Varun Kulkarni
AI Product Leader with 10+ years of experience launching AI/ML and AI-native B2B and B2C products used by over 500M+ users and generating over $200M+ revenue | Forbes Technology Council Member
Seattle, Washington, United States
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Varun Kulkarni is an AI Product Leader with 10+ years of experience building and scaling AI platforms, Business AI applications, and agentic AI ecosystems across Microsoft, Cisco, and Deloitte. He has launched 10+ 0–1 products reaching 500M+ users and driving $200M+ in revenue. At Microsoft, he leads multiple agentic AI ecosystem initiatives across Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, including partner incubation and forward-deployed engineering to help enterprises deploy and scale Modern Work agents with measurable adoption and business impact. Previously at Cisco, he built and launched AI agent platform capabilities for Webex across global markets, and earlier at Deloitte he led cross-functional teams and go-to-market execution for enterprise AI platforms and customer implementations.
Varun is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and serves on the AI Advisory Board at Northwestern University. He also advises AI initiatives and startups through advisory roles with the University of Toronto and the University of Washington.
He holds an M.S. and an MBA from Northwestern University, and is an invited keynote speaker at multiple conferences where he shares insights on AI Agents, Agentic AI Ecosystems, Enterprise AI Transformation, AI Trust and Evaluation, Scaling Developer and Partner Ecosystems, GTM and Business Development
Area of Expertise
Topics
Generative AI and Machine Learning in Practice - University of Washington
A practical, no-hype talk on how to implement Generative AI and machine learning in real products. I share a clear framework for moving from idea to production, including how to choose the right use cases, design AI experiences users trust, build the architecture and data foundation, evaluate quality and safety, and measure ROI. The session also covers hard-earned lessons from shipping AI features at scale, including governance, human-in-the-loop patterns, and what it takes to operationalize AI across an organization.
AI Led Digital Strategies for Product Growth and Engagement - BeMore Festival
A practical session on using AI to drive product growth and engagement across the full funnel. I cover how to identify the highest-impact growth opportunities, apply GenAI and ML for personalization and lifecycle automation, design AI experiences users trust, and build an experimentation and measurement system that connects AI features to retention, conversion, and revenue. Attendees leave with a clear playbook for prioritization, implementation, and scaling AI-led digital strategies.
Data and Insights Led Product Management - ADPList
A hands-on session on building products with data as the operating system for decision-making. I cover how to define the right metrics, instrument products for reliable telemetry, turn customer signals into actionable insights, and run experimentation that improves retention, engagement, and revenue. The talk also includes practical frameworks for prioritization, storytelling with data, and setting up dashboards and review cadences that keep teams aligned and accountable.
Building Enterprise AI Agents with MCP and Tooling Ecosystems - Microsoft
A practical product-led playbook for designing, building, and scaling AI agents that work in real enterprise environments. I cover how to use MCP to connect agents to tools and data safely, design agent capabilities and UX users trust, and ship reliable workflows with human-in-the-loop controls. You will learn how to define the right agent scope, choose orchestration patterns, evaluate agent quality, and partner with platforms and ISVs to build an ecosystem that scales.
Multi AI Agent Systems in Production: Orchestration, Evaluation, and Trust
Multi-agent systems can outperform single agents, but they also introduce complexity, cost, and risk. This session breaks down product-ready patterns for agent-to-agent collaboration, including role-based agents, planner-executor loops, routing, and memory strategies. From an AI Product Manager viewpoint, I share frameworks for making multi-agent systems dependable, including evaluation harnesses, guardrails, latency and cost management, and operating metrics that tie agent performance to business outcomes.
From Prototype to Store: Building and Publishing AI Agents That Scale - Microsoft Ignite 2025
A practical end-to-end playbook for taking an AI agent from a demo to a store-ready product. I cover how to design a differentiated agent experience, package capabilities using MCP and tool integrations, and meet enterprise expectations for security, permissions, and governance. You will learn how to operationalize evaluation, reliability, and safety checks, define pricing and packaging, and plan the launch motions that drive discovery, activation, and retention. The session also includes hard-earned lessons on partner readiness, certification requirements, telemetry, and post-launch iteration so your agent can compete and grow in a real marketplace.
Designing a GenAI Platform: The Product Operating System for AI at Scale - Cisco Live 2024
A product manager’s blueprint for building a GenAI platform that multiple teams can rely on. I cover the core platform primitives, including model access, prompt and policy management, retrieval, tool integration via MCP, identity and permissions, and observability. You will learn how to set platform standards for evaluation, safety, and cost control, plus how to design APIs and developer experiences that accelerate adoption while reducing fragmentation across the organization.
Monetizing AI: GTM and Business Development for AI Agent Ecosystems - Microsoft Events
A practical playbook for turning AI capabilities into a scalable business. I cover how to position AI platforms and agents for clear customer value, choose the right packaging and pricing, and build partner motions that drive distribution. You will learn how to structure ecosystem programs, enable ISVs and SIs, create repeatable sales plays, and use telemetry to prove ROI and expand accounts. The session includes real-world lessons on navigating procurement, security reviews, and adoption hurdles in enterprise environments.
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