Creating A Positive Social Impact
In 2012, Radha Basu founded iMerit with the goal of doing business while creating social impact. What started in a single room has now blossomed into a global tech-enabled data annotation powerhouse with 10 delivery centres in India, Bhutan, and the US, employing over 5,500 people, with more than half of them being women. Since its inception, iMerit has been at the forefront of technological advancements, delivering world-class technology solutions that power some of the cutting-edge AI projects worldwide.
Talking about the company, Basu stated, “Our model centres around providing employment in underserved regions and harnessing latent talent through continuous and inclusive skilling. We also invest in learning and development to ensure that our team members have access to the tools they need to develop their skills.”
Tech and Human Expertise
On the ever-changing landscape of AI and machine learning technologies, Basu commented,
"These new AI technologies have incredible benefits, but as more purpose-driven outputs are built, truth and accuracy will become significantly more important.”
While these new AI technologies have immense potential, there is a growing need for human experts in the loop to provide insights and ensure AI's accuracy and ethical behaviour. As generative AI tools gain popularity, the narrative in the AI world has shifted to automation and open source. She further added, “iMerit’s combination of technology and human expertise will be a critical factor in this next wave of AI development.”
Nurturing Talent
When it comes to talent acquisition and development, their primary purpose is to create digital livelihoods in underserved communities and the inclusion of women in the technology workplace. By having their delivery centres in areas with limited technology employment opportunities, especially for women, iMerit addresses these challenges head-on.
On the approach to talent acquisition, Basu shared, “iMerit has over 5,500 employees that are more than 50 per cent female, which is unheard of in technology, and more than 80 per cent of our workforce come from underserved communities.”
Moreover, many of iMerit's employees choose to pursue further education while working, due to the Learning and Development programmes offered by the company, diving deep into a single domain or increasing the breadth of their knowledge base.
The Way Forward
As iMerit looks to the future, its vision remains centred on growth and evolution, mirroring the dynamic tech industry. Basu stated, “Today, we see tremendous demand for both powerful automated technologies that help customers train, manage, and analyse their massive amounts of data as well as human expertise that ensures that the AI is trained in a way that will deliver the best outcomes.” iMerit stands at the intersection of these two realms, combining automation, annotation tools, and analytics with human ingenuity to build scalable AI data pipelines.
By ensuring that AI delivers the best outcomes, iMerit is committed to helping customers successfully deploy AI in commercial production. With this approach, they will continue to play a vital role in promoting AI technology while creating a positive social impact through inclusive employment.
