Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, has acknowledged that the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the workforce is inevitable and will significantly reshape how businesses operate. “Sooner or later we will have to start using AI as an employee or even as a CFO,” he remarked during his address at Shiprocket’s Shivir, AI Commerce Edition: Made for Bharat, held in New Delhi.
Sharma emphasized that with AI increasingly capable of performing tasks traditionally handled by humans, companies should shift their focus to building core products. He reiterated Paytm’s ambition to evolve from being just a fintech company to becoming an AI-first organization. While AI may replace certain human roles, Sharma believes it will also pave the way for new job opportunities, driven by emerging technologies.
His comments come amid an ongoing restructuring at Paytm. Last month, ET reported that One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, has been laying off staff, although the exact number was not disclosed. As of the March 2024 quarter, Paytm’s sales team had shrunk by approximately 3,500 employees, bringing the total to 36,521. This reduction is largely attributed to operational disruptions following the Reserve Bank of India’s restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank.
Financially, Paytm posted a consolidated net loss of ₹540 crore in Q4 FY25, slightly better than the ₹550 crore loss reported in the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile, in the competitive Unified Payments Interface (UPI) space, Paytm lagged behind in June, securing the third spot with 1.27 billion transactions amounting to ₹1.34 lakh crore. This translated to 6.9% of total UPI transaction volume and 5.6% of the transaction value. PhonePe remained the market leader, clocking 8.55 billion transactions worth ₹11.99 lakh crore.
Sharma also introduced an upcoming AI-powered feature—a personalized passbook that converts monthly spending data into a rap song. While no specific launch date was shared, he mentioned that the feature would be available to users soon and would use Paytm’s data capabilities to generate customized music.
Earlier this year, Paytm partnered with AI startup Perplexity to integrate intelligent search functionalities into its app, further underscoring its AI-driven ambitions.
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