30 Indian Minds Leading the AI Revolution

AI unlocks new avenues for creativity, strategy, leadership: Salesforce's Srini Tallapragada

In a rapidly emerging agentic landscape, developers sit at the centre of transformation, and while AI raises valid questions about the future of their work, it isn't completely replacing developers. Rather, it's redefining their role and unlocking new opportunities, the president and chief engineering officer of Salesforce writes

By Srini Tallapragada

Published: Jun 6, 2025 11:34:37 AM IST

Updated: Jun 6, 2025 01:17:27 PM IST

In a rapidly emerging agentic landscape, developers sit at the centre of transformation. While artificial intelligence (AI) raises valid questions about the future of their work, it isn’t completely replacing developers.

n a rapidly emerging agentic landscape, developers sit at the centre of transformation. While artificial intelligence (AI) raises valid questions about the future of their work, it isn’t completely replacing developers. Rather, it’s redefining their role, unlocking new opportunities for creativity, strategy and leadership.

This shift is particularly significant for India. With one of the world’s fastest-growing developer ecosystems and a rapidly expanding talent base, India is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation by building next-generation agents faster and smarter.

From Code Creators to System Architects

Traditionally, repetitive programming tasks—such as writing boilerplate code, debugging and maintaining documentation—have consumed much of a developer’s time. Agentic tools automate all of these routine activities, enabling developers to focus on higher-order work like designing resilient systems and scalable architecture, solving complex problems and driving meaningful business outcomes.

AI agents, for example, can be used to program a new component to enable capabilities for a given program, while developers review the output and adjust it to improve the accuracy and reliability of the code. They can do code reviews and compliance checks. Agents can even be used to analyse and modernise legacy software to identify code that’s already used elsewhere in the organisation, so developers don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.

In this new reality, developers will take on broader supervisory roles orchestrating AI agents, guiding their behaviour, refining their outputs, and ensuring ethical, scalable results. Success will require a shift from syntax to systems design, context management, product thinking and long-term planning.

The Path Ahead for India

For India, this transformation represents a significant economic and societal opportunity. According to a recent Bain report, the total addressable market for AI-related hardware and software will reach between $780 billion and $990 billion by 2027. But unlocking this potential requires India’s developers to embrace this shift and sharpen their AI knowledge beyond mastering programming languages or frameworks.

Also read: India is evolving from an AI adopter to AI leader. Here's how

So, what should developers in India do now?

Learn how to understand and use AI tools to drive business outcomes
Think less about isolated functions and more about how to design intelligent systems with ethical considerations in mind
Become experts at managing AI agents with a critical, iterative approach—guiding, instructing, monitoring and evaluating their work closely to ensure high-quality results that minimise mistakes
Cultivate interdisciplinary skills across business, design and technology.

With a deep talent pool, strong foundations in math and science, and a thriving startup scene, India’s developer community is well-positioned to lead this next phase. Those who can bridge technical depth with strategic thinking will shape the future of software development—not just in India, but globally.

India’s Moment

Change can bring uncertainty. But history tells us that technological shifts elevate those who adapt. Cloud computing didn’t eliminate IT professionals; it created new roles and new industries. Similarly, agentic AI won’t replace developers wholesale—instead, it’ll redefine what excellence in development looks like. The future developer will be a strategist, a designer, a systems thinker.

For India, the message is clear: Developers must lean into this shift, while CIOs and IT leaders need to invest in robust upskilling initiatives, peer learning communities, and a culture that encourages experimentation and innovation.

Organisations that provide their teams with both resources and confidence will lead the agentic era. And that leadership can drive inclusive growth, spark global innovation and unlock the full potential of the digital economy for generations to come.

(This story appears in the 13 June, 2025 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)