VoiceGate’s new R&D chief on building AI-native platforms that remove enterprise pain points

Dr K Rajasekhar has joined Hyderabad-based VoiceGate Technology as Sr VP (R&D Technology) at a time when enterprise priorities are shifting towards AI-native platforms, tighter compliance, and faster scale. He brings over 36 years of professional experience, having served as Head of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in several states, Director of the Centre for Data Governance, and Chairman of the National Project Advisory Committee of NIC, Government of India. He has led hundreds of e-Governance projects at state and national levels and has received more than 50 national and international awards, including the Digital Transformation Leadership Award twice from CeBIT, Germany.

Rajasekhar holds two doctorates in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity from RAIN Computing and is a Certified Lead Auditor for AI Management Systems (ISO/IEC 42001:2023). He has also undergone executive training at IIM Kolkata, IIM Indore, and the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Sejong, South Korea. He has guided and contributed to the successful execution of several innovative R&D initiatives across various universities and organisations.

Excerpts from the interveiw he gave to Ibrahim Ahmad.

What prompted you to take up this role at VoiceGate?

VoiceGate represents the convergence of my lifelong mission—using technology to deliver measurable impact—with a company that is already a trusted partner across industries. Having led national e-Governance projects that won over 50 awards, I saw VoiceGate as the ideal platform to extend that vision: building AI native, compliance-ready, and future-proof solutions that empower enterprises, hospitals, factories, and even smart cities. The opportunity to architect products like AIM-TABO for industrial energy, VGHIMS for healthcare, and IoT Smart Solutions for connected environments was a natural fit for my expertise.

What experience and strengths do you bring that will give VoiceGate a competitive edge?

My 40 plus years of multi-domain leadership across government, enterprise, and technology is a big strength. I have two PhDs, one for my R&D in AI and ML, and another is my R&D for devising new computing technology and Cybersecurity, plus advanced degrees and certificates in science, technology, and management from Universities, IIMs, etc give a lot of academic grounding. I have initiated and delivered innovative national-level projects with global recognition. My cross-domain innovation capacity gives me the ability to integrate AI, IoT, blockchain, and cybersecurity into practical solutions. I think I am good at bridging research with execution, ensuring that VoiceGate’s offerings are both cutting-edge and market-ready.

What are the key offerings that VoiceGate offers in some of the hot domains of the day?

VoiceGate is positioned at the forefront of several converging technology trends. In emergency management systems, for instance we do AI-powered ticketing, predictive analytics, and unified communication across voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and email. In Unified Messaging & IVR we are doing conversational AI that is replacing static menus, multilingual voice support, and compliance-ready call recording. In Predictive maintenance, we are doing real-time combustion optimisation, and AI-driven emission monitoring for net-zero energy operations. In healthcare digitalisation our AI-integrated hospital management systems, telemedicine solutions comply with GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO standards. For IoT smart solutions we are working on smart homes, offices, factories, and cities powered by AI + IoT for automation, energy efficiency, and predictive intelligence. Similarly, in Supply Chain & Asset Management we have AI-based automobile spares SCM with multilingual retail apps, and VAM for lifecycle asset tracking with blockchain-backed transparency. Another hot area is sustainability & ESG where we have automated ESG reporting and water-credit tokenisation using IoT + blockchain.

What are the biggest pain points enterprises face that VoiceGate will address?

Fragmented solutions and systems slowing responsiveness is one the biggest pain points enterprises complain about. In the area of regulatory compliance, challenges abound in data privacy, security, emissions, and healthcare standards. The other big challenge that organisations face is the high operational costs from legacy infrastructure. PLus we often hear about the limited scalability in adapting to fast-changing environments. For a nation like India, accessibility gaps arise for multilingual and low-literacy users.Our solutions are designed to eliminate these pain points with AI-native, secure, and scalable platforms.

What will be the focus for VoiceGate’s R&D activities?

One of our biggest focus areas will be AI & ML innovation across communication, industrial energy, healthcare, and IoT ecosystems. We also plan to work on cybersecurity-by-design embedded into every product. Sustainability & ESG frameworks for compliance and new revenue streams will be another area where we plan to invest significantly. We are also working on human-centric interfaces (voice, multilingual, mobile-first) to bridge literacy and accessibility gaps. We will be doing a lot of collaborative innovation with academia and industry to remain future-ready and globally competitive.

What will be VoiceGate’s strategy for building a strong talent pool?

We want to attract top talent by positioning VoiceGate as a hub for AI, IoT, and cybersecurity innovation. We are designing continuous learning programmes in AI, cloud-native architectures, and compliance frameworks. A lot of thrust will be given to a mentorship culture, where I will personally leverage my experience to groom the next generation of innovators. We also plan to have global collaborations with universities and research labs for fresh talent pipelines. We also believe that the hiring practices need to be inclusive to ensure diversity of thought and perspective. And last buit not the least we are strengthening our performance-driven environment to reward innovation, resilience, and customer-centricity. This strategy ensures VoiceGate’s R&D delivers world-class, reliable, impactful and cost effective solutions.