Tech Executive and Storyteller
I’m a Mumbai-based tech executive and fiction writer. Over the past four years, I’ve blended my professional background with a passion for storytelling to write, part time, a novella, and a newsletter focused on reading and writing fiction. My work delves into themes of introspection and resilience. When I sit down to write, I prepare tea—hot water without milk, steeped with peppermint or chamomile—and the ritual sparks a Pavlovian response to write.

Writing Profile
Besides my fiction newsletter, which I began in 2021, I also write about the societal impacts of technology, particularly AI, leveraging my training and professional experience in the field from the US. Occasionally, I mentor intermediate-level fiction writers.

Unique Experiences
I spent 20 years living on the IIT Bombay campus, surrounded by pristine nature, cultural richness, and advanced technology labs, fostering an environment that inspired creative thinking.

US Experience
From 1999 to 2002, I worked in the US at Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center on wireless technology, at the MIT Media Lab on 3D printing innovations, and at the University of Georgia’s AI Center. My focus was on natural language processing, machine learning, and genetic algorithms, as well as peaceful, privacy-respecting applications of AI. I earned my Master’s degree by developing AI for transistor placement on silicon wafers.

Teacher in a Marathi Indian Village
After returning from Atlanta, I spent six transformative months in a small Indian village in 2002, working on a collaborative MIT-IIT project at Vigyan Ashram, a school for dropouts. There, I taught 3D printing, conducted research, and wrote grant proposals. This period shaped my perspective on simplicity, community, and grassroots innovation.

Accidental Entrepreneur: The Toughest Stage of My Life
Inspired by my Vigyan Ashram and my sponsors’ work in Mumbai, I declined a fully funded PhD admission in computer science in the US to lead Agrocom, a tech-driven, for-profit social venture (2003–2013) initially utilizing a soft loan and project grants from IIT-B and eventually finding customers to cover all costs. The India-focused venture developed communication software connecting over a million farmers with agro-institutions, companies, and outreach centers. Leading this 10–30 person team, first as employee of IIT Bombay and later as Agrocom CEO, allowed me to travel extensively across India and discover its diversity. Among a CEO’s many duties, letting employees go is the most difficult.

Jio Experience
Since 2013, I’ve worked at Jio, focusing on competitive app feature development and business strategy. Despite some project failures, I launched two projects featured in the Reliance Annual General Meeting (AGM), and three more generated significant revenue—one unexpectedly contributing 20% of an e-commerce vertical’s yearly revenue. My contributions have reached Jio’s hundreds of millions of users, though I am contractually limited in what I can disclose.

This Work
Throne in Exile is a novella I began writing in 2020, inspired by a deep dive into the Ramayana and its many retellings. After four years of development, I released a 90-minute audiobook series to a global audience of creative professionals in September 2024. Encouraged by its reception, I joined writing groups and novel-writing classes to refine my craft.
Memorable Experiences
One of my most impactful experiences remains the six months I spent in Pabal village, which taught me invaluable lessons about simplicity and community—ideas that shaped the themes of Throne in Exile. Despite being a CEO since 2006, it wasn’t until I attended Harvard Business School in 2018–19 that my batchmates introduced me to Jack Daniel’s!

Connect with Anil: fictionauthor.anil.bahuman@gmail.com