In today's digital world, organizations need to transform their business operations to stay up-to-date in order to gain an edge over the competition. Big data, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computation play a vital role in the digital transformation journey, which society will witness in the coming years. We are approaching into a more holistic digital transformation era which revolves around a thread of data, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence to be laced together to change and innovate the world of Information Technology. This transition is steered with a strong need to deliver a transformative experience across various segments like Service, Retail, Banking, FMCG, Manufacturing, Entertainment and many more. We are already observing a myriad application of Artificial Intelligence across few of these industries like in Media & Entertainment, automotive and in Healthcare industry.

Sharp jawline, doe-brown eyes and fluttery eye-lashes; Sophia, the world's first AI-powered humanoid is quite a stunner with impressive features. Besides looks, she boasts of an admirable sense of humour. Designed by Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics, Sophia has many human values like wisdom, compassion and kindness. She is also capable of expressing her emotions, holding eye contact, recognizing faces and understanding human speech. Well, Sophia is not the only humanoid robot the world is gushing over.

Imagine this – You find out that you'll need to travel to an international location for a business meeting in the next 2 months. You enter the dates into your phone's calendar and go on with your day. While you go through your daily schedules and meetings, your virtual assistant goes ahead and books flight tickets according to the travel dates you entered, while also taking into consideration your preferred airline and time to fly. Furthermore, it also builds a tentative itinerary based on the experiences that you are likely to enjoy. Although surreal, this scenario is pretty close to the reality we're living in today.

MoMAGIC Technologies Pvt. Ltd., founded in the year 2011 is a fast-paced, innovative, Artificial Intelligence and Big data driven mobile tech organization, with dominance in South East Asia. With over 400 employees, inclusive of 70 data intelligence, AI & Marketing experts in Asia, MoMAGIC Technologies, is one of the leading Indian companies, in the Digital AD Tech and Mobile Marketing, space. The company is investing and expanding as a'Big Data & AI-based, global company'; to provide customized offerings and consultancy in the Ad Tech Space. Arun Gupta is the CEO and Founder at MoMAGIC Technologies.

Chqbook is India's largest market place for AI based personalized financial services. Chqbook uses its proprietary TARA AI journey which provides instant and personalized recommendations of products best suited to their credit score, profile and demographics. It also pulls in data from card issuers, banks and credit bureaus to fine-tune recommendations in real time. Chqbook has built the next generation marketplace and provides comparisons, eligibility and a seamless application process across 40 banks and credit card companies. It's rapidly expanding marketplace brings pre-approved loans, credit cards, insurance and mutual funds to the country's gen next with a sharp focus on a magical customer experience each and every time. Vipul has a deep understanding of finances & ideas with the ability to distill them into user friendly interfaces.

Founded in 2015 with the aim to redefine the living experience in India, Zolo provides fully managed and affordable stay options with a warm and homely environment. The founder duo, Nikhil Sikri and Akhil Sikri, recognised the gap in the managed affordable living space and the pain-points of people migrating to bigger cities for better opportunities. Zolo offers trusted and comfortable living solutions through ready-to-move-in rented rooms/beds that offer convenient amenities at affordable prices via an integrated app-based technology platform. Armed with a degree in medicine from AIIMS and a management degree from ISB, Hyderabad, Dr. Nikhil Sikri is the driving force behind Zolo. Under his guidance, Zolo has grown to become India's largest co-living brand within a short span of three years.

The U.S Department of Homeland Security had funded a research approximately 6 years ago of the virtual border agent technology, better known as AVATAR (Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real Time) and had tested it at the U.S Mexico border on travelers voluntarily. Canada and EU has also tested the robot like kiosk that is asking travelers a series of questions. If the trend continues, International Travelers could be speaking with kiosk to determine if they are lying on any aspect at an airport or border crossings. The technology can also be used to screen the refugees and unwanted travelers travelling to any country. It can also be used to screen the citizenship applications, processing visas and many other such inter-related services.

AIMagnifi is an Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision based company based in New Delhi. AIMagnifi aims to target the unexplored combination of retail sector with the power of Artificial Intelligence. AIMagnifi was founder in 2017 by Neeraj Kumar and Devarshi Mishra with an essence of expertise in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Facial Recognition, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data Analytics. Ambhoj Shukla from IncubateIND recently caught with Neeraj and spoke to him about the future of shopping and artificial intelligence.

India is changing and so is our technology eco-system. The eco-system which was in terms of technology innovation a laggard is now running a marathon at a speed which perhaps is putting other global tech startup eco-systems to rethink their India strategy. The credit of this must also go to Niti Ayog s vision and setting aside a fund of Rs. 200 crore for future technology companies from India. Under Atal Innovation Mission, startups can raise upto Rs. 10 crore that fits the criteria set up by the Niti Ayog.

Chqbook is a Gurgaon based financial technology start-up that allows customers to explore, compare, book and get personal finance products such as home loans, personal loans, and credit cards. Chqbook is a marketplace for financial products -- that brings suppliers (banks and NBFC's), distributors, and customers onto a single platform -- both online and offline. The startup currently offers 23 options from the country's leading banks & NBFC's for home loans. It also offers customers a choice of 16 institutions for personal loans and has over 35 credit cards. Chqbook is currently operational in 14 cities for home loans and personal loans through its 400 plus verified experts on its platform.