blackNgreen Expands AI On Call Across 24 Markets

blackNgreen is accelerating its AI-led product and workforce expansion, with AI On Call now live in more than 24 countries and capable of reaching about 180 million telecom subscribers. The 18-year-old technology company serves customers across more than 80 countries and handles more than a trillion transactions each month. Its AI On Call service is designed to let people speak to AI through a standard phone call, extending access beyond smartphones and always-on internet. The company is also increasing hiring across technology, sales and business development in India and international markets.

AI Access Through Phone Calls

AI On Call is aimed at people who may not use mobile internet. The company cited GSMA figures showing that around 3.4 billion people, about 40% of the world’s population, do not use mobile internet, while handset affordability remains a major barrier.

blackNgreen combines telecom experience with large language models, automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech capabilities to localise AI for languages, operator requirements and regulations in individual markets.

Rahul Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO at blackNgreen, said:

“Most AI today is built for people who are already online. We are building for the person who has never owned a smartphone, and that is now the centre of our product strategy. A phone call is the one interface everyone already knows how to use. Our 18 years inside telecom networks let us take AI there, in local languages, and go live in a new market within days,”

Subscriber Use Cases

AI On Call handles approximately 60 million queries each month across live operator networks. Companionship and emotional support accounts for 22.8% of queries, followed by education and learning at 14.5%, news and current affairs at 12.5%, and sports and entertainment at 12.3%.

Other uses include telecom and account services, health and medical topics, agriculture and farming, and financial guidance. Users spend an average of around 28 minutes a month on the service.

The company is also deploying AI PA, a voice assistant that answers calls when subscribers are unavailable. The service currently handles more than 18% of subscriber calls and is planned to expand to around 18 countries over the next 12 months.

AI First Operations

Across its existing portfolio, blackNgreen’s AI outreach platform is replacing traditional outreach platforms in 12 countries and delivering 2.5x conversions. SmartConnect’s AI-led decision matrix has helped increase revenue by 40%.

Within the organisation, a specialised automation team has reduced operational effort from 7,200 to 2,200 man-hours. Feature sprint cycles have shortened from 15 days to one week, while product research and development cycles for new launches have reduced from around one year to four months.

Global Team Expansion

blackNgreen plans to expand its engineering, product, marketing, sales and business development teams. Its technology team is expected to grow by 65% to 100% over the next 12 months, while sales and business development are set to double within six to eight months.

The company also plans to add six to seven senior leadership roles. About three-quarters of the new positions will be based in India, with the remainder across Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Rahul Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO at blackNgreen, said:

“Taking AI to new markets at this pace needs a bigger and stronger team. We are hiring across engineering, product, sales & marketing, in India and globally, and we want people who use AI every day to build faster and solve harder problems,”

Ownership And Shared Success

The company is pairing its growth plans with an appraisal process that does not rely on a fixed curve and a growth-based profit-sharing model across employee levels. Strong performers work on live operator networks within three to six months of joining and can progress into product leadership roles.

Over the last five months, blackNgreen reported that commercial traction doubled and demand for SmartConnect grew several times over. It marked the performance with company-wide rewards, most of which went to employees outside senior leadership, alongside profit-share payouts linked to business results.

Atul Tiwari, Chief Human Resources Officer at blackNgreen, said:

“Our growth model is built on ownership and shared success. People at BNG build products for live operator networks within months of joining, share in the value they create, and progress on capability,”