is not just decoration. It shapes the core user journey and the business outcomes that follow. With startups booming and expectations rising, workflows must stay fluid and adaptable. Tools will change. Curiosity should not.
A simple lesson from my work at Smallcase is that the biggest wins often come from clarity, not more features. We reduced the number of steps in the rebalance flow, clarified its placement, and added short tutorials so people knew what to do and why. Usage rose by more than 60 percent because the path made sense.
Could you tell us about your favorite book and explain what makes it particularly impactful to you?
I have a strong appreciation for non-fiction, and one of the most influential books for me has been A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. It presents profound ideas in a conversational tone and opens the door to questions about existence, time, and our place in the universe.
Physics also shapes how I see structure and balance. I often use the golden ratio in logo work and layouts when it serves the composition. Deep patterns guide good design just the way they organize the physical world, and they also help bring harmony and familiarity for the user experiencing them.
Saurabh Swami, Chief AI Officer, A Stealth-Mode Medical Imaging Startup In California
Saurabh is an accomplished design leader with experience as Chief Design Officer at India Index and design leadership roles at Smallcase and Vedantu. He spearheaded impactful products like Vedantu’s V-Brainer and Smallcase’s rebalance simplification, driving wide adoption across 30+ million users. A BITS Pilani alumnus and IAPT Gold Medalist, he actively mentors startups and design students. For Saurabh, design and AI are not just about products; they are ways to make technology more human.
•Hobbies: Sculpting, table tennis, and painting in oil and gouache. Occasionally spotted chasing the Grandmaster rank in Marvel Rivals.
•Favorite Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
•Favorite Cuisine: Vegan Rajasthani dishes such as Dal Baati Choorma and Bharwa Bhindi and the occasional pizza
•Favorite Travel: Havelock Island