Celebrating Umang Bedi: The leader shaping India’s digital narrative

Umang Bedi has built a career that spans multinational corporations and homegrown digital platforms, placing him at the center of India’s technology and media transformation.

On his birthday today, his trajectory reflects a mix of global leadership experience and entrepreneurial ambition focused on making digital access more inclusive.

Bedi is currently the Co-Founder of VerSe Innovation, the company behind Dailyhunt, Josh, and PublicVibe. Dailyhunt delivers news and information, Josh is a short-video platform and PublicVibe connects communities through hyperlocal updates.

VerSe’s strategy is built on the use of artificial intelligence to personalize feeds while catering to India’s linguistic diversity. The company’s stated mission is to include a billion people in the nation’s digital narrative by lowering language barriers and enabling participation in local contexts.

Before starting VerSe Innovation, Bedi held senior roles at some of the world’s largest technology companies. As Managing Director of Facebook India and South Asia, he helped expand the platform’s operations, partnerships, and revenues in one of its fastest-growing markets. Prior to that, he was Managing Director for Adobe South Asia, where he was credited with scaling the company’s enterprise and consumer business in the region. His career also includes leadership stints at Intuit for India and emerging markets, where he worked on localizing global products to fit regional needs.

By creating products that are accessible in multiple Indian languages, Bedi and his team have sought to level the playing field for users who want information and entertainment in their mother tongues. This approach also broadens opportunities for creators and advertisers who want to reach audiences beyond metropolitan centers.

Bedi’s foundation is in engineering, with a degree from the University of Pune. He later attended Harvard Business School, an experience that broadened his perspective on leadership and organizational strategy. His early education gave him the technical grounding that proved useful as he navigated both product-driven companies and consumer-facing platforms.

Bedi’s career path also intersects with civic leadership. He is a Fellow of the Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Both platforms emphasize values-based leadership and encourage participants to use their influence for social good.

In addition, Bedi has lent support to mental health initiatives, associating with organizations such as Librum, Mind O2 and InnerHour.