In an interview with TimesTech, Vikas Kakkar, CEO and Founder of Amara.ai, shared insights into the company’s evolution from a recruitment tool to a powerful AI-driven employee engagement platform. He discussed how Amara predicts disengagement, boosts retention, and empowers HR teams with real-time data—redefining employee experience in the process.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: Amara began its journey as a recruitment automation product and later evolved into a full-fledged AI-powered employee engagement chatbot. What inspired this pivot, and how did you identify the gap in the employee lifecycle management space?
Vikas: The inspiration for Amara’s pivot came from firsthand experience. While building HireXP, our recruitment automation platform, we successfully predicted candidate behavior—but I soon realized that hiring was just one piece of the puzzle. True organizational success relies not just on onboarding the right talent, but on retaining and engaging them throughout their journey. That’s where I saw the gap. There was a lack of intelligent, ongoing engagement tools that could keep employees connected, heard, and motivated. This realization sparked the creation of Amara in 2019—designed to go beyond hiring and focus on continuous support, sentiment analysis, and well-being throughout the employee lifecycle.
TimesTech: Amara uses AI to gauge employees’ psychological investment and proactively identify disengagement or attrition risk. Can you walk us through how this process works and how it impacts business outcomes for your clients?
Vikas: Amara uses an embodied AI chatbot to engage employees directly and naturally. It collects real-time sentiment, behavioral signals, and feedback across critical touchpoints in the employee lifecycle—onboarding, performance cycles, manager interactions, etc. This data is analyzed using AI-driven predictive models to detect early signs of disengagement or burnout, such as reduced interaction or negative sentiment shifts. Unlike static surveys, Amara’s continuous listening allows for proactive interventions before issues escalate. The result? Higher retention rates, more effective HR responses, and a workforce that feels genuinely supported. Clients have reported measurable improvements in satisfaction and productivity by acting on these real-time insights.
TimesTech: Affordability seems to be a key differentiator for Amara, especially given the advanced features and customizable experience it offers. How have you managed to strike this balance between cost-effectiveness and innovation?
Vikas: Balancing innovation and affordability was intentional from the start. We knew that for AI-powered solutions to truly democratize HR transformation, they needed to be accessible—not just for large enterprises, but for mid-sized businesses too. By leveraging scalable cloud infrastructure, modular design, and in-house AI development, we’ve reduced dependency on third-party tools and passed those savings on to clients. Amara’s avatar-led interface and customizable workflows also mean companies can tailor engagement without hefty development costs. Our focus is clear: make cutting-edge technology intuitive, scalable, and budget-friendly without compromising on the depth or impact of the solution.
TimesTech: Amara is being used by companies like Honda, RenewBuy and Johor Plantation. Could you share a success story or case study where Amara significantly transformed employee engagement or retention?
Vikas: One such success story is RenewBuy, a rapidly expanding insurance company in India, which used Amara.ai to dramatically improve employee engagement and lower employee churn. Operating across 100+ cities, RenewBuy struggled with maintaining regular communication and collecting real-time feedback, particularly from its remote and field-based employees.
Since adopting Amara.ai in the last three years,
- Decreased voluntary turnover by 15%
- Attained an engagement score of 4.4, which is above industry standards
- Achieved 91% resolution of employee feedback issues with timely intervention
- Savings of more than 20 months of HR time per annum by automating manual surveys using Amara’s digital real-time platform
Amara offered a secure, anonymous area where employees were able to voice concerns, allowing HR to make fact-based interventions and reinforce the company’s open and inclusive culture. In this way, RenewBuy not only enhanced retention but also developed a more engaged and satisfied workforce.
TimesTech: From being a professional cricketer and a painter to traveling across 46 countries, your journey is quite diverse. How have these experiences shaped your leadership style and influenced the culture at Amara AI?
Vikas: These experiences have taught me adaptability, empathy, and the value of diverse perspectives. Cricket instilled in me the discipline and strategic thinking essential to entrepreneurship. Traveling to 46 countries helped me appreciate cultural nuances, refine global problem-solving, and build inclusive solutions. At Amara, this translates into a people-first leadership style that values creativity, autonomy, and collaboration. Our culture is one of continuous learning, resilience, and openness—qualities that are crucial when you’re building technology meant to understand and engage people at a human level.
TimesTech: What are your future plans for Amara AI in terms of technological innovation, global expansion, and further disrupting the HR tech space?
Vikas: Our focus moving forward is threefold: advancing emotional intelligence in AI, expanding globally, and strengthening our ecosystem. Technologically, we’re enhancing Amara’s conversational depth and predictive analytics, allowing even more nuanced understanding of employee sentiment and context. We’re also working on multilingual and culturally adaptive features to support our growing international footprint. On the business front, we aim to deepen our presence in Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions, where demand for intelligent HR solutions is surging. Ultimately, we want Amara to be the gold standard in employee experience—where AI not only listens but truly understands and empowers.
