Shyam Krishnakumar

Shyam Krishnakumar is Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Pranava Institute (TPI), a New Delhi-based research institute that works at the intersection of emerging technology, public policy, society and design to build sustainable technological futures. He is also a 2025 AI and Market Power Fellow with the European Artificial Intelligence and Society Fund, where his work focuses on democratising AI infrastructure. Shyam has previously served as an Advisor to The Asia Group, providing analysis and foresight on India’s rapidly evolving technology and regulatory landscape in the firm’s nascent India practice. Shyam has also worked closely with global tech companies in an advisory capacity including semiconductor companies, and served as a Technology Policy Advisor to firms such as the Albright Stonebright Group and the Eurasia Group in the US. Shyam also served as a member of the South Asia Center’s Digital Public Infrastructure Project at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. Shyam combines a deep understanding of geopolitics and public policy with his computer science background to engage with key questions across the technical, regulatory and geopolitical aspects of India’s digital transformation. At TPI, Shyam leads interdisciplinary research that engages with key regulatory questions around emerging technology including leading projects on the responsible AI deployment in the public sector, governing Digital Public Infrastructures and on India’s semiconductor ecosystem. His research has been presented at several international forums including the UN Internet Governance Forum, the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum, and Re:Publica in Germany. Shyam holds a degree in Computer Science and a Master’s in Political Science, with a specialization in International Relations.