It's Time to Build: Ashish Ranjan Jha on AI, Culturalization, and the New Era of Creativity
Ashish Ranjan Jha, AI veteran and founder of Native, joins host Tarun Singh for a deep dive into the transformation of AI, the cultural implications of localization, and how creators and startups can thrive in the current wave of disruption. Drawing from his journey through Revolut, Oracle, and European tech hubs, Ashish offers a grounded yet visionary perspective on where the industry is heading, what legacy companies are getting wrong, and why smaller teams now hold the keys to innovation.
In this insightful conversation, AI entrepreneur Ashish Ranjan Jha explores the evolving role of generative AI, the rise of creative empowerment, and why today is the best time to build bold new ventures. A must-read for founders, creators, and anyone navigating the tech revolution.
AI Is Just an Enabler — Not a Replacement”: Setting the Tone
In a world racing to adopt AI at every layer, Ashish Ranjan Jha opens the discussion with a calm, almost contrarian truth: "AI is just a tool. It's not a replacement." With over 11 years of experience in AI and machine learning, and now as the CEO and co-founder of Native, Ashish has witnessed the waves of hype — and the undercurrents of real innovation.
Native is building an AI culturalization engine for visual content, enabling creators and brands to tailor imagery for local audiences without losing cultural nuance. Think of it as translation for visuals, powered by deep AI models and even deeper human understanding.
From India to Europe: A Multicultural Genesis
Ashish’s story spans multiple continents — from his education in India and Switzerland, to working with cutting-edge startups and giants like Oracle, Sony, Tractable, and Revolut.
“Living in Europe helped me realize how diverse cultural consumption really is. Belgium speaks four languages in one country — that diversity is reflected in how content should be consumed and created.”
The seed for Native was born from these intersections — the complexity of identity, language, and communication.
Culturalization in the Age of Generative AI
Ashish explains how generative AI, particularly transformer-based models, has made a step-function leap in content understanding. What began as statistical translation (remember Google Translate 1.0?) is now full-on semantic, contextual, and emotional communication.
“These models don't just translate anymore — they understand humor, emotion, even proverbs. And that's critical when you're trying to reach someone in their native dialect.”
The Creator Economy: AI as the Great Equalizer
The discussion moves into a pressing question: how is AI empowering creators, especially those without resources?
Ashish’s take is refreshingly pragmatic:
“The interpolation work — what’s already been done — can be offloaded to AI. That means creators now need to focus on extrapolation: doing what hasn’t been done yet. That’s where human creativity shines.”
AI tools now let individual creators dub anime in regional languages, bring Hollywood scenes to local culture, or generate content in hours that used to take days. But the caveat: you can’t be lazy.
Abundance of Solutions, Scarcity of Real Problems
In an introspective turn, the podcast explores a key dilemma in tech today: Are we creating solutions to problems that don’t exist?
Ashish draws parallels to over-optimization, like getting groceries in 10 minutes when no one asked for it. The intense competition and tech hype cycles (hello, Gartner) can lead to “overfitting” — building solutions that satisfy noise, not need.
Still, he acknowledges the trade-offs:
“Behind every flashy AI tool are thousands of human hours of labeling, of work. It's magic built on human imagination. But we’re reaching a saturation point.”
The Hype Plateau: When Will It Settle?
So where is this all going?
Ashish predicts a flattening curve, where foundational models reach their peak, and we shift focus to smarter application layers — tools built on top of models like GPT and Claude.
“Eventually, the iPhone moment for AI will settle. Like planes, the base tech won’t change every year — but the apps and experiences will.”
He also hints at the next leap possibly coming from quantum mechanics or entirely new architectures — beyond transformers.
Advice to Founders: Now Is the Time
When asked what advice he’d give to aspiring founders, Ashish is crystal clear:
"This is the greatest time to build. Everything is being rewritten. You get to be the one writing the rules."
He encourages young builders to embrace uncertainty, reminding them that risk has never been lower if you have the drive. Even working at top-tier tech companies today might mean being stuck in outdated systems.
“Ironically, staying in legacy roles might be riskier than trying something new.”
Big Tech’s Bottleneck: Too Much Size, Too Little Agility
The podcast closes on a brutally honest note about the structural flaws in large tech companies. From Google’s infighting between products like Assistant and Gemini, to slow innovation at Apple, Ashish points to organizational inertia as the core issue.
“When the foundation changes, not just the roof — everything breaks. You can’t just repaint your house red if the basement’s cracked.”
The solution? Smaller, independent teams, faster iteration, and less bureaucracy. He draws a powerful analogy: Even Google can’t keep pace when its internal teams file tickets against each other.
Final Thoughts: The Human Behind the Innovation
In one of the most heartfelt moments, Ashish reflects on the power of human conversation — something AI still can't replicate.
“There’s something timeless about listening to someone share their journey — human to human. That’s where true learning happens.”
And with that, the podcast ends not with hype, but with humility. The reminder that at the core of every great AI system, startup, or breakthrough — is a human spark.
