OpenGov has doubled down on India as a global hub for engineering, AI, and product innovation. With the inauguration of its new Pune innovation hub, the company is centralising efforts around ERP modernisation, AI-native developer tools, and low-code citizen-facing applications. In this conversation with Express Computer, Amit Dhodapkar, Senior Vice President of Engineering, OpenGov, discusses the strategic role of the Pune hub in OpenGov’s global R&D roadmap, its AI-driven product innovations, and the company’s vision to reimagine government technology for the digital era.
OpenGov recently inaugurated a modern innovation hub in Pune, centralising engineering, AI, and product development as a growing force for innovation within the organisation. Could you share how the new Pune centre fits into OpenGov’s global R&D strategy, what’s its core mandate, current scale, and how it complements the company’s innovation roadmap?
Our Pune Innovation Hub is a vital part of OpenGov’s global R&D strategy. We believe talent is global, and with its deep talent pool and tech ecosystem, Pune was the natural choice to scale engineering, product management, and AI. Since launching our presence in Pune in 2021 and opening the Innovation Hub in April of this year, we’ve built a team of over 150 engineers, product managers, designers, and AI researchers—and we’re continuing to grow.
From day one, we structured the site around empowered, cross-functional teams that collaborate closely with counterparts in the U.S., enabling faster delivery cycles, deeper technical specialisation, and 24/7 innovation. The hub is advancing our core ERP offerings, low-code platform, and AI-native developer tools, playing a critical role in helping us reimagine what modern government technology can be.
OpenGov has significantly invested in AI-driven cloud platforms and recently acquired the low-code forms automation platform, Ignatius, to streamline government workflows. How is the India R&D team integrating capabilities like Ignatius and AI innovations into OpenGov’s core platform, and how does this enhance citizen-facing government modules developed globally?
The integration of Ignatius, now the Government App Builder (GAB), marks a major leap forward for our AI-enabled Public Service Platform. Our Pune hub drives innovation across our ERP product offerings, and GAB’s low-code flexibility enables us to tailor those products to our customers’ unique needs, making our ERP and citizen-facing solutions more adaptive, responsive, and scalable.
Our Pune team plays a central role in bringing these capabilities to life. They’ve contributed significantly to the advancement of GAB and our broader AI strategy. For example, engineers in Pune led the development of AI tools that automatically process invoices and receipts, work that is now being embedded across our platform. Features like these give public servants back meaningful time they can use to better meet the needs of their communities.
OpenGov’s Pune office has crossed 150 employees and continues to scale aggressively in engineering and product design. Is the Pune centre responsible for product leadership or IP ownership today? Can you highlight any product features or innovations that India has led, from ideation to release?
Our team in Pune has leaders across several key product lines, including Financial Management, Tax & Revenue Collection, and Payroll, among others. These products are critical building blocks within our Public Service Platform and directly support the operational and fiscal health of government agencies.
As I mentioned above, Pune is also at the forefront of our AI innovation efforts. For example, the team is leveraging AI and coding agents to modernise some of our core legacy codebases, such as our banking reconciliation functionality.
The Pune team has been recognised for its workplace culture, with accolades including the GCC Workplace Awards. Given this recognition, how are you approaching talent strategy, especially diversity in engineering, leadership development, and building an inclusive innovation culture in your India GCC?
We’re proud that our Pune team has been recognised for its culture, and these accolades reflect our investment in building an inclusive, mission-driven environment where people can do the best work of their careers.
Leadership development is a major priority at OpenGov. We recently launched a global program to coach manager cohorts across all of our offices and functions, with training sessions held in both Pune and our San Francisco headquarters. We’re also focused on early-career talent, with a new college recruiting program that draws from top institutions across India, like BITS Pilani and COEP Technological University, to ensure we’re engaging a broad and representative talent pool.
Across all levels, we look for individuals who are ambitious, energised by our mission, and aligned with our values. At OpenGov, we act with urgency, challenge the status quo, and build with an AI-first mindset. We want people who resonate with that and are excited by the opportunity to do something meaningful. We have open positions ranging from principal engineers to new college hires, and whether you’re a seasoned professional or a new graduate, our Pune Innovation Hub is a place where you can grow, lead, and make a meaningful impact.
Government tech demands rigorous compliance, transparency, and resilience. How are your India-based teams contributing to designing governance, reliability, and compliance into OpenGov’s platform, especially as it powers critical government functions across U.S. cities and counties?
Building software for the public sector demands a relentless focus on security, reliability, and compliance. Our Pune team plays a critical role in meeting those standards, ensuring the OpenGov Public Service Platform not only delivers powerful features but does so with the trustworthiness governments require.
Pune-based engineers lead key initiatives in DevOps, observability, security testing, and deployment tooling—functions that span our entire engineering organisation. They’re also responsible for foundational platform services such as access control and data analytics, which are central to delivering secure, scalable, and compliant SaaS solutions. These contributions ensure that what we build is not only innovative but also built to last.
OpenGov has positioned Pune as a critical global innovation hub with AI R&D and deep platform engineering at its core. What’s next for the Pune centre, are there plans to expand into emerging areas like generative AI, local public policy solutions, or deeper platform R&D?
Innovation is at the core of our Pune hub. We’re actively adopting an AI-native operating model, where intelligent tools, coding agents, and automation reduce manual work and accelerate efficiency across the entire software development lifecycle. Our Pune team is also pioneering cutting-edge developer tooling and platform engineering practices that help us move faster and smarter. AI doesn’t just show up in our products; it’s transforming how our teams work, from writing PRDs to deploying code.
As we reimagine the future of government software, the Pune team remains central to that vision. We’re excited to keep investing in the team’s growth, leadership, and long-term impact.