The Lethal Potential of Blockchain and Agentic AI

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Agentic AI, blockchain, and stable coins could form a “lethal potentiality for the future,” but businesses “are not there yet” when it comes to embracing them, said IndiGo’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, Neetan Chopra.

Speaking to MIT Sloan Management Review India, Chopra described himself as “a student of AI,” who is now steering IndiGo toward what he calls the age of autonomous enterprises.

“We are preparing ourselves for the world of autonomous enterprises,” he said, pointing to pilot projects using multi-agent systems to assist humans with decisions, like ancillary bundling.

He was candid about what he sees as hype around the term “digital transformation,” calling it clichéd.

“We wanted to be digital, rather than just doing digital,” he said, explaining IndiGo’s three-layer approach: digitizing core operations and exploring new business models; building capabilities to sustain innovation; and embedding what he called a digital mindset—“the soul of the transformation.”

Over the past three-and-a-half years, the airline has moved all operations to the cloud, upgraded its platforms, modernized customer and employee tools, and set up agile teams.

That shift, Chopra argued, has delivered measurable outcomes.

Tools such as Breeze for employees and revamped customer interfaces underscore his belief that “customer experience and team member experience are equally important.”

The airline also launched a venture arm to scale innovation, its first loyalty program–Blue Chip–and an innovation hub called Lab 37.

Among Lab 37’s standout projects is 6Eskai, a revenue-facing AI channel that now processes more than 60,000 boarding passes a month and answers customer queries with 94% accuracy.

“Every big journey starts with small steps,” Chopra said.

IndiGo’s AI strategy follows two tracks: Project PRISM focuses on cleaning and scaling data, while Lab 37 develops and iterates on AI-driven solutions.

This dual approach, he said, is crucial as IndiGo prepares for what he calls a “VUCA world” — volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.

Reflecting on past crises, like the Iceland volcano eruption that grounded planes across Europe, he stressed that agility, scalability, and resilience are indispensable as IndiGo pursues global growth.

Wearing his marketing hat as well, Chopra spoke of striking the right balance between the “science and art” of digital marketing, being sensitive to regional nuances while building a customer ecosystem with global reach.

He cited Blue Chip and the airline’s customer data platform as examples of how IndiGo is using data responsibly to keep pace with evolving customer needs, while keeping systems robust enough to handle variability.

Drawing on his years in hospitality, real estate, and entertainment with Dubai Holding, Chopra said most industries share more similarities than differences in digital transformation.

But he urged Indian organizations to institutionalize processes instead of relying on “jugaad,” or quick fixes.

“We love our jugaad,” he said, but argued that cultures need big visions to unlock real potential.

“Dubai dreamt really big and executed its dreams,” he added.

Looking ahead, Chopra said the trends he’s most excited about are agentic AI, blockchain and stable coins enabling new machine-to-machine commerce models, and the coming wave of quantum computing.

He envisions a workplace where autonomous agents work alongside humans and even transact with each other, reshaping how work and business are done.

“Having these buddies next to us, in life as well as professionally,” he said, is the future IndiGo is already getting ready for.