QBurst CEO on the AI Shifts That Will Shape 2026

January 21, 2026

In an interview with ET Now, QBurst CEO Arun ‘Rak’ Ramchandran shares his perspective on the major AI trends shaping the new year.

Rak points to a clear shift from conversational AI to agentic systems, where AI moves from generating content to taking action. He highlights the rise of multi-agent architectures as the dominant paradigm and predicts that traditional “click and buy” models will give way to agentic commerce, driven by goal-oriented interfaces. 

On the business side, AI’s contribution to revenue is maturing faster than previous technology cycles. Rak frames its impact through the lens of Growth, Productivity, and Transformation (GPT), with most organizations already seeing the productivity gains.

Rak predicts strong AI-led growth in retail while identifying healthcare as the sector with the highest long-term revenue and societal impact, given its breadth of use cases. In regulated sectors such as BFSI, adoption is expected to accelerate as regulatory clarity improves and domain-specific LLMs address concerns around data provenance, safety, and compliance. 

Rak also reflects on AI’s emerging role as a cognitive amplifier that augments and amplifies human capability.

Watch the full interview on ET Now.