India 'signpost' for global future of work; may be LinkedIn's largest mkt in 2-3 yrs: Pattabiraman

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) India, the second-largest and fastest-growing market for LinkedIn with over 16 crore users, could become the largest for the professional networking platform in 2-3 years at the current growth rate, its India country manager Kumaresh Pattabiraman has said.

Pattabiraman described India as the 'signpost' for the global future of work.

"By solving for India, we also solve for our 1.2 billion members globally," he said in an interview with PTI.

He attributed the Indian market momentum to its digital-first young, ambitious workforce, which is 'on the move', the high appetite here for upskilling, inherent trust in the human insights and knowledge derived from the community and network of mentors and colleagues.

The Microsoft-owned platform for professionals has seen its membership here grow by more than 50 per cent in the last two years, and the revenue has more than doubled since 2020, Pattabiraman said.

"It is such an exciting time to be in India right now," he said, adding that the country is LinkedIn's second-largest and fastest-growing market.

LinkedIn has over 16 crore Indians on the platform, he added.

"Over the last two years, we grew upwards of 50 per cent, so if you were to project that out, we're looking at maybe 2-3 years before we are the largest market for LinkedIn," he said, adding that one would also have to bear in mind the global dynamics.

"That's our projection so far, but as you can imagine, the world is in a very interesting moment and a lot can change," he added.

Pattabiraman's focus is on harnessing the market's "unique" traits, from its AI-savvy workforce that is young and ambitious to the vibrant ecosystem of small and medium-sized businesses.

Accordingly, he said, LinkedIn is taking several big bets to tap into India market opportunities, and adding video as a means for professionals to learn, share knowledge, and connect is one such area.

India has seen a 60 per cent increase in immersive video uploads on the platform, the highest growth globally.

"We see a surge in immersive video uploads of 60 per cent, which is a global high on LinkedIn in India. And that is just testament to how strong a fit we find with video," he noted.

LinkedIn is "reimagining" the job search experience with AI, Pattabiraman added.

"We are reimagining the job search experience with an AI-powered job search, which is helping job seekers who can search in their own words and find jobs that are not just a great fit for their skills, but also their purpose.

"In fact, in India, we've added notice periods and expected salary to 'open to work' and we see upwards of 15 lakh Indian professionals who have already adopted this," he pointed out.

The platform is keen to support the small and medium businesses, given that 30 per cent of its India membership is engaged in the SMBs category.

"We are already building tools that help small and medium businesses hire faster, grow their businesses, and establish their brand by telling their stories. And by doing all of this, we don't believe these bets are just for India...We believe that India is a signpost for the global future of work, which means that by solving for India, we also solve for our 1.2 billion members globally," the official noted.

He said that the energy and resourcefulness of Indian talent is unmatched, and not only is LinkedIn enabling the global community to tap into this talent pool, but as a platform, LinkedIn itself has its largest R&D centre outside the US, in Bengaluru.

"We have teams that contribute to every major line of business that we have, including talent solutions, learning solutions, premium subscriptions, marketing solutions, trust, you name it. We build in India, for the world," he said.

India continues to be a key market for the platform, both as an R&D innovation centre and a market to grow in, he asserted.

"As an R&D innovation centre, we are investing across the board, be it product, AI, infrastructure, employee productivity, and as a market, we are focused on growing in tier two and tier three cities," he said. PTI MBI BAL BAL