Ankit Pathak is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pop, and the CEO of ConsultAdd, a 14-year-old technology and AI solutions firm serving clients across healthcare, logistics, and financial services in the U.S. market that has primarily served the U.S. market. While ConsultAdd has built its business in consulting and staffing, Pop is a newer venture focused on AI-driven solutions designed to help businesses scale faster through intelligent automation and agent-based systems.
Hailing from Indore, Ankit transitioned from traditional IT services to building next-generation AI products that solve real business problems. Today, they are focused on creating a bot-first ecosystem across sales, marketing, and operations, where companies can scale without increasing headcount. He says,
“What excites me most is not just building a company, but building systems that empower other businesses to grow.”
Coming from a middle-class family, Ankit always had the vision to build something of his own. He did his bachelor’s in Computer Science and then moved to Pune to join ConsultAdd. He reveals,
“I joined as a marketing engineer, and over the next 10 years, I worked on multiple projects. Through ConsultAdd, I worked with Sante, one of the biggest healthcare clients. I also worked with Sony Music as a Senior AWS Architect at Sony Music Entertainment, then with AWS (Amazon Web Services) as Assistant Director. Four years ago, they offered me the position of CEO. But I wanted to build something of my own. So I asked my founder whether I could become a co-founder and start something new. That is how I started Pop, and eventually became the founder of Pop and the CEO of both companies.”
Right now, the ventures have around 600 employees globally. Under Ankit’s leadership, the combined business has scaled to over $30 million in revenue and delivered efficiency gains of up to 30% for clients.
True Calling
As the co-founder and CEO of Pop, Ankit leads the overall vision, strategy, and execution, especially around building AI-driven systems that help businesses scale through automation. From working closely with clients to identify real business problems to guiding teams in building solutions, Ankit stays involved across the entire process, ensuring that what is created delivers a clear, measurable impact. He explains,
“What inspired me to start this journey was my early exposure to limitations. Having built my career from the ground up through technical roles at global enterprises like Sony Music Entertainment and AWS.. I saw how hard people work and still struggle to scale. Later, when I started in the IT services space, I realised businesses were heavily dependent on people and processes that were not scalable. That is when the shift happened.”
Ankit was driven by a simple idea that growth should not be limited by manpower. He wanted to build systems that help businesses scale faster and more efficiently, especially across Fortune 500 enterprises as well as high-growth small and mid-sized businesses that need efficiency instead of large teams. That thinking led him into AI, where he now focuses on building customised agents that can be trained, owned, and used like digital employees.
What sets the model apart, he says, is that it avoids generic SaaS bloat and instead creates tools that are built around a business’s real needs, with the goal of delivering measurable impact at a lower cost.
Interviewer: Can you give us a walkthrough of the current market scenario and scope in the space?
Ankit: “The market we operate in is AI automation and AI agents, and it is growing extremely fast. It is one of the fastest-growing tech segments, and is expected to grow from around $10 billion to over $50 billion in the next few years.
In 2025, the U.S. government itself invested $4.2 billion in AI experimentation, and by 2027, most major companies are expected to be 70 to 80 percent AI-enabled. The interesting thing about this market is that it is not crowded in the traditional sense; it is layered.
At the top, you have large players building foundation AI platforms. Then you have enterprise platforms and automation companies that help large organisations implement these systems.
Another company brought AI staffing into AI and is now using AI to do IT staffing in a unique way. They create avatars that can take screening interviews. They are one of the fastest-growing IT staffing companies linked to AI.
Where we differentiate is that we are not just a tool or a platform. We focus on building custom, outcome-driven AI systems. Instead of giving businesses software and expecting them to figure it out, we directly solve problems like lead generation, customer engagement, and workflow automation. We think in terms of solving any problem that can 10x a business. There is competition, yes, but the space is large and evolving, and the real gap is in execution and real business impact. That is exactly where we focus.”
The Journey
Ankit says he learned early what struggle looks like and why humility matters. That mindset carried into his professional life. He shares,
“I have always believed in being kind and humble. When we built our office in Pune, my team asked whether I wanted a cabin. I said no. I always sit with my team. Every day, I sit with them to see how they work, and my door is always open. I tell new joiners to just walk in and talk to me. Being kind and humble has helped me throughout this journey, both on the client side and the employee side.”
The harder shift was moving from a traditional services model to something more scalable. In the early days, both businesses depended heavily on people and had very few systems, which made growth inconsistent. The turning point came when the focus moved from execution alone to building processes and AI-driven systems that could scale without needing proportionate manpower.
Beyond his day-to-day leadership, Ankit is also writing two books, one of which is on Agentic AI. He has also been recognised for his work and thought leadership. His honors so far include Acquisition International recognition for ConsultAdd Inc., a 2025 Global Recognition Award for Ankit Pathak, and a second Acquisition International win for ConsultAdd Inc. He has also been invited as a speaker at IIM Jammu and IIM Raipur on AI-driven decision-making and enterprise transformation. He is an Executive Committee Member on Forbes Business Council, and is also seen in Medium and Business Insider.
Plans Ahead
The plan ahead for Ankit is to stay focused on the present while building a global AI-first company that helps businesses operate more efficiently through intelligent systems rather than manpower. The priority is to scale the AI agent ecosystem across core functions such as sales, marketing, and operations, while expanding presence in both the U.S. and India.
The broader goal is to build something that grows with the company, creates value for clients, and also supports employee growth along the way.
Words of Wisdom
Ankit says the biggest lessons he has learned are that clarity and communication matter more than chasing every idea, and that real growth comes from focusing on what creates impact. He has also learned that systems scale better than effort alone, and that the right team can change the pace of everything.
Lastly, as he signs off, he highlights,
“If there is one thing I would say is to start, but think long term. Build something that can scale 10x to 200x. Stay consistent. Success is not one big moment; it is showing up every day. I also believe in positivity and manifestation, combined with hard work. That mindset has helped me throughout.”
The article contains exclusive insights from a freewheeling chat with Ankit Pathak.
