'Swiggy's return on investment for tech initiatives pretty massive'

We measure RoI for each of our technology initiatives, depending on various contributing factors such as the design, the product, the technology used, said Rao

Artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies are core to Swiggy’s business, says Madhusudhan Rao , who was recently appointed the food delivery firm’s chief technology officer (CTO) . The company is “doubling down” on its technology-driven bets, Rao told Aryaman Gupta in an interview via video calling. Edited excerpts

What is Swiggy’s investment strategy for technology?

We are an AI-first company and have always invested in technology. The only way to deliver orders within strict timelines – roughly 30 minutes for food orders, and around 15 minutes for Instamart orders – at such a scale, in a manner that is not