The next frontier of AI isn’t in Silicon Valley. It’s in Tamil Nadu. In Jharkhand. In the small towns of India where NextWealth is quietly building something remarkable.
Indu Nadarajan holds a master’s in mathematics. She labels images for autonomous vehicles , road markings, headlights, animals from a modest office in her hometown in Tamil Nadu. She never had to leave for Bengaluru or Chennai.
“Many go to Chennai and Bengaluru to learn about AI. But being here in our hometown and learning about AI makes me feel very proud.”
For NextWealth founder Sridhar Mitta, that’s exactly the point.
“When I can design a product for a US company 5,000 miles away, why can’t I do it from 200 miles away? Anybody can be anywhere and do things, because the value goes through the internet.”
NextWealth’s Bengaluru-headquartered, small-town-powered model serves clients across the US, Europe, and Asia proving that world-class AI operations don’t require a metro address. For women like Nadarajan and colleague Amala Dhanapal, it’s not just a job. It’s a transformation.
“Most girls find it difficult to even pursue their education,” said Dhanapal. “This changed everything.”
As featured in France 24 / AFP, February 2026.