NEW YORK (Diya TV) — TIME magazine has named the architects of artificial intelligence as its 2025 Person of the Year, spotlighting two Indian-origin tech leaders shaping the global AI landscape. Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character.AI, and Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Adviser on AI, are being recognized for their roles in creating and regulating the AI revolution.
Karandeep Anand leads Character.AI, a popular AI chatbot platform that allows users to create and converse with personalized AI characters. The platform, which boasts around 20 million monthly active users, has become especially popular among Gen Z, who spend an average of 70 to 80 minutes per day engaging with AI characters.
Anand believes AI can help teens break free from the negative aspects of social media. “They have broken out of the doomscrolling world of social media,” he said. But Character.AI has also faced controversies, including lawsuits from families over teen safety. The company has since implemented safety updates and limits on teen usage.
A graduate of the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Anand has extensive experience in tech. Before joining Character.AI as CEO, he spent 15 years at Microsoft and six years at Facebook. He also served as Vice President and Head of Business Products at Meta, and for nine months as a board advisor at Character.AI prior to taking the top role.
While Anand builds AI tools, Sriram Krishnan shapes the policies behind them. As Senior White House Policy Adviser on AI within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Krishnan is a key architect of the U.S. AI Action Plan. The plan aims to strengthen American leadership in AI and counter China’s advances in the global tech race.
Krishnan rose to prominence after a Chinese startup, DeepSeek, released a model in 2025 that rivaled U.S. AI capabilities. The breakthrough prompted urgent action in Washington, highlighting the need for faster AI development in the U.S. Krishnan and his team advocated for reduced red tape to accelerate AI research and deployment.
Before joining the White House, Krishnan was a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and led product and business units at Meta, X, and Microsoft. His experience spans both policy and technology, making him a unique figure in shaping global AI strategy.
TIME’s Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said, “Person of the Year is a powerful way to focus the world’s attention on the people that shape our lives. And this year, no one had a greater impact than the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI.”
The magazine’s coverage included other tech leaders, such as Sam Altman of OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Elon Musk, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. However, TIME highlighted Anand and Krishnan for their distinctive contributions—one creating AI tools, the other guiding AI policy at the national level.
Character.AI has emerged as a cultural phenomenon, changing the way young users interact with technology. Krishnan’s work, meanwhile, is influencing the trajectory of AI policy in the U.S., ensuring the nation remains competitive in a fast-evolving global AI race.
Together, Anand and Krishnan represent two sides of the AI revolution. Anand develops the tools people use every day, while Krishnan sets the rules and strategies that govern AI’s growth. Their combined influence underscores the transformative power of artificial intelligence in both private and public spheres.
As AI continues to expand across sectors, from education to entertainment to national security, these two Indian-origin leaders are at the forefront of shaping its future. TIME’s recognition highlights not just technological innovation, but also the global stakes involved in artificial intelligence.
